By Glenn Baker
Easy Like Water profiles one man's resourceful quest to fight the effects of climate change in the developing world through the power of "design for good" ¨C a growing global movement to encourage design-driven social change as a community-based response to the challenges brought on by the new climate reality.
In Bangladesh, a country with 160 million people in an area the size of Iowa, water poses a relentless and growing threat to millions of people. Low-lying areas are flooded every year during the brutal monsoon season, upending entire villages and destroying hundreds of schools, preventing thousands of children from attending classes.
In response, visionary architect Mohammed Rezwan is turning the front line of climate change into a community of learning by building floating schools from surplus boats. Outfitted with solar-powered Internet access, the boat schools are bringing education to young people, including girls who previously never had the opportunity because of cultural or religious norms.
In a nation where 20% of the land may be washed away by mid-century, Rezwan is working to create a blueprint for his nation's survival, expanding his model to build floating health clinics, climate shelters, libraries and cinemas.
By turns witty and heart-wrenching, Easy Like Water presents a different perspective on the developing world as it fights for climate justice, recognizing it as a source for innovative solutions that can help communities in the world's most-affected regions adapt to climate change.
Reviews
~ "This is an incredible school redesign story. In Easy Like Water, filmmaker Glenn Baker shares the inspirational story of how a community came together to build solar-powered floating schools. Not only can students attend school year-round, they can take part in digital learning." - Anthony Jackson, Vice President of Education, Asia Society
~ "With a concept that is elegant and home-grown, Rezwan is helping his country adapt to the new climate reality¡ªand cultivating the next generation of problem solvers. Bakers' film shows the human face of climate disaster and highlights one simple, affordable adaptation that is changing lives by building a future that floats." - The Sundance Institute
Awards
~ Winner, CINE Golden Eagle
~ Winner, Hilton LighStay Sustainabiltiy Award, Sundance Institute
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