The recipient of the MacArthur Documentary Film Grant (for her upcoming documentary), as well as being both a TED Fellow and Sundance Fellow, Kantayya has a unique presentation style and her work breathes life into some of the most pressing social issues of our time. Her science fiction film Drop of Life, for example, presents a startling look at our planet's future: 2/3 of the world's population will be unable to access clean drinking water by the year 2027. Kantayya's films provide audiences with alarming facts, but couples them with positive and proactive solutions to empower and educate audiences on the importance of protecting our natural resources. Similar to other talks she has given on the subject, the director explained the factors that threaten our clean water sources. Armed with the how and why of the problem, she helps audiences to see the solution—and outlines why we need to act now if we want to protect our future.
Chicago Ideas Week: Shalini Kantayya’s Water Scarcity Talk Makes A Splash
Chicago Ideas Week brings together some of the brightest speakers from across the world. Environmental speaker Shalini Kantayya joined the conference's prestigious ranks to speak about one of mankind's most valuable, and most vulnerable, resources at a talk called Water: The Ripple Effect. The talk took place on October 10 at the Owen Theater in Chicago. Joined by some of the leading players in the water industry, Kantayya, a renowned filmmaker and Director of the production company 7th Empire Media, talked about the world water crisis—what it means, the impact it will have, and how we can solve the problem before it cripples us.