Scenes from a Dry City

Synopsis

Beyond that of life and liberty, it is difficult to think of a more basic human right than that of access to water, which is essential not only to the functioning of human and nonhuman organisms but also to the very survival of the planet. Simon Wood and François Verster gesture toward this idea in their documentary Scenes from Dry City. The opening text of this incredibly relevant film tells us that, “After three years of drought, Cape Town’s supply dams are about to run dry.” The South African city’s taps will be soon be turned off if the current course is not corrected — a scenario that its residents fear will come sooner rather than later. Cross-cutting between police crackdowns on illegal car washes and mass protests against the government’s unfair policies (including its shift toward resource privatization), Scenes from a Dry City shows how the water crisis is affecting different communities and dredging up the racial inequalities of South Africa’s past.

Written by David Scott Diffrient