New documentary examines global water crisis

Day Zero -- a Tencent-presented documentary examining the water crises in Brazil, South Africa, the United States and China -- has been streamed online since April 22, reaching a wide viewership in over 10 countries across four continents.

An in-person screening organized by Tencent and the Ministry of Natural Resources was held in the China Surveying and Mapping Building in western Beijing on Thursday, gathering some major creators and water experts to discuss the global water crisis and climate change.

Directed by the award-winning British filmmaker Kevin Sim, the documentary is jointly produced by indie studios Keo Films from the United Kingdom and OoS Pictures from Iceland.

With a three-year shooting period, the documentary recounts the devastating water shortages caused by humankind's activities in different countries, including the widespread illegal logging of Amazon's rainforest in Brazil, Cape Town's unprecedented drought, and the overexploitation of groundwater for agricultural usage in central and western US. The severe water shortage faced in Beijing and western China's rural regions are also examined in the documentary.

David Wallerstein, Tencent's chief exploration officer who initiated the documentary project, expressed his hopes the documentary would raise public awareness about how human behaviors such as diet patterns are having an impact on the global water crisis.