A compelling documentary titled Water For Birds, which explores the societal impact and community intervention to rife sexual abuse and humanitarian issues in northern India, will make its Australian debut as part of the 2023 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.

Developed over five years by Good Grief Productions and co-directed by Henry Gosper and Cameron Trafford, the Hindi language exposé highlights the inspiring work of non-government organisation Guria and its alternative education centre in the red-light district of Varanasi.

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Airing at Cinema Nova on Saturday 22 July and Wednesday 2 August, the self-funded 52-minute film brings to light the community’s struggle with multi-generational prostitution, child prostitution and human trafficking, while offering an insight into Guria’s impactful peer learning program and its remarkable leaders, like founder Ajeet Singh.

Talking to the project and upcoming Australian launch, co-director of Water For Birds, Henry Gosper, said: “From the outset we knew Water For Birds was not going to be a get-in-get-out project. We approached the film without a script and instead were eager to listen, learn and question Ajeet and his team’s insights to form the narrative, who were equally as eager to share their experiences with us.”

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“This has helped us tell the story in the most authentic way possible, and through this process we think the teachings contained in Water For Birds are conveyed more organically from teacher to student, which was our goal, and then onto the viewer.”

“This is a ‘once-in-a-lifetime project’ that we are so thankful and proud to have been given the opportunity to work on, with the support of Ajeet and the broader Varanasi community. To think we are about to launch the film in Australia is another momentous milestone for everyone involved!”

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The Water For Birds story is told from the perspectives of the young people who attend Guria, focusing on the key aspects and positive effects of the organisation’s education model, rather than the perils of the local sex industry and its workers.

“Guria’s schooling philosophies were the aspects of the project we were most moved by, however it’s also the aspect that’s the least reported on, so this was another key driver for us. Ultimately, there is no agenda behind Water For Birds, except to create an engaging observational piece that will educate and support vulnerable young children in Varanasi.”

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Good Grief Productions partnered with local classical musician Vijay Jaiswal to score the film’s soundtrack.

Tickets are selling fast for both screenings of Water For Birds across July and August. To get a glimpse of the powerful storytelling in the documentary, the official trailer can be viewed on the Good Grief Productions website via this link.

For more information about the screening times and tickets, please visit the Cinema Nova website at: http://www.cinemanova.com.au/films/mdff-water-for-birds