Scientists estimate that one in four cities worldwide will be affected by water shortages by 2050. In the South African metropolis of Cape Town, water is already running out today. The disaster was foreseeable: periods of drought and rapid population growth were ignored for too long by political decision-makers. The authorities are now looking frantically for remedies as the water shortage is threatening livelihoods and giving rise to a new apartheid. There are fears of social unrest, epidemics and an economic breakdown in the region. How could this happen in spite of the warnings by scientists? And is it still possible to avert the worst?

Filmmakers Dorothe Dörholt and Antje Christ show the causes of the water crisis and its unexpected range of consequences, as well as government efforts to gain control of the situation. Cape Town: a lesson for the rest of the world. After all, scientists estimate that, by 2050, one in four cities worldwide will be affected by water shortages.

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DVD with PPR: $349

ORIGINAL TITLE: Day Zero — Stadt ohne Wasser
YEAR: 
GENRE: TV – Documentary
DURATION: 52 min
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English, German
COUNTRY: Germany
DIRECTOR: Dorothe Dörholt & Antje Christ
WRITER: Dorothe Dörholt & Antje Christ
PRODUCTION: A Bildersturm Filmproduktion production commissioned by ZDF in collaboration with ARTE