''Sand Wars'' is a documentary by director

Denis Delestrac Denis Delestrac is a French director and producer who is best known for creating feature-length investigative documentaries. His films focus on the ecological, social, and political impacts of natural resources. His film Sand Wars received intern ...

and produced by Rappi Productions, La Compagnie des Taxi-Brousse, InfomAction, Arte France, with the support of The Santa Aguila Foundation. The film premiered at the Cinéma Publicis on the Champs-Elysées in 2013 and was first broadcast in May in France and Germany (

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

), where it became the highest rated documentary for 2013. A Gold Panda Award winner, ''Sand Wars'' is distributed worldwide by PBS International. Among many other outreach victories, the film inspired the United Nations Environment Programme (

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

) to publish a Global Environmental Alert in March 2014 titled "Sand, rarer than one thinks".

Synopsis

By the end of the 21st century, due to

beach theft Sand theft or unauthorised or illegal sand mining leads to a widely unknown global example of natural and non-renewable resource depletion problem comparable in extent to global water scarcity. Beach theft is illegal removal of large quantities ...

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

es will be a thing of the past. That is the alarming forecast of a growing number of scientists and environmental NGOs. Sand has become a vital commodity for our modern economies: we use it in our toothpaste, detergents, and cosmetics, and computers and mobile phones couldn't exist without it. Our houses, skyscrapers, bridges and airports are all basically made with sand: it has become the most widely consumed

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

on the planet after

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

. The worldwide construction boom fuelled by emerging economies and increasing urbanization has led to intensive sand extraction on land and in the oceans, with damaging environmental impacts. Sand Wars takes us around the world as it tracks the contractors, sand smugglers and unscrupulous property developers involved in this new gold rush, and meets the environmentalists and local populations struggling to reverse the threat to the future of this resource that we all take for granted.

Interviews

Sumaira Abdulali Sumaira Abdulali, born 22 May 1961 is an environmentalist from Mumbai, India, founder of the NGO Awaaz Foundation and convenor of the Movement against Intimidation, Threat and Revenge against Activists (MITRA). She was co-chairman of the Conser ...

George Borden George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

Eric Chaumillon The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse languag ...

Festivals and awards

Official selections : * Hawaii International Film Festival 2013 (USA) * Orlando Film Festival 2013 (USA Florida) * San Sebastian Surfilm Festival 2013 (Spain) * Eko Film Festival 2013, Octova (Czech Republic) * Kuala Lumpur Environmental Film Festival 2013 (Malaysia) * Melbourne Environmental Film Festival 2013 (Australia) * Green Film Festival 2013, Buenos Aires (Argentina) * Filmambiente Rio de Janeiro 2013 (Brazil) * Festival de Cine Verde de Barichara 2013 (Colombia) * Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival 2013 (Spain) * Escales La Rochelle 2013 (France) * Sichuan TV Festival 2013 (China) * Japan Prize NHK 2013, Tokyo (Japan) * Planet in Focus 2013, Toronto (Canada) * Festival du Film d’Environnement de Paris 2014 (France) * Festival du Film Vert 2014, Lausanne (Switzerland) * Washington DC Environmental Film Festival 2014 (USA) * São Paulo Ecofalante Environmental Film Festival 2014 (Brazil) * San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival 2014 (USA California ) * Cinema Planeta 2014, Cuernavaca (Mexico) * Festival du Grand Reportage d’Actualité 2014, Le Touquet (France) * Festival Internacional de Cine de la Naturaleza y el Hombre 2014, Tenerife (Spain) * Maremostra International Film Festival 2014, Palma de Majorque (Spain) * Banff World Media Festival 2014, Banff (Canada) * Monte Carlo 33rd International URTI (Monaco) * 40 Fathoms Film Festival 2014, Cap Town (South Africa) * International Film Festival Of Patmos 2014 (Greece) * Mokpo Ocean Film Festival 2014 (South Korea) * Dominican Environmental Film Festival 2014, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) * Wildscreen Festival 2014, Bristol (United Kingdom) * Ocean Film Festival 2014, Saint Petersburg (USA Florida) * Bahamas International Film Festival 2014, Nassau (Bahamas) * Brattleboro Film Festival 2014, Brattleboro, VT (USA) * Wild and Scenic Film Festival 2015, Nevada City, CA (USA) * San Francisco Intl Ocean Film Festival Special Screening, 2015 San Francisco, CA * Corvallis Environmental Center Eco-Film Fest 2015, Corvallis, OR (USA) * Green Me Film Festival 2015, Berlin Germany * California Film Institute Youth Environmental Forum, 2015, San Rafael CA (USA) * FIGRA Festival du Grand Reportage d’Actualité et du Documentaire de Société 2015, Le Touquet (France) * Cayman International Film Festival 2015, Cayman Island Awards : * EKO Film 2013 Best movie - Inspiration Category * Sishuan TV Festival 2013 Gold Panda for Best Nature & Environment Protection Award * Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival 2013 Golden Sun for Best documentary * Japan Prize NHK 2013 2nd Prize - Welfare Education Category * Festival du Film Vert 2014 Switzerland Greenpeace Prize * San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival 2014 Environment Award * Monte Carlo 33rd International URTI Grand Prix for Author's Documentary Official selection of the 10 finalist documentaries * Banff World Media Festival 2014 Rockie Award for Best Environmental and Wildlife Program * Prix Gémeaux 2014 Award for Best Documentary – Nature & Science Category * Blue Ocean Film Festival 2014 Nominated for Marine Science Category * Bristol Wildscreen Festival 2014 Nominated for Panda Awards - Environment & Conservation Category * Wild and Scenic Film Festival 2015 Winner: Environmental Award and Festival Honorable Mention * Green Me Film Festival 2015 Winner: Soil Film Award * FIGRA 2015 Winner: "Impact Prize" 2015 * Cayman International Film Festival Winner: Best Environmental Film 2015

References

External links

* Sand Wars on
Kanopy
' * *
Coastal Care website by The Santa Aguila Foundation
* {{YouTube, VOXikTyZxPA, "Let's talk about sand" TEDx Talk by Denis Delestrac
PBS International

Green Planet Films educational DVD and Digital distribution

Arte.tv
2013 films 2013 in the environment Documentary films about mining

Wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...