Short Abstract:

Land and Water Revisited is a remake of the ethnographic film Land and Water (1962). This 58-minute documentary was filmed in Mexico's Teotihuacán Valley and re-frames many of the scenes in the original film to showcase environmental changes wrought by unchecked urban development and climate change.

Long Abstract:

Land and Water Revisited is a remake of the ethnographic film Land and Water (1962). The documentary was filmed in Mexico's Teotihuacán Valley and re-frames many of the scenes in the original film to showcase environmental changes wrought by unchecked urban development and climate change. The documentary would not have been possible without the extensive collaboration and participation of families featured in the original film.

In 1961, Penn State University archaeologist Bill Sanders traveled to the Teotihuacán Valley to film a documentary based on his 1957 Harvard dissertation, Tierra y Agua. His film captured an invaluable snapshot of land-use practices in the area just prior to the urban expansion of México City - one of the most explosive in human history. Cultural conservation was not the intention of the original film, but it is a sobering reminder of how quickly traditional landscapes and cultural adaptations vanish when sustainability is ignored.

In 2018, the original film was translated/narrated in Spanish. This was an important step because the people of the Valley had never seen the film. By setting up public viewings in communities throughout the Valley, the film crew was able to connect with many residents and interview them about the changes that have taken place over the last 60 years. They even met family members of the participants in the 1962 film. These were often emotionally powerful moments. Scholars were also interviewed to try and better understand the role humans have played in altering the environment, both past and present.