‘Living in Water’ selected for 2026 Aesthetica Film Festival
Living in Water, a 360 virtual reality documentary about rising sea levels in the Philippines, has been selected for the 2026 Aesthetica Film Festival in York, United Kingdom, which will take place from November 4 to 8, 2026. The documentary will be exhibited along with around 300 short films, games, podcasts, and immersive/VR works.
Aesthetica is one of the United Kingdom’s leading festivals and is a qualifying festival for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) in eligible short-film categories.
Living in Water, a 15-minute immersive experience, takes viewers to Isla Tibaguin, Bulacan, Philippines, where flooding is no longer a disaster brought by seasonal typhoons but an ongoing and near-daily occurrence brought by the tides. Residents are forced to conduct the routines of daily life, such as cooking, eating, and walking while submerged in water. The documentary highlights what communities are forced to endure to adapt to the climate emergency.
Living in Water was produced in partnership with the CMB Foundation-Equity Initiative, the Atlantic Institute, and Rappler. The British Council Connections Through Culture Grant also supported the project.
Unfolding climate-related disasters
The news of the film’s selection comes as the Philippines continues to experience severe flooding brought by tropical cyclones and an intensified southwest monsoon. Weeks of massive flooding in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces renewed calls for deeper scrutiny of the government’s flood-control infrastructure and climate risk mitigation policies.
When told that Living in Water had been selected for Aesthetica, Riri Sacdalan, one of the main characters in the documentary, told Rappler: “I hope that people who will see the film will understand how difficult life is with flooding that comes almost every day and keeps on getting worse every year. We are used to it but also sick of it. I often wonder if there will ever come a time when our feet can stay dry.”
In recent weeks, the residents of Isla Tibaguin have been contending with worsening flooding and strong monsoon winds. Fisherfolk, including Sacdalan, have not been able to go out to sea, exacerbating pressure on household incomes and food security.
“At the Atlantic Institute, we deeply believe in the potential of VR to communicate the world’s most urgent stories, creating a shortcut from understanding to action. Living in Water exemplifies this potential. We’re delighted to see the film screening at Aesthetica and excited about the impact it can have on audiences, bringing them closer to the realities of the climate emergency,” said Alice Wroe, head of emerging technologies at the Oxford-based Atlantic Institute.
The selection also comes amid destructive climate-related events across Asia. A glacier collapse triggered catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border. In Indonesia, wildfires linked to severe drought brought by a strengthening El Niño are burning through Sumatra and Borneo.
“Living in Water underscores the climate inequity that we are now seeing. Countries that contribute the least to the climate emergency, such as the Philippines, experience its disruption and violence the most. Filmed in 360-degree virtual reality, Living in Water immerses viewers in the daily lives of Riri, Angie, and their community, showing the environmental and human cost of the climate emergency that is unfolding in slow motion,” said Roger Glass, CMB Foundation president and Atlantic Institute board member.
The 2025 World Risk Index ranked the Philippines as the top country with “high exposure to weather-related extremes.” An average of about 20 tropical cyclones enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility each year, with about eight to nine directly crossing the country. Some areas of the Philippines are also experiencing sea level rise that is four to five times faster compared to the global average.
“The climate story is the most important story of our time, and embracing emerging technologies to bring stories like this closer to the audience, especially to those outside the everyday climate reality of Filipinos, has never been more urgent,” said Jee Geronimo, head of environmental reporting at Rappler.
Living in Water will make its large-scale premiere at the Rappler Social Good Summit on November 21, 2026. – Rappler.com
