Against the Tide

Synopsis

Against the Tide explores changes in coastal lifeways through the lives of Rakesh and Ganesh, two Koli fishermen in Mumbai. For both men, fishing is more than an occupation—it is the foundation of cultural and economic life, providing sustenance and sustaining their senses of self and community. Through the lens of their friendship, director Sarvnik Kaur traces how rising ocean temperatures, industrial fishing, and technological change are destabilizing traditional Koli practices and the social relations they uphold. As Rakesh and Ganesh choose different paths forward in response to these pressures, their conversations offer a nuanced reflection on the moral, economic, and ecological complexities of contemporary fishing. Through their exchanges, Against the Tide opens into broader inquiries around ocean equity and justice in times of climate crisis: Who has the right to pursue ambition? Whose labor absorbs the costs of climate breakdown? And what happens when fishing is no longer sustainable?

Director Bio

Sarvnik Kaur (she/her) is a documentary filmmaker whose work takes a skeptical stance towards the grand narratives of modernism and scientific certainties. Her first feature documentary, A Ballad of Maladies (2016), explores the tradition of political resistance in Kashmir through the work of those poets, musicians and artists who have turned their art into weapons of resistance during periods of heightened state repression and violence in the region. Sarvnik then spent three years with the Kolis of Bombay developing Against the Tide. She is a recipient of multiple grants from Sundance Film Fund, Catapult Film Fund, IDFA Bertha, San Francisco Film Fund, AlterCine Foundation, HotDocs Crosscurrents International. She has also been a fellow at Hot Docs Accelerator Lab, IDFA Academy, and the Chicken & Egg Eggcelerator Labs.

Distribution

Deckert Distribution
https://againstthetide.in/
Contact: https://againstthetide.in/contact-us 

 

At some point one has to ask the question, ‘On whose shoulders does this burden lie?’