Mission: Find Aral is currently in post-production, and we are looking for a home to distribute the documentary. For enquiries, please Contact Us.

The genesis

We, Saxon and Nico, met back in Paris during the summer of 2019, and connected on various topics, including a shared dream of experimenting in the world of filmmaking.

It wasn’t until early 2020 when Saxon was introduced to the story of the Aral Sea and until summer 2020 when we first discussed this subject together.

After speaking about this story with our social circles we quickly realised that despite the Aral Sea being considered by former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as “one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters”, it is paradoxically almost entirely unknown to the general public.

We became enthralled by this story and started to stumble upon many questions, but not many answers.

Ultimately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we made the decision to quit our jobs and leave for Uzbekistan.

And, Mission: Find Aral was born.

The Aral Sea

Lying between the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea was an endorheic lake fed by two rivers, Amu Darya and Syr Darya.

From the world’s 4th largest lake to the youngest desert on the planet (the Aralkum), the Aral Sea almost entirely disappeared in 50 years.

Now, only 10% of its original surface area remains.

The focus of the documentary

It is a tale of two stories. In Kazakhstan waters, monumental development efforts has brought water and subsequently fishing back. In the waters of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan the situation and priorities are very different, where the UNDP slogan is “the sea is gone, but the people are not”.

Various factors have led to a disparity in the communication of these two, very different stories.

The focus of Mission: Find Aral is Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, where we explore the past, present, and future. We focus on the hope and optimism via the people who are devoted to creating a better tomorrow.

The personal stories and feelings of three locals, Anvarbek, Aziz and Yusup, are partnered with analysis from state authorities, NGOs, academicians, and innovators.