Futurestates season 2 released its latest episode “That Which Once Was”. With the severity and frequency of environmental disasters striking all parts of the world, how does it affect communities. Every day it seemed there was news of a flood, earthquake, fire, or mudslide that is destroying the lives of a community. How doe these disasters specifically affect young children? How does a child cope with such trauma? How does a child move on emotionally? The short film “That Which Once Was” explores these questions.

Here’s a synopsis of the short:

In the year 2032, Vicente, an 8-year-old Caribbean boy, has been displaced by global warming and fends for himself as an environmental refugee in a hostile Northern metropolis. Orphaned and without connection to family or friends, Vicente now lives in a children’s shelter on the fringes of the city, and struggles with anxiety, rage, and disturbing memories of the tragedy he fled. On a hot summer day, Vicente sits outside the shelter and sees a mysterious man smashing large chunks of ice against the pavement. Thus begins an unexpected friendship between Vicente and Siku, the ice carver: two people from different worlds who have both experienced tremendous loss. Through their bond, Siku ultimately helps Vicente confront his past and understand the value of memory.

Also see other shorts from Futurestates Season 2 including Exposure with Leonardo Nam, Beholder, Remigration with Rick Yune, and Digital Antiquities by J.P. Chan.

That Which Once Was directed by Kimi Takesue

behind the scenes of That Which Once Was directed by Kimi Takesue

More about Kimi Takesue
Kimi Takesue is an award-winning filmmaker and the recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Filmmaking. In 2010 she was awarded her second artist fellowship from the New York Foundation in the Arts in the video category. Her recent feature-length documentary Where Are You Taking Me, shot in Uganda, was commissioned by the International Film Festival Rotterdam where it had its world premiere, and was also selected for the documentary competition at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival where it was a Critics’ Pick by LA Weekly. Takesue’s films have been televised in the U.S. and have screened at more than 200 film festivals and museums, including the Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, New Directors/ New Films, Locarno International, the Walker Art Center, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Her films have aired on PBS, the Independent Film Channel, and the Sundance Channel.

More about Natar Ungalaq

Unquestionably Canada’s best-known Inuit actor, Ungalaq has garnered numerous awards for his turns in Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner and Ce qu’il faut pour vivre. He is also a renowned sculptor with works in Canada’s National Gallery. Ungalaq resides in his native Igloolik, Nunavut, a small island community in the Artic Circle.