On 31 August in Venice, the film Where the Water Ends, directed by Manuel Correa and architect Marina Otero Verzier, was screened as part of the Cinema Galleggiante — Acque Sconosciute 2026 programme. The film turns to Karakalpakstan and one of the last generations to remember life by the Aral Sea, exploring the memories and practices that people seek to preserve and pass on to future generations.
One of the film’s central themes is food as a form of memory. During filming, Bayramgul Aliaskarova shared her recipe for karma, a traditional dish of fish, dough and rich broth associated with memories of the Aral Sea. The film also features a performance by the Nukus Philharmonic and a reading by Karakalpak poet Sakhibjamal Syrgabayeva, in which music and poetry become forms of testimony and ways of preserving memory.
Where the Water Ends speaks not only of the disappearance of the sea, but also of what remains in its wake: recipes, songs, stories and rituals through which people maintain their connection to the land and its past.