Living Water centers on a philosophical dialogue between a young person and the personified Wilczka stream, which flows through Międzygórze—a Polish mountain village—and forms a striking 22-meter waterfall. Their conversation explores the loss and gradual disappearance of water within the context of the climate and ecological crisis. Structured like a Socratic dialogue, it remains ambiguous who truly plays the role of teacher or student. Julka is rational and relies on scientific methods, yet her perspective feels limited. Wilczka, though believing in magic, speaks from a timeless vantage point that surpasses human concerns, challenging our tendency to confine natural phenomena within rigid definitions and instead viewing identity as something fluid and multi-threaded.

The title refers to the folkloric concept of “living water”—a miraculous spring guarded by mythical beings, said to grant strength, immortality, and healing, capable of reviving the dead or lifting curses. When the video was filmed in July 2024, the Wilczka stream’s water level was alarmingly low, underscoring the long-standing hydrological drought that has affected Poland since 1981. Just a few months later, Międzygórze faced the opposite extreme: a flood wave overwhelmed the Wilczka dam. This was exacerbated by extensive logging in the Śnieżnik Massif, which reduced the area’s ability to retain water.

Living Water ultimately becomes a poetic meditation on ecological imbalance, time, and the elusive forces of renewal and decay—prompting us to reconsider how we define nature and our place within its fragile cycles.