Watershed Maps as Maps of the Future in The Impossible Future Series

"That's why these watershed maps are the maps of the future. They show us the natural limits with which to design our future civilizations."

That line comes from the fourth episode of The Impossible Future, an independent animated documentary series created collectively by filmmakers, animators, artists, researchers, and activists from Latin America. Our river basin maps feature in the episode, titled Local Power, in a segment about bioregions and the logic of organising human communities around natural boundaries rather than arbitrary political ones.

The series asks a simple, but thought-provoking question: what if many of the solutions already exist? Each episode explores real-world alternatives (regenerative economies, local food systems, participatory democracy, and so on) in communities already experimenting with different ways of living. It's a project that believes the transition has already started, quietly, locally, and collectively.

The episode makes a point we ourselves like to emphasise: most maps show straight, arbitrary lines, and borders that divide a river between two provinces, even though contamination on one side inevitably reaches the other. Watersheds don't respect political boundaries, and neither do the problems we face. Organising at a bioregional level would boost local economies, encourage cooperation, and help communities take responsibility for the places they live in.

We were glad to support the project by waiving the licence fee, as we usually do with not-for-profit environmental organizations. The series is currently available in the Americas, with a crowdfunding campaign underway to make it freely accessible worldwide, including dubbing, educational programmes, and community screenings.

If this message resonates with you, you can support them at theimpossiblefuture.org. The first USD 17,000 donated will be matched, meaning your contribution is now worth double.

You can find the whole series on Youtube, currently available in Latin America and the USA: https://www.youtube.com/@ElFuturoImposible

Clip from The Impossible Future Episode 4 is edited and used with permission.