Time and Water is the opening film of MIFF 2026

Opening the festival, Academy-Award nominated director Sara Dosa's Time and Water makes its India debut, while Secrets of Wild India: Desert Lions pays tribute to one of the world's greatest storytellers

Continuing its legacy of bringing powerful, thought-provoking stories to audiences around the world, National Geographic will present two landmark screenings at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2026. Together, they celebrate the enduring power of documentary storytelling, from bold contemporary voices shaping today's conversations with a legendary natural history storyteller whose work has inspired generations.

Leading the showcase is the India premiere of Time and Water, the new documentary from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sara Dosa. Selected as the opening documentary film of MIFF 2026, the film marks a major milestone for Indian audiences, offering an early opportunity to experience Dosa's acclaimed work on the big screen. Through a rich blend of science, history, mythology and personal narrative, Time and Water reflects on the climate crisis and humanity's place within a world shaped by both ecological and geological time.

With a legacy spanning more than three decades, MIFF is among Asia's oldest and most respected documentary film festivals, championing exceptional non-fiction storytelling and meaningful dialogue around the issues shaping our world. Opening the 2026 edition of the festival positions Time and Water among a distinguished lineage of documentary works recognized for their craft, relevance and ability to inspire reflection and dialogue.

“Time And Water weaves a story of family and our natural landscapes as an effort to make sense of our profoundly changing world,” said Dosa. “We were inspired by how memory is carried across time, through family archives and cultural myths, in the land and the ice itself. Our film reveals how human life is inseparable from nature, bringing the distant future into intimate focus and inviting audiences to imagine, act, and feel a love for a world beyond their own lifetimes.”

National Geographic will also commemorate the centenary of Sir David Attenborough with a special screening of David Attenborough's 

Secrets of Wild India: Desert Lions. For more than seven decades, Attenborough has brought audiences closer to the natural world, pioneering a style of storytelling that has inspired curiosity, wonder and conservation action across generations.