Four families’ pursuit of heaven unites them with an ancient city and its sacred river, the centuries-old wellspring of India’s faith.

Filmed in a hospice for the dying and on the ghats of Kashi, India’s religious heart, "GANGES" follows four families’ struggle to grant a loved one’s final wish: to go to heaven. In their common quest, the families join with the many Hindus drawn to Kashi’s holy promise of freedom from reincarnation. As the clans prepare for death, the citizens of Kashi manage life—praying for health, begging, bathing, selling to tourists, cremating family members-—all along the banks of the Ganges River, where death is a daily part of life.

"GANGES: River to Heaven" investigates the inextricable bond between a river and its people with unparalleled intimacy and depth. From the ghat workers gathering wood for the next cremation, to the chemists gathering water samples for contamination testing, each perspective sheds new light on India’s evolving society and its unchanging veneration of the Ganges. Documenting a sacred river, polluted from years of overuse, "GANGES" asks: can a natural force strong enough to sculpt the beliefs of a nation survive the adoration of generations to come?