Vatavaran Screened a Host of Impressive Environment Films

Sunday HT, Sunday, 27 November 2005

First the news. Vatavaran - the environment film festival that concluded in the Capital on Thursday, saw some leading names in the sountry come forward and view some of the best that Indian film-makers have to offer on environment Prominent wildlife cinematographer Naresh Bedi bagged the prestigious 'Vatavaran Prithvi Ratna Award' for lifetime achievement in environmental film making. Indian Leopards-The Killing Field by Praveen Singh was adjudged the best film while A Second Hand Life by Nutan Manmohan got the Delhi Chief Minister's award for the best documentary.

Now for some serious brain whacking. Who would watch these films? Noted British environment filmmaker Doug Allan posed the question. Visibly impressed with the films he feared that the works had little chance of finding the space they deserve on the country’s TV channels. The Blue Pnanet fame cinematographer said it was a tragedy that filmmakers do not have enough avenues to show their work.

“I know many of these films will not be telecast or screened in their country, which is unfortunate,” Allen told UNI. He appealed to Doordarshan to consider a special slot for environment and wildlife films as part of its effort to create environment awareness.

Questions like these seldom have good pointed answers. Nevertheless people like Leena Rani Narzary still go ahead and learn filmmaking. The student at MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia, won the best film award in the student film category for Fistful of Steel a film that she made with her classmates Nidhi Bal Singh and Sabir Haque. The 29 minute film takes a look at the ecological havoc caused by the construction of the Akshardham Temple on the banks of the river Yamuna. “No one clearly knows that the temple is causing havoc with the ecology there. The film was make in 2004 and a year later the three of us are planning to update the film as a lot has happened in the last one year including the opening of the gigantic temple,” she says.

However till questions posed by the likes of Doug are answered, driving force for the lonely man with a camera in a dard devastated jungle with dying life forms.