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Quotes from the Earth: Making environment everybody's concern
New Delhi, 01/11/2006
By Toxics Link
As the term environment and its derivatives -- ecology, conservation, wildlife
etc -- increasingly figure in everyday communication, the meanings/interpretations
associated with it have become numerous and the range of its impact expands
rapidly.
It is in these multiple opinions/voices that both the community
and the individual have to take their own pick on 'What is environment’.
From November 3rd to 5th 2006, Quotes from the
Earth, a film festival on environment organised by Toxics Link
to be held at India International Centre, will try and bring some of these voices
on a common platform in form of some of the best and never seen before documentaries.
(Chief Minister of Delhi Shiela Dikshit will inaugurate the film festival at
10.00.a.m. on 3rd November)
From the rare cloud forests of Latin America to the impact
of global warming on the world's largest mangrove forests of Sunderbans in the
Bay of Bengal, from organic farming in Thailand to the impact of genetically
modified cotton in Andhra Pradesh - 23 documentaries have been woven together
under the themes of 'Earth, Survival and Water'.
Environmental issues that are challenging us as a collective,
threatening the very habitability of the planet, inspire the segment on Earth.
Global warming, threatened ecological systems, which ultimately link-up to a
larger system, and the man-nature conflict are some of the topics that are featured
in this segment.
This segment opens with Point Calimere: A little kingdom
by the Coast by noted conservationist film maker Shekar Dattatri,
which deals with this Ramasar site, a designation given to wetlands of international
significance and Green Agony by Geeta Singh that was India's
official entry for Red Panda Awards for this year.
The Survival segment captures struggles
of communities and individuals for environmental equity. Hazardous waste, genetic
modification gone out of control and conflict between livelihood and environment
are some of the themes covered in this segment.
Green Gold by Heidi Bachram, which details
the story of a South African woman with a hazardous dump site on her doorstep,
and Between the Devil and the Deep Sea by Saraswati Kavula
will be screened, among others, in this segment.
The final segment on Water deals
with the vital life-giving resource that is becoming ever so scarce, causing
political strife in large parts of the world. Documentaries in this segment
deal with themes like big dams, communities based on water bodies and traditional
water harvesting systems.
Some of the films that are scheduled for screening in this
segment include The Lake of Despair by Snehasis Das, which
deals with slow poisoning and death of the famous Dal Lake and its impact on
houseboat owners. This section also holds the Delhi premiere of noted activist
filmmakers P. Baburaj and C.Saratchandran’s latest film
1000 Days and A Dream. The film documents the poignant moments in the
four and a half years of anti-coca cola struggle in Plachimada, Kerala.
While the documentaries will offer a visual understanding, a panel discussion
on the opening day of the three-day festival will bring together experts, filmmakers
and activists to flesh out new ideas. India's documentary film-making has come
of age, as is evident from an increasing number of screenings and festivals.
Young directors are making a mark globally. Yet, is the environmental filmmaking
talking only to the converted or is it turning into source of information for
a larger social group?
The festival is being organised by Toxics Link in association with the India
International Centre and supported by the Embassy of Switzerland and Swiss Agency
for Development Cooperation, India and, New Delhi. Content for the festival
was also contributed by Magic Lantern Foundation and Gothe Institut, New Delhi
and Ecomove International.
Toxics Link is an environmental group, which focuses on toxics and waste issues.
It is dedicated to the improvement of municipal, hazardous and medical waste
management, among others. Utilising community outreach and education, policy
analysis and initiatives, research, training and program development, it works
at the state and central levels to create solutions for waste management.
For any further details or interview of the directors
please contact Parvinder Singh at +91-9811703798 or Pragya Majumder +91-9811864256.
Log-on to http://www.toxicslink.org/filmfestival/2006/
for the latest.
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