BENGALURU: With the special theme of Nature’s Fury this year, the 11th edition of Bangalore International Film Festival is hosting screenings of some films related to climate change. There are films such as Char: The No Man’s Island, Coral Woman and The Jungle Man...Loiya. The festival will also showcase biopics like Bird of Dust by Sangeeta Datta, which is based on late filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh.
At a press conference, the filmmakers expressed their concern about global warming and the need to take an action immediately.
Speaking about her film, Priya Thuvassery said she realised the impact of climate change while working on a film based on a 53-year-old woman scuba diver. “I generally work on films related to women. I learned about artist Uma Mani who paints coral reefs. She was asked by someone if she has seen a coral reef for real and hence, she learned to swim and became a scuba diver at the age of 49. I also started reading about coral reef and travelled to Gulf of Mannar.
That’s when I realised how big the impact of pollution is on marine life,” she said. Another filmmaker Faraha Khatun emphasised that climate change is real and one should stop blaming each other and help themselves create a better living condition for the future generation. Her film, The Jungle Man...Loiya is about a Manipuri who turns a barren land into a green space. The film explores the journey of Loiya, of the forest and people who have come to associate themselves with this place that took six years to be built.
Director Sourav Sarangi tried to convey how borders between countries have led to an increase in conflicts through the story of a school-going 14-year-old boy who turns into a criminal. “Partition in 1947 was a mistake. Our culture, relationship with our fellow beings and identity have been affected because of it. When the partition happened, East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, was looking for water source. The river Ganges became a border for the country. The river moves like a pendulum. The people who live on the banks are aware of its behaviour. But when the river eroded their lands, they lost their identities.
Years later, an island was formed in the middle of the water, which was inaccessible to humans. But somehow, man reached the island. It got me wondering about their identity now,” he said. Such conflicts have changed what used to be a cross border trade to crime, he added. The documentary has been produced by India, Japan, Norway, Italy and England. He said he had to seek help from other countries due to lack of funding and is glad he was given creative freedom despite the involvement of so many producers.
Some screenings on
February 25
● Sara And Ayda
Director: Maziar Miri (Persian)
● Shoplifters
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japanese)
● Abyakto
Director: Arjunn Dutta (Bengali)
● Alone at My Wedding
Director: Marta Bergman (Romanian)
● Loveling
Director: Gustavo Pizzi (Portuguese)