Vatavaran Travels 2004

January 8, 2005
Theme - Floral and Faunal Diversity of India Timings - 11.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.
Film's Title	Produced by	Language	Duration	Summary
Troubled waters	Reef Watch Marine Conservation	English	16 min	The film tells the story of the coral reefs of the Lakshadweep islands. It explains how this vital ecosystem came into being and traces the growth and diversity of the reef and the factors that contribute to its health and well-being. The film also shows how close this ancient ecosystem came to being totally destroyed in 1998 and the reasons for this devastation. The film ends with the current state of the reef, how it is regenerating, its importance to the world and the paramount need to protect it. The main thrust of the film is to show how all of nature is inter-connected and inter-dependent. The film enjoins all people to live in a manner that will help to conserve and safeguard the world’s natural resources for the future of mankind.
Magic of Life	Gautam Pandey, Riverbank Studio	English	6 min	Compassion and love are the main themes of the film. The marvelous and magical world of creation and the intricate threads that bind all living beings are the few things it touches upon, with the intention to teach, a simple lesson in life. This film is meant for the younger generation.
Spunky Monkey	Romulus Earl Whitaker, Draco Films	English	38 min 30 sec.	This is the story of two young bonnet macaques learning to cope with new situations. This film documents the behaviour and adaptability of one of India’s most charming primates-the bonnet macaque. From and educational and conservation standpoint, this film will enable people to see how some wild animals can and do adapt to changing environments, even an urban situation!
A Brush with Death	Wildlife Trust of India & Syed Fayaz	English	16 min	The common mongoose is a fairly widespread species & placed fairly low in the hierarchy of protected animals in India and is listed under schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act. The mongoose has always been considered a friend of the farmer. Though occasionally known to prey on poultry, it offsets such damage by hunting the farmer’s enemies — rats, mice, and snakes. This film documents illegal procurement & sale of mongoose hair on which paint brush-making industry is thriving. As a result of which the mongoose is brutally killed & is on the brink of being declared extinct.
Nagarhole - Tales from an Indian Jungle	Shekar Dattatri, Eco Media (P) Ltd.	English	52 min	‘Nagarahole – Tales from an Indian Jungle’ is a conservation-oriented natural history film that graphically captures the changing seasons of the forest, and the hidden dramas that go on within it.

Theme - Floral and Faunal Diversity of India Timings – 2.00 - 3.30 p.m.
Film's Title	Produced by	Language	Duration	Summary
The Ridley's Last Stand	Shekar Dattatri	English	45 min	The Ridley's Last Stand is a poignant look at the lives and times of the olive ridley and provides new insights into the natural history and conservation of these mysterious creatures. It also presents a strong case that, in saving the ridley, we can save the livelihood of tens of thousands of artisanal fishermen and their families. The conservation of the ridley will directly lead to the conservation of all marine resources.
The Many Faces of Madness	Amar Kanwar	English	19 min	The film with its images of contemporary ecological destruction in India brings people face to face with the intensity and impact of globalization and industrialization, of commerce and greed, as it travels through images from different parts of Indian, revealing glimpses of traditional water harvesting systems, mining ,chemical pollution, community for protection, displacement, deforestation, biopiracy and ecosystems.
Kalpavriksha - Legacy of Forests	Mike H. Pandey, Riverbank Studios	English	26 mins 55 secs	This film traces the evolution and discovery of medicinal plants and tribal wisdom in India to show how historically and culturally they have been an integral part of India. About 80% of the developing world still relies on age-old medicinal practices based on the curative properties of plants found in the area. Today, the modern world is moving towards these traditional practices creating a phenomenal demand for medicinal plants. Strangely, the bulk of the plants traded are gathered from ‘wild’ forest sources - very few species are cultivated.
Theme - "Toxicity" and "Water for Life" Timings – 3.30 – 7.00 p.m.
Film's Title	Produced by	Language	Duration	Summary
Rainwater Harvesting	Saumya Sen & Nandita Das, Centre for Science & Environment	English/ Hindi	90 sec	This public service advertisement is to promote rainwater harvesting as the lesson from the past, which provides us the solution for the future. The spot revolves around the concept of catching rain in a neighbourhood, creating a cascading effect. People begin to collect water in a variety of objects and in fact, in anything they can lay their hands on. Using a medley of emotions – wonder, comic and even the absurd – the idea that rainwater harvesting is a community effort and it is about building a sharing and caring society is subtly woven in.
Hunting Down Water	Sanjay Barnela & Vasant Saberwal, Moving Images	English	32 min	There is a social dimension to this environmental crisis. Inevitably, rural India, and within rural India the very poor, have had to face the brunt of the water shortage. Water is pumped or diverted from the rural countryside to meet the unending needs of India’s urban population-for drinking purposes, but also, to wash cars, to fill swimming pools, to ensure adequate water in water amusement parks or simply to flush. More and more of the rural poor are now forced to migrate-in search of work, but also, simply in search of water. Hunting down water looks at the conflicting uses of water in our everyday lives – both rural and urban.
Chaliyar The Final Struggle	P. Baburaj & C. Saratchandran	English	35 min	In 1958: the Government of Kerala persuades the Birlas to open a factory in Mavoor, North Kerala. The Grasim rayon pulp factory is open for the last 36 years. Thousands of workers earn their living trading future lives for the present. The fumes wing their way to the neighbourhood spreading disease and death. Effluents gurgle into the Chaliyar River poisoning everything on its way to the sea. At a time when environmentalism was unheard of, a man leads his people to save their river and their lives from the killer factory. Their dream is to see their river come back to life, and fishes leap in the sun. A river, her people and a factorythat gobbles all our precious natural resources and pollutes our land lives, from the principal character of this video film.
Whose Water	Krishnendu Bose, Earthcare Films	English	26 min	This film explores the notion of state ownership of natural resources. In India the state owns all natural resources unless otherwise decreed. This is a story about Rajasthan where 1000 villages have been revolutionized by bringing backwater into their life. Tarun Bharat Sangh, a motley group of people, headed by Rajender Singh acted as a catalyst and inspiration for the communities and galvanized them to revive their traditional water harvesting system. Dry rivers were revived and communities’ general economic well being swelled. It sounds like a fairy tail and the results are almost like one!
Words on Water	Sanjay Kak, Octave Pvt. Ltd.	English	85 min	A boat carrying the cargo of defiance begins an urgent journey through the Narmada valley. For more than 15 years, people of the valley have resisted a series of massive dams on their river, and in their struggle have exposed the deceptive heart of India’s development politics. ‘Words on Water’ is about the sustained non-violent resistance, that almost joyous defiance, which empowers the people as they struggle for their rights, yet saves them from the ultimate humiliation of violence.

January 8, 2005