Nowadays climate change is a subject that needs everybody’s attention as we begin to feel its effects with disturbing weather change patterns. Recognising this, Village Square chose to air short films on the topic at the inaugural Chitrashaala short film festival, which took place at New Delhi’s Alliance Francaise on August 3, 2024.
The ‘Climate Change and Cinema’ segment comprised Priya Thuvassery’s directorial Coral Woman, Jigar Nagda’s Aravali:The Lost Mountains, Upamanyu Bhattacharyya and Kalp Sanghvi’s Wade, Stenzin Tankong’s Last Days of Summer and Novita Singh and Amir Malik’s Jaisalmer’s Khadeens.
The screening of these engaging films was followed by a lively discussion which was moderated by film critic Shomini Sen, and its participants were filmmakers Jigar Nagda and Stenzin Tankong. The two directors spoke about their films, and climate change as being a subject that’s very close to their hearts.
Talking about his film Aravali:The Lost Mountains, and the mining activity that takes place, filmmaker Jigar Nagda said, “The Aravalis are the oldest mountain range of India. The range passes through my native district in Udaipur. Whenever I would visit my village, I would see the changes.”
During the Covid pandemic, Nagda said he got an opportunity to stay in his village for a longer period, and realised he could make a film about mining activity in the region, and its environmental fallout. “No one was talking against it, everybody was supporting it,” said Nagda, adding that his curiosity about the reasons behind such support got the better of him, and this prompted him to make the film.
Stenzin Tankong also spoke about The Last Days of Summer, and started by pointing out that the nomadic tribe depicted in his movie live at an altitude of about 16,000 feet above sea level in Ladakh. “There are many semi-nomads who live in Ladakh but there are also pure nomads who do not depend on farming,” he informed the audience. “It (the film) is personal to me because my parents are descendants of these nomads,” he added.
Watch: Rural themes resonate with celebs and cinema lovers at Chitrashaala
Later during the conversation when Shomini Sen asked the directors about the awareness that the locals in their respective movies had about the environment, the two filmmakers came up with their perspectives.
Nagda said, “This is true that people are aware, but the problem is that climate change and environmental changes are not immediate. The monetary aspect is immediate.”
“As a storyteller the best that I can do is bring the issue to the world,” noted Tankong. “In a remote corner of this great country, we have nomads, and this nomadic culture is vanishing,” he lamented. “Climate change is one of the reasons. The second reason is modern education. Education needs to change, not the people” he opined.
The filmmakers touched upon many other nuances on the topic of climate change and sustainability, including the role of the government in listening to the mandate of the people and the need for a genre of moviemaking recognising climate change as a category in India.
After the discussion, the floor was thrown open to the audience for questions, to which Nagda and Tankong had enlightening answers.
Chitrashaala was a part of the fourth edition of the India Rural Colloquy 2024, organised by Transform Rural India (TRI). This was a series of conversations and events held from August 1-8 across Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh aimed at inspiring a rural renaissance.
Also Read: Taking a deep dive into climate issues through cinema
Village Square’s Chitrashaala short film festival focused on stories from rural India.
Date: August 3, 2024
Venue: Alliance Francaise, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
The lead image on top shows a still from Last Days of Summer, a short film by Stenzin Tankong. (Photo courtesy Stenzin Tankong)
