“A Brush with Death”, the 16-minute documentary on rampant poaching of the common mongoose, reveals the shocking illegal trade of animal fur. The film shows how nomadic communities hunt the animal with the help of trained hounds.

The documentary, along with 13 other award-winning works, will be screened at the Environment and Wildlife Travelling Film Festival at Tagore Theatre from 9 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. on Thursday. The festival is being organised by the Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi. The entry to the festival is free.

“Let art not wipe out the mongoose” is the theme of Sayed Fayaz’s documentary. The mongoose is a fairly widespread species and listed under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, but sadly hunted for its hair. Its hair is used to make drawing and paint brushes.

Gurmeet Sapal’s “Chasing Butterflies” is shot in the western Himalayas. The documentary throws light on the life cycle of the butterfly — from laying of eggs to emergence of larvae to modes of feeding and to chasing a mate.

Mike H. Pandey’s “Shores of Silence” showcases the massive slaughter of the whale shark. The film not only tries to create awareness and gather support to protect this marine species but also aims to find out sustainable alternatives for the fishing community.

Pandey is an internationally renowned wildlife filmmaker and conservationist. In 1994, he won the Wild Screen Panda Award, better known as Green Oscars, for his film “The Last Migration”. In 2000, “Shores of Silence” won the Green Oscars for the second time.

“Birds Through my Window” is a documentary on birds that live near human habitation. The film tries to explain the relationship between the man and the aves.

But in reality, bigger cities are no longer a favourite habitat of the birds, especially the house sparrow. Their chirping is fading away, may be due to the lack of nesting sites, use of pesticides and non-availability of food.

Most of the cities, including Chandigarh, are facing the problem of monkey menace. While Ajay and Vijay Bedi’s documentary, “The Policing Langur”, showcases how the menace can be checked by taking the help of the langur, Romulus Earl Whitaker’s “Spunky Monkey” is the story of two young bonnet macaques, who learn to adapt themselves to the city life.

Ramesh Menon’s “The Slow Poisoning of India” is a story on the massive use of pesticides. The film travels to Punjab, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra where indiscriminate use of pesticides has poisoned the land, water, air, and food. Nutan Manmohan’s “A Secondhand Life” brings to light the problems while handling e-waste.