Films on nature, wildlife can empower people

The Assam Tribune , Thursday, February 12, 2009
Correspondent : Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Feb 11 – Apart from their aesthetic and creative value, films on nature and wildlife could prepare an audience to effect change. In recent times with costs of production on a slide, filmmakers are creating films on environment that have empowered people and even impacted on policy. In a biodiversity-rich zone such as Assam, filmmakers and media professionals could perform a similar task.

This was a common view expressed by three British authorities on film production while they interacted with the media today. In Guwahati to take part in the Wildscreen Festival organised by the British Council and wildscreen in collaboration with the conservation group Aaranyak, Dilesh Korya, Dominic Weston and Dr Joe Smith would also be sharing their expertise with local talents.

Weston, an acclaimed television producer and director based in Bristol said that the Wildscreen Festival has been seeking to promote conservation through wildlife imagery and have been engaged in imparting knowledge and skills to film professionals since the time of its inception. “We hope to expand the existing network so that the sharing of thoughts and ideas could take place among a bigger community,” he said.

Dr Smith was of the belief that filmmakers and media professionals could usher in positive change by spreading information about issues like global warming and climate change, phenomena that have impacted on a greater scale than experts had earlier anticipated.

A senior lecturer at the Open University, Dr Smith asserted that it was important for the media to initiate an “intelligent conversation” with all stakeholders to address the issue of climate change, which would impact on a diverse range of areas linked ultimately to human welfare.

In Assam and rest of the country, climate change could imperil water resources, forests, and the temperature regime creating a cascading effect on many more areas. It was crucial that the media, including film professionals, asked the right questions to the right authorities so that the level of awareness rose, leading to implementation of correct policy.

Speaking on the occasion, Dilesh Korya, an authority on film editing noted that the Wildscreen community would like to help anyone interested in making films on wildlife. He is among the key resource persons in workshops organised by Wildscreen.

The Wildscreen Festival will have a formal launch on February 12 at 10 am in Shilpagram, in which noted ornithologist Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury is scheduled to deliver the keynote address.

Tomorrow the films to be featured from 2 pm onward are Can we save the planet? And Life in cold blood. On February 13, the films to be screened are Earth: the power of the planet – atmosphere, The animals save the planet, and Global dimming.

 
SOURCE : Thursday, February 12, 2009
 


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