Director: Joshy Joseph

The film is a study on the relationship between the tribals and the bamboo as a relationship from birth to death. The flowering of the bamboo which occurs once in 40-120 year life span depending on the species, is a time of devastation. The rodent population multiplies uncontrollably (the bamboo seeds are presumably aphrodisiac) devouring all crops and leaving the farmer bereft of a livelihood. In Manipur and Mizoram the flowering bamboo has environmental, economic and political dimensions.

Enquiries:
Films Division
24 -Dr. Deshmukh Marg,
Mumbai 400 026,
India
Tel: 9122- 3861461-65
Fax: 9122-3800308
Email: filmsd@bom4.vsnl.net.in, joshy_j44@hotmail.com

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Director P. Balan

The chained and caprisoned elephant is ubiquitous symbol of all public festivities, religious and secular, and the tourism industry of the state of Kerala. Mot people do not know the extent of the agony and the brutality the elephant is subjected to keep this glamorous facade. The terrible torture in the name of taming, training etc. is accepted by most as 'normal'. The spectacle of the heavily chained captive elephant led by mahouts armed with sticks and goads has become o familiar a sight that the elephant's sorry plight has become naturalized in the average Malayalee's psyche. Stories and myths abound especially about temple elephants portraying them a actually enjoying their situation, taking pride in their status as 'divine servants'. These have only further blocked the possibility of seeing the elephant as a living being in its own right, with its own unique place and function in Nature's scheme of things. Despite his high intellectual capacity, man refuses to comprehend any language other than his own-call it insensitivity o willful ignorance. The format of 'monologue ' was chosen by the director, making the elephant talk in man's tongue. Man has driven many creatures to extinction- some of these extinct species are cast as sponsor of the film.

Enquiries:
Anmpu Media Trust and Sivani Creations Edathodam,
South Eroor, Post Tripunithura,
Ernakulam, Kerala
Tel: 0484-784510/01
Email: adityabala@satyam.net.in

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Director: Mike Pandey

Unchanged for 350 million years, the Indian Horseshoe Crab is one of the oldest living creatures on earth. Today this species is invaluable to medical research. Indian research on the Horse shoe crab and possible commercial exploitation is guided by a group of Indian scientists, committed to the conservation of crabs. This team of scientists working out of a tiny field laboratory in a small town on India's east coast has also successfully bred Horseshoe crabs in artificial laboratory conditions.

Enquiries:
Riverbank Studios,
C-18, Chirag Enclave,
New Delhi 110048,
India Tel: 9111-6410684/6216508
Fax: 911-6216508
Email: rvrbanks@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in, wildlife@vsnl.com

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Director: Mike Pandey

As a 10-year-old boy, filmmaker Mike Pandey sailed from Africa to India by ship. Throughout the journey he was mesmerized by huge creatures that swam alongside his ship. Nearly 40 years after the crossing, the memory of these creatures in the Arabian Sea urged him to look for them again. He traveled all along the Gujarat coast with his crew in search of the whale shark. After a year, they finally found them. But this time the story was tragically different. The whale shark of his memory no longer basked free in the ocean-they were being hunted.

Enquiries:
Riverbank Studios,
C-18, Chirag Enclave,
New Delhi 110048,
India Tel: 9111-6410684/6216508
Fax: 911-6216508
Email: rvrbanks@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in, wildlife@vsnl.com

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Director: Sanjay Barnela and Vasant Saberwal

In 1999, villagers in the Kulu Valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh lost their ancestral rights to graze animals and collect medicinal plants in the area. This great blow to their livelihood occurred because of the creation of the Great Himalaya National Park which carved out a vast area for wildlife conservation. However, after excluding villagers from the Park a part of this protected area was released for the construction of a hydroelectric power project. Turf wars explore the conflicts around conservation and development from the perspective of local villagers, Forest Department officials, biologist and engineers.

Enquiries:
Moving Images,
D III/3425, Vasant Kunj,
New Delhi-110070
Tel: 6893384
Fax: 6124317
Email: moving@vsnl.com

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Director: Naresh Bedi

It took three years to produce Echoes from the Jungles, a pioneering thirteen part serial about India's endangered wildlife. In this time, Naresh and Rajesh Bedi traveled extensively through the length and breadth of India from high icy mountains to steaming mangrove swamps, from scorching boundless deserts to to misty evergreen forests. This monumental effort gave utterance to the beauty and mystery of India's wildlife and her wildernesses. Each episode of 'Echoes from the Jungles' excels the last in its striking portrayal of the difficulties and uncertainties faced in the shooting of some of the most endangered wild animals of the sub-continent.

Enquiries:
Bedi Films/ Bedi Films Visuals
E 19 Rajouri Garden,
New Delhi 110027,
India.
Tel: 011 5441864, 011 5439939
Fax: 011-543 0850
Email: bedifilms@vsnl.com

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