Media Exposure Rocked Mining Boat in Niyamgiri: Filmmaker 

Pics by Applied Art
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Nov 27 (IANS): International media exposure acts like oxygen and helps to optimise the effect of people's agitations against rampaging multinational corporations, according to a leading Indian documentary filmmaker.

Suma Josson's short film "Niyamgiri, You Are Still Alive" virtually plays out the plot of James Cameron's much appreciated animation film "Avataar" here on earth.

Set in the Niyamgiri Hills in the Kalahandi district of Orissa, the film is about the struggle of the Dongaria tribe whose existence is threatened by the coming of mining giant Vedanta Resources, which plans to set up a bauxite mine by carving up the ecologically sensitive area.

"While local struggles are important, I feel that it is important to get international groups to raise these issues with the international media. Organisations like Actionaid and Survival International played a big role in bringing Niyamgiri to the limelight," Suma told IANS.

"The MNCs come, blast the eco-sensitive areas, displace indigenous groups who have been living there for eons, and leave behind black deserts. I felt that I had to document this process, what was there before and what happens after. Fortunately, as of now, the project appears to be stalled," she also said.

Vedanta Resources has been criticised by human rights and activist groups for the firm's proposed operations in Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa, which threatened the lives and identity of the Dongria tribe. The Niyamgiri Hills are also claimed to be an important wildlife habitat in Eastern Ghats, according to a Wildlife Institute of India study.

In a recent decision, union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh rejected the Vedanta Resources proposal to mine the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa for bauxite, amidst cheer from green groups.

The US-educated Suma, who has already made both feature and documentaries, said she had been working on Niyamgiri since 2007 and made a couple of campaign films on this issue.

"I made 'Niyamgiri, You Are Still Alive'. It is a film which I made after the decision from the MOEF," she said.

Asked about her expectations from screening the film at the 41st International Film festival of India (IFFI) this year, she said: "Any issue such as this, needs to be seen by as many people as possible so that they are aware of a story with a positive outcome. The points raised by the MOEF could set a precedent and used both in the court of law and in other platforms."

Suma now hopes that the government does not renege on its bold decision.

"Well, I am hoping that the government keeps its word and Vedanta (Resources) is asked to leave Niyamgiri so that the adivasis and eco-systems around can co-exist in harmonious ways as has been happening since time immemorial," she said.

Commenting on whether documentaries such as Niyamgiri convey a positive signal to similar social groups seized in the grip of the gargantuan mining behemoth, Suma said: "From day one, the adivasis have been firm in their decision to protect Niyamgiri and give up their lives for it."

"Such struggles have been going on all across both in India and other places, but it is also important to note that the government recognised this -the illegal manner in which Vedanta operated and put a stop to it."

Noted Turkish-German film maker Fatih Akin seen along with Nina Gupta of the NFDC at the Film Bazaar on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

IMAGE 2: Noted Turkish-German film maker Fatih Akin seen interacting with the delegates during the knowledge series at the Film Bazaar on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Noted Turkish-German film maker Fatih Akin seen along with Indian film maker Anurag Kashyap and others releasing the movie booklet dluring the knowledge series at the Film Bazaar on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Eminent Mohiniattam dancer of yesteryears, Padmashree Dr. Kanak Rele seen during the Red Carpet welcome at the Old GMC complex on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Noted bollywood film maker Govind Nihalai seen expressing himself during the warm Red Carpet welcome on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Noted Katahk dancer Uma Sharma seen during the Red Carpet welcome at the Old GMC complex on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Writer Nilesh Mishra and young upcoming playback singer Shilpa Rao seen during the Red Carpet welcome at the Old GMC complex on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Noted film maker Goutam Ghose seen interacting with the media on his film 'Moner Manush' at the media center on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Security check at the Inox multiplex on the fifith day of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji on Friday.

Noted bollywood actor Gulshan Grover.

American filmmaker finds a way around 'Buddhism fatigue' 

Panaji, Nov 27 (IANS): Done-to-death stereotypes have given rise to 'Buddhism fatigue' in the United States, which is a tough challenge in movie making, according to California-based filmmaker Heather Kessinger who has made a film on Buddhist nuns.

"In the Shadow of Buddha", focusing on the nuns in Buddhism and shot in the highlands of Tibet, is being screened at the Short Film Centre (SFC) of the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here.

Kessinger told IANS that there was a general disinterest in films on Buddhism in the US, which accentuated the same old stereotype, i.e., "beautiful, soft, open - but not always interesting".

"This film deals with the subject of nuns in Buddhism - a subject never handled before. I want to see if I can break through to a broader US audience with this attempt," said Kessinger, who is a still photographer-turned-short-film maker.

"The time I started the project, there were no films - specifically in the West - with women in Buddhism. Westerners, often women, are very interested in Buddhism, but there was no place where one could understand a woman's perspective and role within the culture," she said.

The filmmaker added that nuns in Buddhism lived a life unconsciously weighed down by a melancholic irony.

"Many Tibetan Buddhists believe that one cannot attain enlightenment in the body of a woman; so why have these women dedicated their lives to this endeavour?" she asked.

"I hope what people will see is that even though the lives of the elder nuns have been difficult and not equitable to the lives of a monk, they embody completely the Buddhist principles of love and compassion," she said.

Heather, who won laurels at the San Jose Short Film Festival earlier for her film "Spoken", said she first stumbled upon the subject of women in Buddhism when she was doing the rounds of still photography exhibitions on Buddhism back home in the US.

"I noticed that at each exhibition there was never a photograph of a woman, yet most of the receptions for the shows were filled with women. I found this odd and, after more investigation, realised that the ideal of Buddhism is always represented by a man (monk)," she said.

Many in the US were not even aware that there were nuns within Buddhism, she added.

"This led me to want to make a film giving these women a voice - their own voice and not a Western interpretation of their experience," Kessinger explained.

Commenting on the influence of Buddhism on contemporary America, she said more than any other state, California was leaned the most towards the Buddhist way of life.

"Interest in Buddhism in the US does definitely appear to be on the rise. I think people have taken to it because it is not a threatening philosophy. Even His Holiness (the Dalai Lama) has mentioned many times that to begin to understand Buddhism you need not give up your current religion," she said.