Environment film festival in Delhi

NEW DELHI: An environment film festival will screen documentaries such as Ishani K Dutta's The Lost Forest and Mangroves by Mike Pandey at the India International Centre on Friday.

The two-day festival, which began on Thursday, aims to provide a discursive platform to highlight the ecological debates. The films this year are categorised into four categories of environmental concerns: wildlife, water, survival and conservation.

The festival also has a separate section on international documentaries from the US, France, Australia and Germany. Australian filmmaker David Fedele's E Waste Land was shown on Thursday.

"The festival has attracted an overwhelming audience as well as film makers from around the globe. Starting in 2004, its prominence has grown each year. Over 25 films is being screened this year, all of which are new and have been produced over the past couple of years," says Rambha Tripathy of Toxics Link, which is presenting the festival.

Contemporary issues such as man-animal conflicts, threats to lakes of Kashmir and Manipur, river contamination, impact of mining, struggles to preserve tropical forests, dams and the water crisis, farmer suicides, struggles for livelihood, vanishing biodiversity, forest conservation, wastes, dangers of pesticide and nuclear safety - are some of the subjects addressed by filmmakers.

The festival that also travels to other cities like Kolkata, Ahemdabad and Hubli will hold panel discussions of eminent academicians, activists and filmmakers on burning environmental issues.

"We work together for environmental justice and freedom from toxics. We aim for clean and sustainable alternatives for India and the rest of the world and hope to highlight the same issues through this festival" says Tripathy.