ALT EFF: Where love for cinema and the environment collides
We hear about climate change daily, and many of us strive to make a difference. But how much do we really know about the challenges we face? One way of gaining insights is through the many films created around the environment and the planet Earth, and the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) 2024 does just that. A screening review.
You can attend screenings live/watch them online
The 2024 edition of the film festival is showcasing a range of films, workshops, and panel discussions focused on pressing environmental issues. With over 100 screenings planned across India, the festival started on November 22 and will go on till December 8. While attending live screenings is always better, those interested can also screen the films and documentaries online by registering on their site.
All screenings have different titles
What I liked the most about ALT EFF screenings is that the organizers have collaborated with niche literary hubs and other cultural settings to give birth to intimate gatherings. The entry is free and you get to watch different titles at different screenings. On Friday's screening at Alliance Française du Bengale, Park Street, Kolkata, viewers were treated with four titles.
'Crying Glacier': More alive the glacier seems, more it's dying
In Lutz Stautner and Philipp Becker's Crying Glacier, Ludwig Berger's unique project of using microphones to listen to the sounds of alpine glaciers gets captured. Berger laments: The more alive the glacier seems (in terms of the sounds its waters produce), the more it's dying. If climate action isn't taken soon, his project will outlive the glaciers.
'Krem Umladaw': Deepest shaft cave and biggest blind fish
After your conscience is shaken, organizers instill hope in you with Krem Umladaw: The Descent into Darkness. Famous wildlife/conservation photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee descents into India's deepest shaft cave Krem Umladaw in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills. Apart from the thrill of the expedition, Mukherjee and team's goal is to see and collect data on the world's largest cave-adapted blind fish, found on the cave floor.
Biont's films helped shape government policy around the caves
So many of us tour Meghalaya yearly, but how many respect its ecologically sensitive environment? Makers of Krem Umladaw were present at the screening and sat down for an interactive session with the attendees. They revealed that Biont (the filmmakers) and Roundglass Sustain's (the producers) films on Meghalaya's caves brought the dark maze of the underground cave system under the state's tourism policy.
'The Forest of the Honey Bees,' 'Last Days of Summer'
The third entry, The Forest of the Honey Bees, can be best described as abstract art in stop-motion animation film format. The 20-minute French short focuses on how honey bees existed years before humans arrived on Earth but may become endangered due to human activities. Lastly, the fourth entry, Last Days of Summer in Boti (Ladakhi) language highlights the vulnerable status of Ladakh's ecosystem.
Verdict: Watch, learn, act toward a greener future
Human beings have historically acted as the self-appointed guardians of the world, silencing/ignoring the voices of flora and fauna around them. However, soon enough, the weight of our actions will become bigger than anything we could ever carry. And, ALT EFF is a noble initiative that uses the power of film to help us realize just that.
