Short Summary
The idea is to produce a multimedia series including short-form web episodes, photographs and 360 videos exploring the animal-human interactions in different parts of India. The film will be at the intersection of art and documentary and will be poetic in nature. It’ll focus on the what, the why and the how. Personal narratives and the struggles of the stakeholders involved will be key to our story.
Episode 01 - The first episode will focus on the recent episode of Avni the tigress and the circumstances leading up to her death. The episode will take us back to a similar incident from 2015 and how it inspired a group of people to come together to undertake the largest citizen science initiative ever seen in India. Exploration of the rise of urban activism and how social media can be an effective tool in wildlife conservation.
Episode 02 - The second episode will take us to a village at the outskirts of Udaipur, Rajasthan. In the undulating terrain between the villages of Bera and Jawai, there seems to be an unwritten dictum between the villagers and the leopards: ‘You live your life, we live ours’. Leopards are worshiped as Demigods and attacks on humans are unheard of here. The idea is to explore this unique symbiotic relationship.
Episode 03 - We'll tag along with the forest rangers and take a closer look at their daily lives and how they try to mitigate conflict almost on a daily basis.
Episode 04 - The final episode will focus on the tribal communities living in the vicinity of such conflicted areas. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has at least seven initiatives to improve the livelihood of tribals. But a closer look shows that budgetary allocation for most of these schemes is being reduced every year.
Follow @ronojoysinha on Instagram more regular updates !
The Team
Ronojoy Sinha - Producer, Director
Ronojoy is a Video Producer, Photographer and Filmmaker based in Syracuse, New York. A graduate candidate at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, he loves working with people and creating content which can help an individual, a community, or an organization tell their story. He Produced a short documentary about immigrant women in Syracuse,NY in collaboration with mentors from The Washington Post and The Detroit Free Press. You can view it here - [https://www.ronojoysinha.com/social-impact/] More recently, he has produced branded video content for Viasat Inc.
Rajat Diwan - Sound Design, Original Score
Credited as an audio engineer, lm editor, documentary director and creative producer in various award-winning indie projects, Rajat Diwan is a young indie filmaker from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India . He specializes in audio engineering, location recording and audio post production of films and documentaries. An alumni of KM Music conservatory, Chennai and Ramanujan college, University of Delhi, he has collaborated with leading institutions like FTII Pune, ISKCON tribal care initiative among others. Actively working as a technical and creative troubleshooter since last 6 years, his experience in indie films, remote location documentaries, TEDx and promotion videos make him an asset in any production.
Your contribution will help us take the project to the next level in terms of production and post-production. Funds will be used for logistics, travel, equipment rentals and safari costs.
What We Need & What You Get
Timeline
Development and research: August-December 2018
Filming: Various points throughout January 2018 - March 2018
Post-production: April 2017 – July 2018
Anticipated completion date: 1st September
We need $4,000 to bring this project to fruition. The funds will be spent on logistics, production, equipment rentals and post-production.
1.)Logistics
Travel - $300
Accommodation - $ 600 ( two people for one month)
Jungle Safaris in Central India - $1700( 20 safaris with each safari costing $85)
2.)Equipment/Gear costs - $1000 ( Drone rentals, Camera Rentals, sliders, filters, hard drives, Audio kits, Tripods)
3.)Post Production - $400 ( Motion Graphics, Music Licensing) ~Tentative
PERKS
Thank you for supporting this project! You'll get a thank you in the film's ending credits and digital download of the film's poster along with regular updates!
Thanks so much for your generous donation! You'll get a digital download of the film as soon as it is ready plus a thank you in the film's ending credits. You will also receive regular film updates + You will be notified about the special screenings that we will host for the backers.
Thank you SO MUCH for this kind donation!! You will receive a handwritten thank you note from the makers plus all the above.
Wow! What a kind donation! You're really helping us get this project made! Thank you :) You'll receive a 4x6 print from the project plus all the above.
Thank you for this extremely generous donation!!! You are awesome!! You'll get a signed 8x10 poster from the project of your choice plus all the above.
Wow! What an unbelievably generous donation! Thank you very very very much! :) You'll get an Associate Producer credit! Plus a signed 8x10 poster plus all the above.
You're the best ! Not kidding!! For this amazing gesture, you will have the chance to get a 3 Nights 4 day trip for two to a wildlife reserve in central India anytime within the next one year with accommodation and local travel included (Travel from your home destination not included). You will have the option to choose from Pench Tiger reserve, Kanha Tiger reserve or Tadoba Tiger reserve. You'll also be credited as an Associate Producer plus all the above.
The Impact
Developing regions of the world such as South and Southeast Asia are particularly vulnerable to this problem. In case of India, there has been a consistent increase in Human-Wildlife Conflict over the last few decades and continues to rise. Human-Wildlife Conflicts/Interactions affect people’s livelihoods, interactions, and tolerance towards wildlife and wildlife reserves.
Carnivore attacks on humans have increased sharply within the last two decades around the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the central state of Maharashtra, India. The conflicts tend to be more frequent near forest edges at the junction of human and carnivore activity and in areas with high human density. Lethal or serious attacks on people often lead to retaliatory or defensive killings, which may result in additional injuries to people and/or carnivores.
Between 2010 and 2015, the annual figures for man-animal conflict incidents in India ranged between 66,940 and 108,853.
The Avni incident has brought this issue to the limelight with citizens raising their voices actively on social media and other platforms. There is no better time than this to produce a project like this and educate people, especially children about the consequences of such conflicts. Your contribution can help us share the stories of individuals who have devoted their lives for conservation and educate our children and future generations to be environmentally and socially responsible.
Also, we want to produce this project in new media format such as 360 videos so as to reach a broader audience and further push the limits of immersive storytelling. Currently, very few 360 projects are coming out of South Asia and India on an international scale and with this endeavour we would like to change that.
Risks & Challenges
You can contribute by sharing the campaign on social media platforms and telling your friends. You can also contribute by writing about the film or blogging about it. Some very new and innovative narrative tools are being used in this film. You may contact the producers at:
ronsinhaphotos@gmail.com
Other Ways You Can Help
It's absolutely okay if you are not able to donate at this point of time but it would help our cause infinitely if you could share the word and share the campaign with your friends and family.