The state of wildlife filmmaking in India

[Guest guest]

*http://www.tehelka.com/story_main26.asp?filename=hub012707Endangered.asp

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*Endangered: Wildlife Films *

 

*With Wildscreen arriving in India, Shekhar Dattatri lays out the pitfalls

of Indian environment filmmaking*

 

Wildscreen, arguably the world's most prestigious wildlife and environmental

film festival, is coming to India. Synonym-ous with excellence in wildlife

filmmaking, the mission of the 25-year-old festival is to use the power of

the moving image to promote the appreciation and conservation of our living

planet. Its Panda Awards are to wildlife filmmakers what the Oscars are to

the makers of feature films. In the past, most entries for the awards tended

to be of the straight natural history variety, highly expensive 'blue chip'

films that were the virtual monopoly of the UK and the US. More recently,

however, a host of new categories have been introduced, where content takes

precedence over production values. This has opened the field for filmmakers

from countries like India, places where there's enormous talent but where

resources are slim.

 

*Long Vigil:* A still from the Animal Planet documentary, Meerkat Manor,

on at the festivalThe success of a few Indian films at recent Wildscreens

has made Indian filmmakers more aware of this festival. In the early 90s,

there were usually just two or three Indian faces in the crowd. In 2004,

India had the fourth largest number of delegates of all the countries

represented.

 

This increase in numbers, however, belies the sorry state of wildlife

filmmaking in the country. Not only are there no incentives for it at all,

there are a vast number of obstacles that make its survival virtually

impossible.

 

Unlike it or biotechnology, which generate thousands of jobs, bring in huge

foreign investment and provide valuable services cheap to global markets,

Indian wildlife filmmaking will do none of the above, and is therefore of

little or no interest to the government. Indigenous television channels too

are unlikely to venture into this specialised segment, given the cost and

time involved in producing such programmes. But without local outlets that

pay for and broadcast fledgling productions, aspiring wildlife filmmakers

don't have a chance to hone their skills. Lacking experience, they will not

be able to compete with filmmakers from the West, who have a far greater

degree of access to knowledge, techniques, equipment and funding.

*Wildscreen is entirely welcome, but its impact on filmmaking here is

debatable*

 

The other great obstacle faced by Indian wildlife filmmakers is the

crippling cost of access to wildlife. All national parks and wildlife

sanctuaries in India are under the control of the respective state

governments, and special permits are required for filming in them. Apart

from the red tape that is enough to quell most ambitions, there is no

uniform policy or fee structure for filming. With the enlightened exception

of one or two states, Indian wildlife filmmakers do not enjoy preferential

rates for filming and have to pay the same exorbitant fees as foreign crews.

A good wildlife film can take over a year to shoot, but with fees being what

they are, Indian wildlife filmmakers cannot afford to spend the time needed

to gather footage.

 

Until a few years ago, a really determined Indian filmmaker could just about

scrape together enough money to buy a new or used 16mm or Digi-Beta camera

and a few lenses, and either independently produce a film or get

commissioned by a Western broadcaster. That era has now passed into history,

with the world firmly set on the path to Hi-Definition broadcasting. To

protect their considerable investments in these programmes, most Western

broadcasters now only accept films shot with incredibly expensive

Hi-Definition equipment, the kind most Indian filmmakers can only fantasise

about owning. Yet, without one's own camera and specialised accessories, it

is almost impossible to make wildlife films. Hiring equipment from

commercial rental houses is highly expensive and impractical, given the

uncertain durations of shooting schedules and the hostile field conditions

in which one has to operate.

 

In the past, a few of us managed to 'make it' in the highly competitive

world of international television through a combination of grit, native

ingenuity, talent and, often, secondhand equipment. Could I do it again if I

had to start from scratch? I seriously doubt I have the financial muscle it

would take.

 

While the Wildscreen Festival in India is extremely welcome, its potential

impact on wildlife filmmaking in the country is debatable, given the general

lack of interest in this genre. The most unfortunate thing is that even if

the festival manages to enthuse a whole lot of young people, nothing will

change until India relaxes its restrictive policies toward those producing

documentaries.

 

*Dattatri is an award-winning wildlife filmmaker. He served on the 2004

Wildscreen jury.*

*Jan 27 , 2007*