Wednesday, May 16, 2007

CONCERT FOR INDIA'S ENVIRONMENT SYNOPSIS

Directed by Chinmaya Dunster (India/New Zealand) 2007








This short documentary is 48 minutes long and blends footage from a series of multimedia concerts recorded live at the Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environmental Education and Awareness (BVIEER), Pune, India in 2004 with:

*Poems on nature, composed and read by Indian schoolchildren

*Interviews with environmentalists and educators

*Stunning footage of scenery, wildlife and peoples from all over India.

It aims to evoke feelings of reverence for the wonders of India’s nature, and respect for the peoples who have lived alongside them and preserved so much of them over countless generations.

11 minutes of extras are also available: an in-depth interview with the film’s presenter Dr Erach Bharucha (see below); and a short documentary on the work of BVIEER

Synopsis:

This film was made entirely budget-free, with everybody concerned giving their time and skills for nothing.

Over three years in the making, it is based on the love of director/film cameraman Chinmaya Dunster for India’s wilderness and the wilderness peoples who live in it. The film takes a positive approach to the many serious environmental problems affecting India today, with the message that we can individually make a difference if we learn to appreciate Nature’s beauty. Individual scenes focus on environment education in schools, the role of women, the India-wide tradition of ‘devrai’ or Sacred Groves and wildlife-people conflicts.

The film’s presenter is Dr Erach Bharucha, Director of BVIEER. Interviews with him establish the basic issues and transmit his vibrant enthusiasm about the possibilities of change. The music is provided by Chinmaya Dunster (ten CD releases on www.newearthrecords.com) and his Celtic Ragas Band, and footage of them playing a multimedia benefit concert at BVIEER in 2004 plays an important role in forming the varied moods of the film. Location footage from Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Goa, Ladakh, Madya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu provides an overview of the diversity of India’s ecosystems and peoples, while Indian schoolchildren, reading their own poems about nature, and talking about their feelings for it, give a heart-felt perspective on the future. The film’s aim is to inspire as well as inform.

The Director: Born in the UK, and now dividing his time between India and New Zealand, Chinmaya Dunster is an established recording artist whose music blurs the boundaries between cultures. After discovering the sarod in 1979, he embarked on a fifteen-year training in Indian classical music. Along with his backing ensemble, the Celtic Ragas Band, he has since found a unique way to merge Indian with Western music. This has drawn accolades from, amongst others, Sir Paul McCartney, who invited him to perform at his wedding in 2002. Chinmaya Dunster’s love for India has lead him to dedicate three years - as director, editor, cameraman and interviewer, as well as score composer - to making this, his first film.