Sanctuary's Editorial Team reviewed six of the 72 official films featured at the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) 2024. The film festival has scaled up this year, with 110 screenings in 70+ locations including cities, towns and villages across India, in collaboration with 92 screening partners. You can find a screening near you at https://www.alteff.in/live-events.
You can also watch the festival online on a 'pay-as-you-feel' model – https://watch.eventive.org/alteff24. But attending in person would give you access to extensive non-film programming at the festival this year. This will include panel discussions, immersive workshops, and more. The extensive programme at ALT EFF this year underscores their mission to increase access to environmental and impact storytelling to drive awareness and change, both in-person and virtually.
The films are spread across categories such as Indian and International Features, Coexistence, Our Fellow Earthlings, Food Politics, Cost of Growth, Future-Proofing, Reflections in a Changing World, Fighting Back, Forced to Adapt, and Animated Films. The selection covers a range of issues from global to locals, and from giant trees to microorganisms. Here are a few films that caught our eye!
Directed by Arun Fulara, 20 minutes
She has seen it. He has seen it. The women have seen it, and so have the elderly men. Everyone in the village seems to have encountered SHERA, the elusive leopard, and everyone has their own tale to tell. Everyone, except Monu and his comrade Raju, two young find-outers. But Monu can’t afford to wait for the leopard to reveal itself – he must go looking for it. After all, his days in the village are numbered and he will soon migrate to the busy city of Mumbai. His friend Raju, Bijli the goat, the forests where he once frolicked, and the meadows he took naps in will soon fade into dreamy childhood tales. But before that, before Monu's world shifts forever, he must see the leopard – eye-to-eye. And Raju has a plan to make it happen, a parting gift for his dear friend. Set in an enchanting Himalayan village, this Indian short film encapsulates the thrill of a local legend with the heavy grief of an impending farewell. Yet, the film is a soothing pinch for those who find themselves reminiscing about a childhood spent elsewhere in nature's cradle and for those who dream of a childhood just like that. At its heart, the film is also a tale of people who have learned to share their neighbourhood with a wild cat.
Reviewed by Rithwik Sundar
Directed by Nicole Gormley and Debra Aroko, 76 minutes
The camera never leaves Simon Ali’s side. Only 13, he has already decided he wants to become a journalist. As the documentary film opens in the breathtaking landscape of Kenya, Simon is already deep in the middle of an investigation, a very personal, heartbreaking story. His father Stephen Ali Apetet was shot dead in the Likipia Nature Conservancy while on the job as a tour guide. This killing is more complex than poachers on the prowl. As drought ravages Kenya, the Likipia Nature Conservancy, a private piece of land with a deep colonial history, has become the focal point for a multitude of connected ecological, economic and social conflicts. The film follows Simon as he digs for scanty information. Like a true journalist, he also talks to pastoralists, who invade the conservancy with arms for grazing land, threatening rangers. The little cutaways of shots by Simon and his friends bring to life the very real and vulnerable people fighting for the wild. The gripping narrative about the search for justice and truth becomes a revelation of the tangled impacts of climate change on the environment and people. The quiet, personal story of a global crisis is a window into the devastating reality that is changing lives. For anyone who wants to see the intricacies hidden behind numbers, Searching for Amani is a must watch film.
Reviewed by Shatakshi Gawade
Directed by Rishi Chandna, 25 minutes
The Feast (Virundhu in Tamil) tells the story of Mary, a prawn picker, and her battle to save a dying lake – lifeblood for her and countless others who have depended on it for generations. Her ally in this fight is the remaining riches of the lake itself – its prawns, milkfish, and mud crabs, all of which form the feast she will serve as a powerful act of dissent, a reminder of what’s at stake. The meal is meant to persuade Thomas, a fellow villager turned politician, to halt the construction of a factory polluting the lake.
The film is inspired by a real-life event in October 2021, when the fisherwomen of Pulicat Lake hosted an elaborate feast for local politicians and bureaucrats to remind them of the invaluable biodiversity at risk from a massive port project that could devastate the lake. Filmed in a village along the very same lake, The Feast follows Mary as she visits the cleaner parts of the water, where she can still haggle for a good catch of milkfish, mud crabs, and more to prepare the dinner. Thomas, the sole guest at the feast, is moved to tears as the taste of the m ud crab soup transports him back to his childhood, evoking the memory of the same dish his grandmother once cooked for him. In that moment, as they both reminisce about their shared childhood by the lake, Mary delivers a powerful message: “You and I both know, the secret ingredient, after all, is the water itself.” This statement lingers long after the film ends, echoing like a warning that stays with you.
Reviewed by Rithwik Sundar
By Kartik Mahajan, 7 minutes
A burst of colours fills the screen as Phool Dei, a sweet animated film, opens in a flurry of flowers and gentle music. Woven around the festival of flowers that celebrates the culture and togetherness of Uttarakhand, the film follows little Medha as she collects flowers. The little child’s magical adventure leads her to the spirit of nature. The lovely presentation is a striking contrast to the harsh reality of migration that has created Uttarakhand’s ghost villages, where this story is set. Despite being 2D animation, the landscape and intrinsic relationship between people and nature comes alive and pops off the screen, and the Uttarakhandi music beautifully ties together all the various components. I’d watch this ode to life in Uttarakhand’s mountains several times over, even as it leaves me with a lump in my throat.
Reviewed by Shatakshi Gawade
Directed by Nuno Beato, 84 minutes
My Grandfather's Demons is a masterclass in storytelling. This animated feature follows Rosa, an independent, career-driven woman, consumed by the relentless pace of city life. Surrounded by the perks of success – a growing career, wealth, and status – Rosa seems to have it all. Yet, beneath the surface lies a life marked by sacrifices, simmering rage, emotional detachment, and an overwhelming sense of isolation.
Everything changes when Rosa receives the news of her grandfather's passing. This elderly man, who had raised young Rosalia in their remote village, is now gone. Over the years, Rosa distanced herself from the earthy landscape of Trás-os-Montes and, more from the man who had been her only family. Stricken with guilt and grief, Rosa returns to the village, planning to sell her grandfather’s old house and the surrounding land. However, what she finds there forces her to confront not only her past but her deepest inner demons.
The villagers greet her return with hostility, taunting her for her grandfather's actions – particularly a ‘curse’ he supposedly planted, which has caused the water streams to dry up. Rosa, determined to make amends and correct her grandfather's legacy, embarks on a mission to restore the village’s water. As she pieces together the cryptic clues her grandfather left behind, Rosa finds unexpected allies among a few locals. To her astonishment, clay figures come to life at night, aiding her much as her grandfather would have. But this task is not simple.
To bring water back to the valley, Rosa must discover her true purpose, learn what truly matters in life, and face the demons that have held her back. The tale weaves a beautiful contrast between the fast-paced, material world of the city and the slow, grounded rhythms of rural life. The animation itself is nothing short of mesmerising, enriching this multi-layered narrative that blends mystery, philosophy, and the exhilarating challenge of uncovering long-buried secrets. It’s a story of generational legacy, of personal redemption, and of finding a deeper connection with the world around us.
Reviewed by Rithwik Sundar
Courtesy: Roundglass Sustain
By Neha Dixit, 22 minutes
The sweet rolling bugyals, Uttarakhand’s high-altitude grasslands in the Himalayas, are peppered with purple flowers, as the film team makes its way in search of a secretive animal. The Himalayan musk deer has scarcely been documented, and the team’s persistence in the face of tough terrain and harsh seasons is commendable. The filmmaker’s curiosity takes us to the musk deer’s habitat at over 3,600 m. The snow-covered Himalaya stretches across the scene, and bright rhododendron flowers pepper the landscape. It is delightful to watch other mountain animals too, such as the fidgety pika, shimmering monal, and sure-footed goral. Having been to the Himalaya a number of times, this visual documentation by an Indian and prominently featuring all local Indian guides is like watching a slice of home. The film is gently peppered with nuggets of natural history about the musk deer, an old world mammal with a fossil record from 25 million years ago. I think the search for Kasturi will spark a search for and documentation of more such wildlife threatened by human interventions. Do catch it at the festival!
Reviewed by Shatakshi Gawade
