His day job involves riding a boat on his beloved Mandovi, looking at mangroves, a steady
backdrop to his work space and the leitmotif of most of his existence- the
mangroves, the river, his boat and his love of telling stories of the area to
his tourists. But the boatman, Uday Mandrekar is worried and upset. His beloved
mangroves are getting polluted with waste thrown by visitors. And this garbage
affects avian and aquatic life. So what does Mandrekar do. He cleans the
mangroves on his own, whenever he has the time. This simple act of keeping his
backyard clean, so that those who co exist- birds and aquatic species lead
better lives.
Mandrekar would have remained a hero and a
true agent of agent but now the world, literally knows him because Shashank
Bhosle a photographer and filmmaker decided to do a documentary on him aptly
called ‘The Birdman of Chorao’, and Toxics link, a non-profit to take Bhosale’s
work to the world. This is how a combination of a change hero, the creator of
change, the filmmaker who documents the change and the change communicator, who
showcases this change agent and works to bring about the ultimate change-
awareness and inspiration
In Goa last over the weekend, such
initiatives through film, all aiming at a better, cleaner world came together
for the two day Environmental Film Festival with the support from The Swedish
Society For Nature Conservation and the Entertainment Society Goa, organised by
Toxics Link, the non profit
The 14 films that were screened at the two day festival include,
in addition to ‘The Birdman of Chorao’, ‘Gyamo – Queen of the Mountains’, ‘PM
2.5’, ‘The Pangti Story’, ‘When Every Drop Counts’, ‘Living Toxic –Russia’,
‘Global Warning – Kashmir Chapter’, ‘Missing’, ‘Taming the Teesta’, ‘ Toxics
Trail’, ‘The Silent Epidemic’, ‘Smog Wars’, ‘India’s Healing Forests’ and ‘The World’s
Most Famous Tiger’.
Toxics Link, based in Delhi has been working on environmental
issues related to waste and chemicals for over the last two decades and has
credible representations at public and private forums and discussions. The
organisation has been organising their biennial film festival in different
cities and have held five festivals in Delhi and the last festival was at
Ranchi, Jharkhand in December 2019. The festival showcased films that focus on
environmental issues like water, sustainability, biodiversity, forest
conservation, waste etc.
Sushant Figueiredo, Project manager for Toxics Link in Goa says,
“Toxics Link in Delhi has been operating since 2008 and the Goa centre opened
in 2018. We deal with bio medical waste and electronic waste in Goa in
association with Goa Waste Management. Our plan was to reach out to a wider
audience with the Environmental Film Festival. We received a decent response as
it was the Carnival weekend. After the screening of the movies, we also had
discussions on the issues highlighted in the films. We received 200 films from
all over the world from which 14 were selected.”
Shashank Bhosale from Porvorim directed the film, ‘The Birdman
of Chorao’ which was the opening film of the festival. The film also won the
Green Heroes award in the past. The story of Uday Mandrekar, the birdman on
whose life the story was based, is gaining recognition for his humble job
through this film as well as film festivals which focuses on environmental
issues. “The response was good with a lot of school children and the public
coming in the later half of the day. This was the first time Toxics Link tried
to do something in Goa. There were 14 movies which were screened on different
topics right from animals like snow leopards, Amur Falcons and tigers to dams
affecting biodiversity, the Himalayas and water harvesting in a desert,” says
Shashank, about his experience at the festival.
“The environmental film festival is novel. Each of the movies
had a unique theme. It’s great to know about the awareness being brought in by
Toxic Link through its movie, ‘Toxic Trails’ on e-waste.” says Dithya, who
attended the screenings.
A
noted veterinary doctor, Dr Gustavo Pinto says, “I just want to say a big thank
you for bring those beautiful films to Goa. Environment is an issue close to my
heart. I am willing to extend a helping hand if Toxics Link ever needs it in
Goa.”
