Eco Reels- the Climate Charche Edition

 Film Festival on Climate, Environment and Sustainability

 

• 4 Days • 23 Films • 4 venues

The Bengaluru Sustainability Forum, in collaboration with the Kriti Film Club, presents the film festival Eco-Reels – the Climate Charche edition; from January 10-13, 2025.

This public, in-person film festival will include 23 films, screened over 4 days at 4 different venues across the city to enable wider access – one day at every venue with a mix of new films and a few films repeated across the days. The post-screening discussions will include attending filmmakers along with experts on climate justice issues, environmentalists, community representatives and members of citizen groups. The event is non-commercial, non-ticketed and open to all.

REGISTER HERE! or at venue

Festival Schedule (please click on the dates for film details)

Eco Reels – The Climate Charche edition, is a film festival on climate, environment and sustainability conceptualised and presented by the Bengaluru Sustainability Forum (BSF) and Kriti Film Club. This festival is being organised under BSF’s Climate Charche series of engagements. The objective is to use films to communicate different experiences and perspectives related to climate change, sustainability and the environment and spark conversations and thoughts with diverse audiences in the city. 

The Film Festival seeks to engage students, filmmakers, artists, activists, communities directly impacted by climate change, and a diverse audience passionate about climate justice films. It will include film screenings across genres – fiction and documentary features, shorts & animation relevant to the themes of environment, climate change, sustainable development, farming, wildlife and aquatic conservation, and other related issues and concerns that affect the environment. The film screenings will be accompanied by interactions and panel discussions with researchers and practitioners on related issues of climate and sustainable development.

We believe it is essential to engage students in these critical conversations, and we are also keeping the festival open to the general public, which would help broaden the reach of the discussions and connect these important issues with a wider audience. Together, Kriti Film Club and Bengaluru Sustainability Forum hope to create a dynamic platform for cultural exchange and education and impact cinema, thus nurturing a deeper appreciation for climate action among the residents of our city.

Day-wise Festival Schedule

Please click on the dates for film details and venue name for map location

Friday, 10 January 2025 @Mount Carmel College || Saturday, 11 January 2025 @JAIN (deemed-to-be-University) || Sunday, 12 January 2025 @Gandhi Bhavan || Monday,13 January 2025 @CHRIST (deemed-to-be-University)

Friday, 10 January 2025 | Mount Carmel College | 10AM-4PM
10:00am - 10:15amWelcome and Opening
10:15am - 11:15amTheme - NATURE, PEOPLE and POWER
SPIRIT OF THE FOREST
(7 mins/ Kannada with English subtitles/ 2022/ Animation)
Dir. Nandini Rao, Nirupa Rao, Kalp Sanghvi
A little girl stumbles into a sacred grove near her village in south India. She disturbs the spirit of the forest, who takes her on an adventure to illuminate the origins of this ancient swamp: from Gondwanaland, through the times of her ancestors, up to the present day. It is inspired by local practices of protecting relict forests through folklore grounded in scientific principles.Watch Trailer
BURNING MOUNTAINS
(3:21 mins/ English/ Animation/ 2024)
Prod. Waste Warriors
This film explores the breath-taking biodiversity of the Himalayan region, now under threat from human activities like open waste burning. What seems like a simple waste solution unleashes devastating toxins, including dioxins and furans that harm both the environment and human health. Smoke from burning waste releases black carbon, which accelerates glacial melting and contributes to global climate change.
FUSED CITY
(8 mins/ Assamese with English subtitles/ Stop motion animation, Documentary)
Dir. Biswajit Das/ Prod. Charles Correa Foundation
In the city of Guwahati, a visual artist embarks on a unique journey, weaving together the discarded remnants of electronic waste with various inspirations from the city. The film captures the artist's unconventional muse as he scours the urban landscape for discarded gadgets and electronics along with his experiences with different groups of people.Watch Trailer
GUTTER KI MACHHLI
(9:55 mins/ Hindi with English subtitles/ 2024/ Animation, Documentary)
Dir. Natasha Sharma/ Prod. Global Resilience Partnership & Community Design Agency
This animation weaves together the voices of the children, youth and women of a rehabilitation and resettlement colony in Govandi, Mumbai through art and poetry to vocalise, localise and visualise their experiences of climate change in their poorly built homes and neighbourhood.
Post-screening Discussion
11:00am - 11:15am Tea break
11:15am - 1:15pmTheme - THE CHANGING PLANET
FEELING THE APOCALYPSE
(7 min/ English / 2022/ Canada)
Dir. Chen Sing Yap
A psychotherapist struggling with climate anxiety explores what it means to live in a dying world.Watch Trailer
EULOGY FOR THE DEAD SEA
(81 mins/ English/ 2023)
Dir. Polina Teif
As the longest occupation in modern history ensues, the Dead Sea, a sacred body of water in the lowest place on earth becomes a site where a politically-driven environmental disaster threatens a once flourishing environment.
Post-screening Discussion
1:15pm – 2:15pmLunch break
2:15pm – 4:00pmTheme - COMMUNITY RESILIENCE MATTERS
SAMAYADA HARIVU | Flow of Time
(8 mins/ Kannada, English with English subtitles/ Documentary)
Dir. Shruti Parthasarathy & Vikash Tiwari | Prod. Charles Correa Foundation
This film delves into the lived experiences of Noor Mary and Prasad, inhabitants residing on opposite sides of the Historic Begur Lake; and observes the complexities surrounding the concept of reclamation and its relevance today. The contrast between the two distinct voices and the communities they represent emerge.
THE WEIGHT OF WATER: The Human Cost of Climate Crisis
(67 mins/ English, Nepali with English subtitles/ 2022/ Nepal, UK/ Documentary)
Dir. Deej Phillips
A grieving mother. A flooded football field. A burdened woman. Three emotional stories set in Nepal show how communities are already being impacted by flooding and drought, all made worse by the injustice of climate change and increasing extreme weather events.Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
Click for festival schedules on 11 Jan, 12 Jan, 13 Jan
Saturday, 11 January 2025 | JAIN (deemed-to-be-University)| 10AM-4PM
10:00am - 10:15amWelcome and Opening
10:15am - 11:15amTheme - FLORA, FAUNA and HABITATS
A CAN OF FISH
(8 mins/ Animation)
Dir. Aditi Chitre
To those fishermen who remember what natural fish looks and tastes like, watching the Eaters consume batches of empty fish cans is an eerie prelude to the discovery of the workings of a tremendous factory ship that is scraping the seabed for all the fish it can find. Soon there will be nothing left for the fishermen, who fling their ropes into the ocean and set off to sabotage the ship.Watch Trailer
SONGS OF RESISTANCE: AAREY
(10 mins/ Marathi, Hindi with English subtitles/ Documentary)
Dir. Vivek Sangwan and Srishti Chowdhary | Prod. Sanjay Barnela
Warli Adivasis including Prakash Bhoir and the hip-hop crew Swadeshi unite in 'The Warli Revolt' to resist tree felling in Aarey forest (Mumbai) for a metro car shed. Resisting powerful forces, their music and activism persist, challenging mainstream development narratives and advocating for environmental justice and Adivasi rights.
THE MANGROVE FAMILY: FORCED TO ADAPT
(20:10 mins/ Malayalam with English subtitles/ 2023/ Documentary)
In northern Kerala, Sreejith and his family work tirelessly to continue their father’s legacy, by planting and preserving mangroves along the coast in order to protect communities from further coastal erosion and extreme weather events.
Post-screening Discussion
11:15am - 11:30am Tea break
11:30am - 1:15pmTheme - COMMUNITY RESILIENCE MATTERS
UDHAMPUR: THE CITY OF GODDESS
(7:44 mins/ Hindi with English subtitles/ Documentary)
Dir. Rajshi R. Chauhan
This short film explores the city of Udhampur, its people and the sacred bond it shares with its rivers and mountains. Rapid urbanisation has taken its toll on the river Devika, threatening its purity and vitality. The local people here remain steadfast in their commitment to protecting their beloved river. Watch Trailer
KOHORA RIVER
(19:42 mins/ Assamese with English subtitles/ 2022/ Documentary)
Dir. Epil Rani Kongari, Organisation: Aaranyak
The river is the prime source for the Karbis. This is a story about the ‘Kohora’ river, which flows from the high hills of Karbi Anglong, Assam. Uncertain rainfalls, less annual flood, and decreasing groundwater indicate that the river is in great danger. Watch Trailer
MAGICAL FOREST | Jaddui Jungle
(34 mins/ Nimadi, Hindi with English subtitles/ 2019/ Documentary)
Dir. Archana Chandrashekar/ Prod. Pinky Brahma Choudhury, Shobhit Jain
Filmed in and around the dry-deciduous forests of Barjhai Ghat in Central India, this film made in collaboration with children portrays the intimate relationship that they share with the forests while addressing the issue of rampant forest fires that have been threatening its very core. Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
1:15pm – 2:15pmLunch break
2:15pm – 4:00pmTheme - NATURE, PEOPLE AND POWER
FUSED CITY
(8 mins/ Assamese with English subtitles/ Stop motion animation, Documentary)
Dir. Biswajit Das/ Prod. Charles Correa Foundation
In the city of Guwahati, a visual artist embarks on a unique journey, weaving together the discarded remnants of electronic waste with various inspirations from the city. The film captures the artist's unconventional muse as he scours the urban landscape for discarded gadgets and electronics along with his experiences with different groups of people. Watch Trailer
THE ILLUSION OF ABUNDANCE
(60 mins | Spanish, Portuguese, English with English subtitles | 2022 | Documentary)
Dir. Erika Gonzalez Ramirez and Matthieu Lietaert, Prod. idem
About the film: Despite a deeply unbalanced game, Maxima, Bertha and Carolina share a common goal: they are leading today's environmental fight against modern corporate conquistadors. Whereas governments and corporations are trapped in a global race to get the cheapest raw materials, these three women tell us a story of tireless courage: how to keep fighting to protect nature when your life is at risk? When police repression, corporate harassment, injuries or even death threats are part of your daily routine? This is not only a film about those who pay the high price of ‘development’, it is above all a film about the globalisation of their environmental resistance and their conviction to hunt down transnational corporations, wherever they hide. Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
Click for festival schedules on 10 Jan, 12 Jan, 13 Jan
Sunday, 12 January 2025 | Gandhi Bhavana | 10AM-4PM
10:00am - 10:15amWelcome and Opening
10:15am - 11:30amTheme - THE CHANGING PLANET
BURNING MOUNTAINS
(3:21 mins/ English/ Animation/ 2024)
Prod. Waste Warriors
This film explores the breath-taking biodiversity of the Himalayan region, now under threat from human activities like open waste burning. What seems like a simple waste solution unleashes devastating toxins, including dioxins and furans that harm both the environment and human health. Smoke from burning waste releases black carbon, which accelerates glacial melting and contributes to global climate change.
SAMAYADA HARIVU | Flow of Time
(8 mins/ Kannada, English with English subtitles/ Documentary)
Dir. Shruti Parthasarathy & Vikash Tiwari | Prod. Charles Correa Foundation
This film delves into the lived experiences of Noor Mary and Prasad, inhabitants residing on opposite sides of the Historic Begur Lake; and observes the complexities surrounding the concept of reclamation and its relevance today. The contrast between the two distinct voices and the communities they represent emerge.
GUTTER KI MACHHLI
(9:55 mins/ Hindi with English subtitles/ 2024/ Animation, Documentary)
Dir. Natasha Sharma/ Prod. Global Resilience Partnership & Community Design Agency
This animation weaves together the voices of the children, youth and women of a rehabilitation and resettlement colony in Govandi, Mumbai through art and poetry to vocalise, localise and visualise their experiences of climate change in their poorly built homes and neighbourhood.
SAKYAD
(10 mins/ Non-Verbal/ 2024/ Experimental Documentary)
Dir. Prod. Shilpika Bordoloi
This film is about the ecological body of Ladakh in relation to the human body. Both linked to change, transitions, systems within systems. Set in the current socio- political backdrop of climate crisis and action - this film is meant as an experience in the genre of non-narrative documentary filmmaking.Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
11:30am - 11:45am Tea break
11:45am - 1:15pmTheme - FLORA, FAUNA, HABITATS
THE MUSHROOM KEEPERS
(15:40 mins/ English, Khasi, & Garo with English subtitles/ 2024/ Documentary)
Dir. Naveed Mulki
This film explores the deep connections between fungi and the Khasi and Garo communities of Meghalaya, India. It delves into how fungi shape spiritual and cultural worldviews, revealing the intertwined loss of biodiversity and ancestral knowledge as old-growth forests diminish. Through intimate conversations with community elders, the film serves as both a reflection on cultural erosion and a call to action.Watch Trailer
COLONIES IN CONFLICT
(52 mins/ English/ 2022/ Documentary)
Dir. Rajani Mani
This film examines the state of wild bees in a fast-developing Indian landscape. Human action is causing pollinator declines all over the world, spelling disaster to nutritional security and biodiversity of our ecosystems.Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
1:15pm – 2:15pmLunch break
2:15pm – 4:00pmTheme - NATURE, PEOPLE AND POWER
WADE
(11 mins/ 2019/ Animation)
Dir. Upamanyu Bhattacharyya & Kalp Sanghvi
In a version of Kolkata, India rendered unlivable by sea level rise, things take a dark turn when a family of climate change refugees are ambushed by a tiger on the flooded streets.
Watch Trailer
GOMALA - COMMONS UNDER THREAT
(13:30 mins/ English, Kannada/ India/ 2022/ Documentary)
Dir. Prastuti Kashyap & Atheng Zeme
Semi-arid grassland and savannas being used as grazing common land by local communities are known as Gomalas in Bagepalli and large parts of northern Karnataka. Today, they are under severe threat due to their diversion for developmental activities, encroachment by real estate mafia and industrial farmers, illegal mines and quarrying. The disappearance of Gomalas will not only impact the poor farmers and landless local communities but also ecological and climate change.
Watch Trailer
BHED CHAL
(63 mins/ Kannada, Marathi, HIndi with English subtitles/ Documentary/ India)
Dir. Ankit Pogula
In a semi-arid region of North Karnataka, two kurbā (nomadic) shepherds are determined to not be the last in line of their lineage. As they walk through India's oldest landscapes bridging worlds which know less of each other, Herd Walk is an exploration of this passionate quest - why should the sheep keep walking?
Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
Click for festival schedules on 10 Jan, 11 Jan, 13 Jan
Monday, 13 January 2025 | CHRIST (deemed-to-be-University)| 10AM-4PM
10:00am - 10:15amWelcome and Opening
10:15am - 11:15amTheme - NATURE, PEOPLE AND POWER
SPIRIT OF THE FOREST
(7 mins/ Kannada with English subtitles/ 2022/ Animation)
Dir. Nandini Rao, Nirupa Rao, Kalp Sanghvi
A little girl stumbles into a sacred grove near her village in south India. She disturbs the spirit of the forest, who takes her on an adventure to illuminate the origins of this ancient swamp: from Gondwanaland, through the times of her ancestors, up to the present day. It is inspired by local practices of protecting relict forests through folklore grounded in scientific principles.Watch Trailer
A CAN OF FISH
(8 mins/ Animation)
Dir. Aditi Chitre
To those fishermen who remember what natural fish looks and tastes like, watching the Eaters consume batches of empty fish cans is an eerie prelude to the discovery of the workings of a tremendous factory ship that is scraping the seabed for all the fish it can find. Soon there will be nothing left for the fishermen, who fling their ropes into the ocean and set off to sabotage the ship.Watch Trailer
GUTTER KI MACHHLI
(9:55 mins/ Hindi with English subtitles/ 2024/ Animation, Documentary)
Dir. Natasha Sharma/ Prod. Global Resilience Partnership & Community Design Agency
This animation weaves together the voices of the children, youth and women of a rehabilitation and resettlement colony in Govandi, Mumbai through art and poetry to vocalise, localise and visualise their experiences of climate change in their poorly built homes and neighbourhood.
FEELING THE APOCALYPSE
(7 min/ English / 2022/ Canada)
Dir. Chen Sing Yap
A psychotherapist struggling with climate anxiety explores what it means to live in a dying world.Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
11:15am - 11:30amTea break
11:30am - 1:15pmTheme - THE CHANGING PLANET
WADE
(11 mins/ 2019/ Animation)
Dir. Upamanyu Bhattacharyya & Kalp Sanghvi
In a version of Kolkata, India rendered unlivable by sea level rise, things take a dark turn when a family of climate change refugees are ambushed by a tiger on the flooded streets.
Watch Trailer
SAMAYADA HARIVU | Flow of Time
(8 mins/ Kannada, English with English subtitles/ Documentary)
Dir. Shruti Parthasarathy & Vikash Tiwari | Prod. Charles Correa Foundation
This film delves into the lived experiences of Noor Mary and Prasad, inhabitants residing on opposite sides of the Historic Begur Lake; and observes the complexities surrounding the concept of reclamation and its relevance today. The contrast between the two distinct voices and the communities they represent emerge.
ARAVALI THE LOST MOUNTAINS
(22 mins/ Hindi with English subtitles/ 2022/ Documentary)
Dir. Jigar Nagda
This film, on marble quarrying in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district, is a story of low groundwater levels and depleting rainfall due to continual mining for the past 35 years. The Aravalli Range is the world's oldest mountain range, and helps to sustain the ecosystem. Mining, on the other hand, is the primary source of income for the majority of the population.
Watch Trailer
THE LEOPARD'S TRIBE
(40 mins/ Marathi, Hindi, English with English subtitles/ 2022/ Documentary)
Dir. Miriam Chandy Menacherry
An indigenous family finds they are at the centre of an imaginative battle to preserve the green lungs of India’s commercial capital and the leopard the tribe worships.
Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
1:15pm – 2:15pmLunch break
2:15pm – 4:00pmTheme - FLORA, FAUNA and HABITATS
AGAINST THE TIDE
(97 mins/ Hindi, Koli, Marathi with English subtitles/ 2023/ Documentary)
Dir. Sarvnik Kaur
Bombay fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh are inheritors of the great Koli knowledge system—a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology. This film is a tale of friendship and rising resentment between the two men, as close as brothers, against the backdrop of an adoring sea, which is increasingly turning hostile because of climate change.
Watch Trailer
Post-screening Discussion
Click for festival schedules on 10 Jan, 11 Jan, 12 Jan

Collaborators

Kriti Film Club is an initiative of KRITI, a development praxis and communication team, a not-for-profit entity, based in New Delhi, with work across India. They have been screening documentary films at least once a month since the year 2000 on a range of issues connected with development, human rights and social attitudes/ trends.

Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru is the forerunner of holistic education envisioning the transformation of students to professionals. They focus on providing students with a conducive environment merged with state-of-the-art facilities and guidance from esteemed lecturers in the pursuit of humanising each student to participate in society as a responsible citizen, dynamic professional, and empathetic human.

JAIN (deemed to be University) is ranked among the top universities in India. Based in Bangalore, it offers a conducive environment for learning, be it academic or extracurricular activities. Known for its emphasis on education, entrepreneurship, research and sports, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) has some of the best minds in the educational and research fields.

Karnataka Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi is an autonomous state body for furthering the objective of perpetuating the memory and message of Gandhiji to the coming generation. It has housed within its premises various Gandhian constructive institutions such as Karnataka Sarvodaya Mandal, the Sarvodaya Sahithya Samithi, the Harijan Sevak Sangh. This festival will be hosted in Gandhi Bhavan, Bangalore.

CHRIST (deemed to be University) is a multi-disciplinary University which focuses on teaching, research and service offers Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes in humanities, social sciences, sciences, commerce, management, engineering, architecture, education, and law  to about 30000+ students.