Olivia Dunlop, welcome to the World Film Festival in Cannes. Thank you for the story and screenplay that have brought to the screen this vivid tale of the harrowed survival of the Sundarbans mangrove community in West Bengal. For the sake of our European and Western audiences, would you help us locate the Sundarbans mangrove on the map of the Indian subcontinent to understand its importance in terms of biodiversity?
The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world located in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. Spread across parts of India and Bangladesh, this forest is the largest mangrove forest in the world. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh’s division of Khulna to the Hooghly River in India’s state of West Bengal. Sundarbans comprises of closed and open mangrove forests, land used for agricultural purpose, mudflats and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels. Sundarbans is the home to the world’s largest area of mangrove forests. Sundarbans are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Sundarbans West (Bangladesh), Sundarbans South (Bangladesh), Sundarbans East (Bangladesh) and Sundarbans National Park (India).
The biodiversity in Sundarbans are splendid with lush mangrove forests blending in the hues of the skies and the water bodies of the Bay of Bengal. There are variety of birds, animals, reptiles and insects in the forests and mostly importantly it is the home of approximately 600 an endangered species that is the Royal Bengal Tigers. The largest population of the Royal Bengal Tigers live in the dense forests of Sundarbans and these tigers co-habit with the people living in the villages close to the forests.
Dilip Ghosh has succeeded in “bringing to the world the greatness and majestic beauty of the Sundarbans Forest”, which is the largest mangrove forest in the world. How did you decide to work on this documentary film together?
Mr. Dilip Ghosh had directed 2 documentaries before doing this documentary and his direction is of superior quality and creativity as we noticed in his previous works thus the collaboration with him as I (Olivia Dunlop) have been working with the tiger victim widows and the fatherless children for the last 9 years and counting and nobody could give a better and profound original concept and script about the lives and livelihoods of the tiger victim families. Mr. Dilip Ghosh and I (Olivia Dunlop) have worked hand in hand to make this documentary the best to capabilities and in turn help the tiger victim widows and fatherless children of Sundarbans.
The communities that live close to the mangrove depends on the forest and the river for their livelihood. However, they very often fall prey to the Royal Bengal Tiger. We find out that there are countless stories of men, women and even children being attacked. The victims and their spouses describe their condition as “deplorable”. This is a very strong word that seems full of resignation and despair. Would you tell us more about the constant struggle of this community and how large is it at the present time?
The tiger victim widows and fatherless children of Sundarbans are large in number. They only depend on the forest for their livelihood of catching crabs, fishes, prawns and collection of honey when they are attacked by the Royal Bengal Tigers and at the present moment we are taking care of 800 such families ourselves and 1000 children to provide them with quality education is our dream to stop the people to enter the core areas of the forests. The state of their “deplorable” situation is due to the stagnant developmental growth which does not exist in the interiors of the villages in Sundarbans.
Why is the Royal Bengal Tiger endemic in those parts of South India and is it considered an endangered species and/or a holy creature in India?
The Royal Bengal Tigers are an endemic and endangered to the Sundarbans due to its geographical location and in the last 100 years the tiger population decreased by 96% due to poaching, habitat destruction, illegal trade, prey depletion and conflicts with humans. Also the Royal Bengal Tigers are respected and it symbolizes the power, strength, elegance, alertness, intelligence and endurance of the nation also well known as the national animal of India.
The tribals of the Sundarbans in West Bengal believe Royal Bengal Tigers to be the owners of the forest, alongside worshipped as “Bano bibi” and “Dakshin Ray” by both Hindus and Muslims. These deities are remembered while collecting honey in the forests, or by the woodcutters for safety against tiger attacks.
It is through education that the people of the Sundarbans mangrove community can survive and support itself. Would you care to comment?
Yes, the only ray of hope for the fatherless children and the next generation in Sundarbans is “EDUCATION”
The only way forward is to educate the younger crowd, can we stop people from entering into the forests and to give them an alternate source of income which will be sufficient for them and their families to survive. Only then they will they not go into the deepest forests where the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger lies. We have constructed an English Medium School in a village named Kultali which will educate children of the tiger affected families also the other underprivileged students of the village.
It is through finding sustainable ways of living as well that the Sundarbans Forest people can thrive, precisely through building a system so they do not have to venture unprotected into the forest to find food. Even if such a change seems inevitable, is it not contrary to ways of living that have been around for centuries? How is change reconcilable with tradition?
The system has to change as change is the most constant thing. We are trying our best to change the system through our work in Sundarbans but without the intervention of the state and central government, its next to impossible to reform the age old systems so we have taken a step forward to educate the children of the villages also planning for adult literacy and providing sustainable projects such are animal husbandry, organic farming and fisheries which will help the people monetarily and in turn they would not have the need to venture into the vast forests for survival.
Is the community being supported by international organisations, NGOs, and charities? Can the public help and donate as well and how?
No, we are a self run organization, whatever we have done so far for the tiger victim widows and children its from our pockets and our charitable trust known as Genesis Educational and Charitable Trust (www.gect.co) Anyone from anywhere in the world can pay for the education of these children or any other projects run by us at Sundarbans. Our account details are as follows:
Genesis Educational and Charitable Trust
AXIS BANK LTD A/C NO– 025010100459860
IFS CODE –UTIB0002045
BRANCH KASBA
PAN No. AABTG4260D
Ask for
80G Registration No.
12AA Registration for Tax Exemption
And finally, what is your vision of Post-Covid cinema in a short statement?
Cinema has diversified in leaps and bounds. We now have OTT platforms with the best of cinema and storytelling has gone to the next level. We now see realistic cinema with real life stories and home viewing has reached the epitome of leisure which will grow even further and only blockbuster cinemas will be able to go into the 100 crore turnover or even more if the taste of the audience is satisfied as Oppenheimer bagged the OSCAR Awards in 2023. OTT Platform and New Media is the way ahead to concentrate on or any media which is digital.
BIO
Biography | Olivia Dunlop
Ms. Olivia Dunlop is an original scriptwriter and producer of the documentary film The Victims of Sundarbans. She also is the Director of the production house named Orion Production and Communications Pvt. Ltd. aslo known as Orion Entertainment. The 1st script she has ever written in her life is “The Victims of Sundarbans” which has received Regional, National and International recognition at various Film Festivals. She is writing another original script as a Script Writer on the realistic conditions of the craftsmanship in Bishnupur a town in West Bengal, India.
©2024 Isabelle Rouault-Röhlich
