Ranchi's Chapter concludes at ILCC

The International Travelling Uranium Film Festival arrived to the final destination of the Ranchi Chapter- ILCC (International Library and Cultural Centre) on the third and final day of the three day event. The festival started around 11 a.m. in the library. The dignitaries like Festival director Mr. Norbert, his wife Ms. Marcia, Indian coordinator Mr. Shri Prakash, eminent film maker Mr. Meghnath , Mrs. Mahua Manjhi and Mr. Rituraj Sapkota, Asst. Director at Lievens Film Academy were present on the occasion.  The whole event was moderated by Ms. Rekha, the trustee of ILCC.

 In the first slot two short movies were shown. They were Toxic Neglect (9 mins.), a film made on Jadugoda mines by Indian Director Ms. Moushumi Basu. The second film screened before the audience was Uranium Thirst whose running time is 27 mins. The directors of this film are the directors of this Film Festival- Mr. Norbert G. Shuchanek and his better half Ms. Marcia. The screening of these films was followed by a panel discussion in which eminent personalities from different fields shared their version on the subject. The speakers were- Dr. Ramesh Sharan, eminent economist in today’s time and professor of Economics in Ranchi University, Mr. Meghnath, famous film maker from Jharkhand, Ms. Dayamani Barla, social activist and tribal journalist, Mr. Shishir Soren, an activist from Chapri village, East Singhbhum, and lastly Mr. Dumka Murmu , secretary of JOAR  (Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation). They all touched the crux of the topic and enlightened the public with their ideas, suggestions and views.

 In his speech Dr. Sharan revealed the reality pertaining to the uranium mining in India. He said that if anybody protests against uranium extraction they are labeled anti- development and anti -national. Mr. Meghnath stressed on the matter that cinema is not only meant for entertainment and the film makers should become audacious and responsible to present issues that affects the people at large. He also raised the question why we need Uranium for generating electricity and other energy. Why we can’t rely on alternative options like Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Gobar Gas and Micro Hydel Energy.  He criticized the government who says they are against wars but wants to use uranium peacefully asking at the cost of people how can one utilize uranium in a peaceful manner?

However the speaker who stole the show was Mr. Dumka Murmu, President of JOAR who honestly spoke about the plight and atrocities of his people suffering since ages from the terror of Uranium Mining and its radiation. He said that no one listens to and looks at the sufferings and grief of poor however the whole country shakes when a girl from Delhi gets raped by few insane beings.

  Ms. Dayamani Barla said in her speech that she is not against the development and setting up of Institutions like IIM and Law College; however the development should not be at the cost of the local people. After the experts, the house was open to the general public to come on dais and put forth their views and thoughts on the subject. The final day saw good response from the Ranchiites as a good no. of people turned up for it.

 In the second and third slot films like The Secret and the Sacred, Two World at Los Alamos (52 mins.), Australian Atomic Confessions( 49 mins.), The Third Nuclear Bomb, After the Day After, and the most prolific film ‘The Red Button’ were screened before the public.

Mr. Shri Prakash heartily thanked the following people for lending their helping hands in making the endeavour success in Ranchi- Mr. Vikash, Ms. Swati Verma Mr. Pawan Kumar, and Mr. Rajiv Ranjan all three from CUJ, Mr. Ashish Beruli (Jadugoda), Mr. Bidit Roy from BIT Mesra, Mr. Rajiv Ranjan of SPIC MACAY and Mr. Tapan,  Mr.Aashish ,Mr. Anish,  Mr.Vidyacharan and Ms. Bani from RIMS.

The festival’s next stop is Hyderabad.

International Film Festival comes to India

The battle between science and nature has been as old as the formation of the universe and the living beings. History is evident that whenever over-ambitious mortals transcended their limit and turned avarice in terms of power, authority and moolah they have always been awarded with heavy reprimand and mass destruction not only for the present genesis but also for the unborn generations. In spite of past lessons human beings have always and continue to challenge the nature and follow their own greed. The recent Chernobyl fire, Fukushima disaster and the ill effects of uranium mining all over the globe proves the above maxim. The people staying nearby comes in direct contact with the particles through polluted water, air and soil ensuing getting affected with harmful health issues like breathing problem, lungs’ malfunctioning to deadly diseases like cancer. In Navajo Nations multitude of bread earners of the family lost their lives during the mining boom period of 60s-80s as they used to hold the uranium ore with their bare hands and work there sans any protective kit. 

In an effort to make the masses aware of this growing menace an international film festival titled “International Travelling Uranium Film Festival” is being organized across eight cities of India starting from New Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditorium from 4^th January, 2013. The organizers of the festival include Mr. Norbert- Director of Rio film festival held last year and Mr. Shri Prakash, National Award Winner documentary film-maker hailing from humble surroundings of Jharkhand. It will be a three day festival in each of the cities excluding Shillong, where it will be of two days. After Delhi, the festival will travel to Shillong, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Thrissur (Kerala) chronologically. In Shillong, the festival will be held on 10^th and 11^th January after which it will straightaway move to Shri Prakash’s home town Ranchi. Here, the festival will be on the floors from 15^th to 17^th January. The inaugurating day will be organized in the serene campus of Central University of Jharkhand. After this it will move to RIIMS and conclude at ILCC. The festival will include screening of some of the world’s best movies on the subject followed by interactive sessions and panel discussions.

Whether the festival would be a success and whether it will garner the response as expected by the people is a thing to watch. But it is certainly a welcome step by the duo towards making the masses more vigil and cognizant pertaining to the growing menace of over-exploitation of nature and exhorting them to act accordingly. Also, the festival is expected to prove much beneficial for the budding film –makers as they will be exposed to the art of film making and best usage of cinematic language in a motion picture.