Kerala - Kochi   

Award for film on Silent Valley

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: A duo from Kerala has won a national award in the non-feature film section.

P. Baburaj and C. Saratchandran bagged the Rajat Kamal award for `Only an Axe Away,' a documentary on the campaign to save the Silent Valley in the best educational, motivational and instructional film in the non-feature section.

The film traces the history of a unique campaign for saving the protected forests.

The Silent Valley, which was declared a national park in 1984, continues to be under threat.

The latest threat is the proposal of a dam just outside the national park at Pathrakadavu by the Kerala State Electricity Board.

In the citation by the awards committee, the film was appreciated for adopting a distinctive style of presentation in focussing on people's anxiety about the future of the Silent Valley and how a campaign sought to save it from destructive development.

Mr. Baburaj, son of the late CPI leader Unniraja, had co-scripted `Ilayum Mullum' along with filmmaker K.P. Sasi.

He had been associate director in non-feature films `Ek Alag Mausam' (Hindi) and Sasi's `Silence Please.' He is also panel director for Kerala State Film Development Corporation.

Mr. Saratchandran and Mr. Baburaj have many documentaries to their credit, of which `Chaliar — the final Struggle,' received a special mention at Mumbai International Film Festival 2000 and won a bronze tree award at Vatavaran-2002.

The documentary, `The Bitter Drink' on the campaign against the Coca Cola company by the people of Plachimada was also made by the duo.

Mr. Saratchandran had earlier made documentaries including `No to Dance - A Pooyamkutty tale' in 1986, `Save the Western Ghats march - A Kerala experience,' `Muthanga Massacre - Evicted from justice' and `Kanavu' with C. Surendranathan. He was also cameraman for Balan's `18th Elephant.'

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