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Awakening through cinema

A still from the film ‘A Light Burns’ by Mariam Chandy.

To commemorate World Environment Day, the British Council organised a special screening of four films on energy conservation and climate security at its Kasturba Gandhi Marg premises here on Thursday.

Titled “Energy Efficiency – Future Conservation”, the series has been produced under the UK Environment Film Fellowships-2007.

Highlighting the worrisome fact that more than half of India’s 138 million rural households are beyond the reach of grid electricity, “A Light Burns” by Mariam Chandy takes viewers to a nondescript village in Jharkhand afflicted by naxal violence. The film shows two enterprising youngsters struggling to generate electricity for their village using the oil of an indigenous plant. Armed with the knowledge of how to manufacture bio-diesel from locally grown oilseeds, the duo set out on their quest to improve the lives of their community.

“Building a Green Future … Now” by Sashi Shivaramakrishna shows the efforts towards energy conservation in our built environment -- both residential and workplace. From the design of open basements that harness sunlight, natural ventilation systems, use of material like soil-stabilised blocks and earth tunnels for air-conditioning, “Building a Green Future ... Now” tells us how some buildings in the country are making a difference.

“In their Elements” by Inder Kathuria tells viewers that when even unconventional technologies fail to empower the high-altitude villages that remain in perennial darkness during the long Himalayan winter, a simple innovation cracks the puzzle of freaky weather conditions to harness both solar and wind power for a round-the-clock solution.

The film shows how the solar wind hybrid system is bringing about happy changes in two remote mountain villages of Lahaul-Spiti and how it can help change lives all along the higher Himalayas.

Exploring the yet untapped geo-thermal energy resources of the country is “The Future Beneath Our Feet” by Praveen Singh. The film underlines the need to harness this clean energy source to meet the power needs without adding to carbon dioxide emissions.

The film is based around the case study of Leh, which receives diesel-generated power but has a geo-thermal energy source nearby that can be tapped to meet not only its power needs but also of the entire State. The film places geo-thermal energy in a global context by showcasing the success of Iceland in utilising this energy source.

Madhur Tankha

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