Kohima, Feb. 28: So much has been written and said about amur falcons, the migratory birds that come to roost in Nagaland every year, particularly in Pangti village of Wokha district, en route from Siberia to South Africa via India and back. Pangti village has also gained plenty of recognition for its efforts in protection of these annual visitors.
But what most people are not aware is that, for Pangti villagers, it is not just a story of hunters who transformed into protectors, but a struggle by deviating from a major livelihood source.
Recently, on February 18, a film called The Pangti Story, directed by Kohima-based filmmaker, Sesino Yhoshü, won the Golden Beaver Award for Best Film at the 7th National Science Film Festival 2017 in Kolkata. Sesino’s film explores what brought down the figures from over 15,000 birds killed every day before 2012 to zero killing, in conjunction with the transition of an entire village from one that slaughtered thousands of the winged visitors to their most fervent preservationists.
The 26-minutes film highlights how, in 2012, Nagaland made the global news on a wrong footing with thousands of these raptors being mercilessly hunted, to the launch of a massive campaign to save these birds, and how Pangti transformed from a killing field into a safe haven for the birds within a span of two years.
The main subjects of the documentary are the people who saw and felt the transition, reflecting on what it took to bring about this massive falcon harvest to a halt through the stories of the people who made history. The film reveals how, despite various accolades, Pangti villagers are still struggling for alternative means to earn livelihood.
“Our situation can improve if the government can really support us, and not just assure with mere words,” says a hunter-turned-conservationist.
The film also features the accounts of those who have been instrumental in bringing about the change that Pangti had seen since 2012, like Bano Haralu, the managing trustee Nagaland Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation, Steve Odyuo of Natural Nagas, Pangti village council head (2012-16) Ronchamo Shitiri, and the retired PCCF of Nagaland, M Lokeswara Rao.
The Pangti Story, a presentation of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), is an effort of Sesino and her TAKE ONE Production team Neithonuo Tungoe and Megotsolie Dolie.
The Golder Beaver for The Pangti Story was presented at the 7th National Science Film Festival 2017, organised by Vigyan Prasar, department of Science and Technology, government of India, and National Council of Science Museum (NCSM), ministry of culture, government of India, at Birla Museum, Kolkata.
Another film titled Point and Shoot, directed by Harsimran Kaur Anand, which revolves around the relationship of the hunting community of Yimchünger tribe with animals and birds in Fakim village in Nagaland, was also reported to have won three awards at the same festival.
Mention may be made here that even in 2016, a film on community conserved areas of Nagaland, Nagaland is Changing. But…, directed by Delhi-based filmmaker Gurmeet Sapal, has won the Golden Beaver Award for Best Film.
