India’s Wild Meat Trail Bags Panda Award

Guwahati, Oct 15 : The Wild Meat Trail, a film by Rita Banerji and Shilpi Sharma of Dusty Foot Productions, India, has won a Panda Award on at the Wildscreen 2010 in Bristol, UK, on Wednesday.

The film portrays community and individual hunting practices in different parts of Northeast India, tracking the complex transition of these utility and ritual-based hunting traditions into an increasingly commercial activity geared to generate cash.

The film also traces the journey of an individual, Tarang, who is trying to bring in workable ideas of conservation and sustainability to his village and the Nyishi community of Arunachal Pradesh. 

The Wild Meat Trail was made to draw attention to the rapidly declining wildlife population in the Northeast and the possible ways to bring positive change through community-led conservation.

Apart from the film, the Dusty Foot team has also started an education outreach programme in collaboration with NGOs and schools in Nagaland and Assam through its ‘Under The Canopy’ workshops.

The Wildscreen Festival is internationally acknowledged as the most prestigious event of its kind in the world. Its aim is to celebrate, applaud and encourage excellence and responsibility in wildlife and environment filmmaking.