At the recently concluded CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and Forum, Priyanjana Dutta’s “Chronicles of Oblivion” won the Livelihoods Award (with Rita Banerji’s “Shifting Undercurrents – Women Seaweed Collectors of Gulf of Mannar”) and the Best Editing Award.
The short documentary depicts the collision between conservation and livelihoods, in the context of the fishing industry of Odisha. The unusual perspective of the film is a product of the director’s interactions with Dakshin Foundation, a Bangalore-based NGO that works in the area, among others, of marine biodiversity conservation.
The film, funded by the Dakshin Foundation, is an account of the plight of fishermen and women in Odisha. It focuses on the aftermath of the declaration of nearly 1500 square kilometres of the coast and sea in Kendrapara being declared, in 1997, as the Gahirrmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctaury. The restrictions on fishing activities that followed resulted in a huge loss of livelihood, and sometimes life, for those who depend on the sea.
Fishing is no longer a viable option in the region. “There are steps being taken now to involve the local communities in the conservation process… When the Ridleys come to nest for example, local communities are taken aboard. They have to handle the tourists, they have to collect the eggs, put them in the hatcheries, and they get paid for it,” the director informs. But the transition from a traditional livelihood continues to be an arduous process.
Priyanjana made two visits to Odisha to record the testimonies of those affected. “Slowly the story developed, to the point that it became clear to me that it is a gender issue. Therefore the film centers around a feminist perspective of the fish workers plight,” she says.
“Fishing is seen largely as a male occupation, because it’s the men who go out to catch the fish and bring it back. You rarely come across women going out to catch fish,” the director adds, noting, however, that women play a vital role in the process at different junctures. This ranges from preparing the nets prior to the catch, to cleaning and taking it to different marketplaces for selling.
While Priyanjana’s approach is interview driven, she has chosen to retain only the voices of the interviewees, and overlaid them with footage of them involved in various stages of fishing. By doing so, the film seeks to make visible the critical role of women.
“Even if you don’t look at women’s contribution in the household, they are definitely contributing a lot in the fish trade, but there is nothing in terms of policy that speaks of women’s involvement, no credit facility that is given to women fish workers. It’s a completely gender-biased industry,” Priyanjana adds. The film also documents efforts undertaken by fisherwomen to empower themselves in Ganjam district of Odisha.
Priyanjana is now working on a film on Manipuri writer M. K. Binodini Devi. She is grateful for fora like CMS Vatavaran, which offer an outlet for issue based documentaries, and bring voices from the margins into the mainstream. “There is no other forum for people like us to have these voices heard.”
