Elja Roy has released her new film, Musical Mangrove

IECA member and graduate student at the the University of Minnesota Elja Roy has released her new film, "Musical Mangrove." The documentary is a story about a transnational ecomusical movement to save the world’s largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, shared between India and Bangladesh. The film used Field to Media, a community-based co-production method in both India and Bangladesh.

From the description:

The film is called “Musical Mangrove” because it shows how the artists and musicians of both countries are using music and performing arts to propel an environmental movement. It follows the story arc of Mr. Arjun Modal, his three indigenous musical groups and a group of Bangladeshi artists who use visual and performing arts to fight against unsustainable policies. While following the stories of the groups and individuals, “Musical Mangrove” captures the threats to the forest posed by climate change, erratic weather events, saltwater intrusion, rising sea level, unsustainable industrial encroachment and what it does to the people living in the forests. The documentary captures the length and breadth of the movement and performances of the key artists who have taken leads on both sides of the border and how they are dealing with their struggles. Climate change atrocities have become a global phenomenon and Sundarbans has become one of the most vulnerable zones, so the film intends to bring the urgency of the movement to the forefront.

There are two simultaneous protagonists in this film, in the Indian part of the forest, the late Mr. Arjun Mondal ex-president of Sundarbans Rural Welfare Society and in Bangladesh, a group of performing artists. “Musical Mangrove” moves forward while switching between India and Bangladesh. Where the musical groups under the leadership of the late Mr. Mondal are trying to spread awareness about soil, water and noise pollution, deforestation, rising sea levels, and saltwater intrusion; the Bangladeshi groups are protesting a proposed coal-burning power plant, Rampal Power Plant, in the fringe of Sundarbans. Both are trying to make the mangrove sustainable while being unaware of each other’s existence.

The film is available on Youtube.