Support Sought For Documentary Film About Human Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka
January 29, 2010 —
For thousands of years, across Asia, humans and elephants have lived side by side in a relatively peaceful coexistence. That relationship is now being threatened due to increasing human populations and loss of elephant habitats. Elephants and humans are being forced to compete for resources – a problem that has been defined as Human-Elephant-Conflict (HEC). What lies beneath the often-destructive consequences of HEC is a common story that both man and animal share.
The Asian elephant is not just a living symbol of the cultures of Asia, but it is also very much ingrained in the socio-cultural values of the people in the west and northern hemisphere. Therefore, the loss of the Asian elephant will not just be a huge loss for the people of Asia, but a loss for the entire world.
For conservation biologists, these are challenging times — a time where what needs to be developed are innovative strategies to balance the needs of people and their aspirations, while at the same time, attempting to conserve one of the most endangered mega-herbivores of the world.
Common Ground, an independent documentary film produced by Greener Media in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS), aims to spread awareness about HEC and the things society at large can do to preserve one of the greatest animals in the wild.
Creative director at Greener Media, Phil Buccellato, was drawn into creating Common Ground after having read an article nearly two years ago through BBC that explored HEC, and which spoke of the civil conflict that affected elephant survival in Sri Lanka. The 26-year long civil war that plagued the country didn’t just affect the citizens; wildlife and their natural habitats were taken over and in some cases, destroyed.
Before the end of the civil war had been in sight, the Sri Lankan government allowed rural farmers to arm themselves against the LTTE. However, the farmers instead turned the weapons onto what was perceived as a more frequent threat – wild elephants that were damaging farm properties in search of food.
Such an unintended consequence threatened the already diminished population of wild elephants in Sri Lanka. Through careful study of HEC, Buccellato came to the realization that both the elephants and the farmers were embroiled in a battle for the same things – land, family, food, and water. This notion spurred Buccellato to team up with SLWCS to work together on innovative strategies to save the elephants and better the lives of rural farmers. Thus was borne the idea to create a documentary that would help spread awareness of the Human-Elephant-Conflict in Sri Lanka.
The purpose of the documentary film is to educate the general public as to the critical need to conserve a living cultural symbol and to generate support for its conservation.
Principal photography for Common Ground has been completed, and the project is currently in post-production. Additional support to complete filming – a cost that totals only $10,000 – is vitally being sought. So far, Greener Media has managed to raise 58% of their $10,000 goal.
Greener Media is currently hosting a fundraising drive through Kickstarter – a funding platform for filmmakers and other artists, which allows interested parties to support projects through donations.
Greener Media only has 90 days to secure its goal, with March 7th being the deadline.
Do what you can to help, and spread the word for this worthy cause.
50% of profits from the film will go directly back to the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society to aid in the mission of HEC resolution and development of sustainable livelihoods for rural farmers.
To find out more about Greener Media, their project, and how you can help, visit their website.
To find out more about the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society, visit their website.
To make a donation to the production of Common Ground, click here.