Er. Abdul Rashid from EMMRC, University of Kashmir, Srinagar was awarded as the Young Green Filmmaker award 2016 in the fourth edition of Woodpecker International Film Festival held at Sri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, from September 15 to 18.
His Documentary on Dal Lake titled as “The Bitter Truth –Dal losing battle between locals & the authorities” was shortlisted and screened during the four-day film festival.
300 entries received for the festival from across the Globe and only 94 films were shortlisted and screened during the festival.
Woodpecker Film Festival and Forum (WIFF) is a global film festival focusing on issue-based cinema. The Film Festival aims to showcase this rich mélange of visual creativity to promote films and filmmakers focusing on socially pertinent themes.
The documentary, “The Bitter Truth–Dal losing battle between locals & the authorities”is about once majestic and beautiful Dal Lake in the heart of Kashmir valley. The film ably demonstrates the beauty of the lake and raises issues about its deteriorating condition due to multiple reasons. The film talks about various causes like pollution, sewage, encroachment, human interference and negligence on the part of agencies etc. The authorities find the inhabitants of Dal areas responsible for the lake’s downfall and they in turn put all the blame on the authorities. The film also shows some efforts of conservation, portrayed on a large scale, which seem to be in vain as the result isn’t visible.
Director CEC Prof. Rajbir Singh, Director EMMRC Srinagar, Dr. Salima Jan has congratulated Er. Abdul Rashid for his dedication, commitment, capability and consistent efforts to showcase issues of immense ecological relevance and importance through this documentary.