We chat with Taira Malaney about her feature-documentary 'Turtle Walker'
Filmmaker Taira Malaney opens a window to the fascinating world of sea turtle conservation by presenting the story of Satish Bhaskar through her feature documentary Turtle Walker, which was recently screened at the Kolkata International Film Festival. We speak to her on the development and vision behind the documentary.
Excerpts:
What made you choose Satish Bhaskar's life and contributions as the narrative?
I found out about Satish’s story when I was living in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Soon after I moved back to Mumbai and decided to pursue a career in filmmaking that explore the relationship between people and wildlife. After making two shorts, I came across an article about Satish and his experiences in sea turtle research and conservation. That was really fascinating to me because it had all the ingredients of a character driven adventure story that one can relate to.
Can you take us through the process of making the documentary?
We started out in 2018 and decided to make a short film. We started with some research and interviews and shot a teaser. It got successfully incubated and we turned it into a feature documentary. We started pitching it to different forums through which we could develop the story and get amazing guidance.
What are the challenges of making an independent film/documentary?
One of the biggest challenges will be funding. For me, it was also settling on the treatment and story because it was a bit unusual to use re-enactments in a film. It was challenging and risky worked out in the end.
How was it received at the Kolkata International Film Festival?
We had a special screening and an audience who enjoyed the film. We were very lucky to have the film screened there because it was incubated in Kolkata in the very beginning. It’s such a vibrant city for the arts.
What is the message you want to give the viewers through Turtle Walker?
The resilience of a species that has been surviving on this planet for millennia! It’s incredible to see them recover from extreme change in their environment. It’s a story of hope and inspiration for the next generation. I felt if I wanted to get this generation encouraged to explore the marine world it was necessary to have a hopeful message.
What is your vision for the future of documentary film making?
I hope that it continues to play a role in impact. You have a story that you spent years documenting and characters that have the possibility of changing people’s hearts and minds about issues. When people leave the screening, the idea is to then take all of that emotion and channel it towards some kind of impact and positive change.
