The Stork Saviours, a documentary on Assam’s conservation biologist Purnima Barman, has won the Best Environment Film award in the non-feature film category of the 67th National Film Awards which were announced on Monday.
The film, directed by Vijay and Ajay Bedi, focuses on the initiatives of Purnima Barman for the conservation of the greater adjutant stork and its habitat.
The film follows her quest to involve community women in Assam to save the Hargilla (greater adjutant stork), a critically endangered bird.
“The film cuts across many themes from women’s empowerment to wildlife conservation, a story out of India that must be told,” said directors Vijay and Ajay Bedi.
“We hope to create awareness about a bird that was once considered as ‘ugly’ and dirty because of its scavenging habits. Most importantly we want to tell the story of a woman biologist and the challenges she faces in conservation and how she overcomes these to achieve her goal,” they said.
“I am extremely happy that our efforts have got some recognition. It will inspire us to put in more efforts for the conservation of the wildlife,” Barman told Northeast Now.
She said the film has helped to make more people aware of the initiatives that they have taken for the conservation of the greater adjutant stork.
“We hope, it will inspire more young women conservationists to work for the protection of wildlife species,” said Barman.
Purnima Barman, who is known as the force behind the ‘Hargila Army’, had won the Whitley Awards (Green Oscar) in 2017.