I co-wrote this sponsorship application with Hemal Trivedi for the film Forest of Punishments in the summer of 2014. The film’s production continued sporadically for ten years and is currently screening at the Gotham Week film market under its new title, The Half-Truths.
Logline:
A tribal schoolteacher who runs an orphanage for children of war in India’s bloodiest conflict zone, a dense forest where a mining company and rebel forces are at war, is arrested, tortured, raped and wrongfully imprisoned. Her arduous quest for justice unites 800,000 tribals to peacefully fight the government that victimized her, and makes her a symbol of resistance against state oppression in the world’s largest democracy.
Brief Synopsis:
India’s once-peaceful tropical forest has become the battleground of what is now the country’s bloodiest war. State-backed mining companies are forcibly displacing the forest’s indigenous people for their land’s rich iron ore. In response, indigenous tribal people are taking up arms and joining the forest’s armed Maoist rebels to fight for control of their land. This war has seen over 500,000 tribals displaced, 800 villages burned down and 13,000 civilians and soldiers dead, and continues to escalate.
Soni, a tribal schoolteacher, runs an orphanage for children of the war. The police ask her to spy on the rebels, and she refuses. She’s accused of being a rebel and arrested. The police molest her, electrocute her, and rape her with stones. Her story makes headlines across India and ignites a movement to free her.
Soni’s journey is intertwined with those of two other tribals, Bhoomkal and Badru, who fight state tyranny in two opposing ways. Bhoomkal, the earthy, outgoing leader of over 800,000 tribals, urges his people to resist the cycle of violence. He travels from village to village and unites all the tribal communities in a Gandhi-like nonviolent resistance movement against the corporate takeover of the forest.
In contrast, the fierce rebel leader Badru controls Soni’s village, killing anyone he suspects of helping the government. In his training camps we see children as young as 10 training to be foot soldiers. Later, Badru surrenders to the police and takes up arms against the very tribals he once vowed to defend.
Finally, after two and half years of steadfast effort, Soni is released from prison. The Aam Aadmi Party, a new anti-corruption political party, offers Soni a spot on their ticket in her local elections. She happily returns to her forest in her new avatar as a politician. Bhoomkal becomes her chief political ally. Soni loses the election, but continues to work with Bhoomkal to unite tribals and nonviolently attempt to bring peace back to their home.
Storytelling Style:
Most of the film is shot in an intimate vérité style, with scenes of our subjects’ home lives as well as their personal quests. We have emphasized our character’s emotional lives, and there are many scenes of intense anguish as well as relief and hope. Attention has also been paid to the lush beauty of the forest and how it is marred by mines, factories and war, and the bright color of the villagers’ surroundings as they fret for their lives. We are also planning to collaborate with some tribal musicians for music for the film.
Our primary audience is young people in the Indian middle class, the Indian diaspora in the United States and abroad, corporate India and policymakers. India’s rapid economic development (and burgeoning middle class) is contributing to corporations’ enormous appetite for resources. The Indian government’s forces assist the seizure of these resources at the expense of tribal lives. Thus, we believe middle class viewers, especially those in India, have the power to influence Indian government’s policies regarding tribal communities and responsible development.
We’ve already seen that young Indians in the middle class have been provoked into speaking out by Soni Sori’s compelling story (as shown in the film), through portions of the film we’ve already released to activist organizations such as HRLN and the Association for India’s Development. The interest is there, though most coverage presented by the media about the tribals’ plight lacks depth and humanity. We have adopted a style that we hope will make the indigenous people in the forests real and sympathetic to these audiences—often raw and emotional, but also presenting the color and life of the forest and tribal communities.