Adventure series in association with IISc Film Society Presents
Two Rivers
A program supported by sciencevision and Ashiwini Kumar Bhat and his Team
Danube - Europe's Amazon
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Aghanashini
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Romantic coasts and unspoiled nature: the Danube fascinates. It dominates the landscape wherever it flows. The Danube unites and separates at the same time. In the Roman Empire – from its source to its estuary – it formed the frontier to the peoples of the North. Today the big stream flows through ten countries. 1071 kilometres of the Danube still represent national borders.
This extensive portrait of Europe’s second longest river will alternatively present numerous natural paradises along its banks but also the disharmony between humans and nature, between civilization and wilderness. Dams and power plants shift between images of pure nature. World famous cultural landscapes, such as the Wachau or metropolises like Vienna, Bratislava or Budapest are situated along the grand stream and in-between emerge untouched natural landscapes, such as the Danube National Park or the Kopacki Rit. Further south, the river bursts through the Iron Gate between the Carpathians in Romania and the Serbian Ore Mountains. The estuary into the Black Sea could not be any more spectacular: the large stream finishes up in a unique labyrinth of water, mud and reed – the Danube Delta. It is the last reaming big river delta in Europe and the largest reed bed in the world. Pelicans, cormorants, white tailed eagles and European spoonbill nest in these huge breeding grounds. The area where the Danube originates stands in unparalleled contrast to the unspoiled landscape of the estuary. 3000 kilometres upstream it has its source in a well-kept palace garden in the German Black Forest. |
The film is about a river of the Western Ghats – “Aghanashini”, which is a unique river from two aspects. First, it still flows in the same course since thousands of years due to absence of any dams. Second, It doesn't have any industries along its course. So its water is pure through the year.
The documentary covers the river from four different perspectives. 1. Origin and history of the river 2. Environment and rich biodiversity along the river and its valley. 3. Human dependency on the river. 4. Culture and rituals that have developed over time because of the river. The movie making team have carried out extensive study and lot of discussions with various resource persons to arrive at a set of stories via which we have told the story of the river - from its origin till it meets the sea. The stories that are chosen are very unique ones, some of which are found nowhere else in the world and some of which are told for the very first time. The team took for about two years to make this film. |
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Filmmakers
Ashwini Kumar Bhat and his Team
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Ashwini Kumar Bhat is nature photographer since ten years and his images have been recognised at national and international level magazines, books and awards. He is a founding member of Landscape Wizards, a team of photographers and film makers who are focussing on popularising Landscape Photography in India. This is Ashwini's first documentary film. Sriharsha Ganjam is an avid nature photographer and star gazer. Being a founding member of Landscape Wizards he started a series called Unseen Landscape, which is a short documentary series about the unseen landscapes of India. Sahana Balkal is a nature photography, videography enthusiast and an expert planner. She is the voice of Aghanashini in the Kannada version of the film! |
Rita Schlamberger
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Rita Schlamberger is an internationally acclaimed natural history film director and producer from Austria. For the past 23 years, Rita, who co-founded ScienceVision Film produktions with her husband, Michael, has produced and directed many award-winning, blue-chip natural history programming for major broadcasters such as BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, ZDF, NDR, NHK, THIRTEEN WNET, ORF, Servus TV, and many others. Rita has a PhD in biology from the University of Graz, Austria and is a licensed pilot and a certified scuba diver, which are handy skills to have when it comes to filming nature. RitaÊs latest film, "Making an Ancient Forest" brings to light the extraordinary natural processes of a primeval forest and the survival strategies of its inhabitants when left alone to restore itself back to its original, wild state. |
Michael Schlamberger
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Michael Schlamberger is an Austrian Director of Photography, Producer and Director of natural history films, based near Graz. His unique visual style and storytelling ability has earned him multiple awards and international acclaim. Prior to his career as a filmmaker, Michael studied medicine and earned his doctoral degree at the University of Graz. Michael was always captivated by film and nature, and after becoming a certified master diver and airplane pilot he combined his passions and began filming underwater and from the air. In 1992, Michael founded ScienceVision together with his wife, Rita. Their body of work has taken them from the highest, coldest peaks of the Alps to the arid expanse of the African desert. They have produced blue chip natural history films for television and cinema - BBC, ORF, Discovery, National Geographic, NDR, Arte, NHK, THIRTEEEN WNET, Terra Mater and many others - as well as immersive and multi-screen programming for museums and National Park Centers. Michael's fascination with film technology is a driving force behind the development of new cutting-edge camera and sound innovations. |
Venue: Centre For Earth Sciences, IISc, Bangalore Date: 3rd November, 2017, Friday Time: 4.00 pm |