A student film on human-crocodile coexistence

Hello!

My name is Meghna and I'm a wildlife filmmaking MA student at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.

About the film:

As my thesis film, I am producing a short documentary on a beautiful story of coexistence between humans and mugger (marsh) crocodiles in the villages of Charotar in Gujarat, India. My film will capture how the people of Charotar have learnt to live alongside the apex predators in their lakes and streets and how this wisdom, respect and tolerance is passed down to the next generation. My shoot coincides with the nesting season of the crocodiles when I also hope to film the crocodiles with their eggs and babies to show a side of their adaptation.

My motivation:

Growing up in India, I have always heard stories of conflict between humans and wildlife, whether the elephants in the tea gardens or snakes in the city. But, on the flip side, many people in India have traditionally shared their land, water and resources with animals, especially apex predators for decades and generations. I want to highlight this side of the narrative and show that we can develop systems of living peacefully with our animal neighbours. As the world faces a concerning biodiversity crisis, can we learn from those who protect and conserve animals at a community level? I want my film to inspire the future conservation of crocodiles and change people's perspectives about these misunderstood predators.

Voluntary Nature Conservancy:

Through this film, I want to contribute to the commendable conservation work being done by Voluntary Nature Conservancy - a local NGO whose scientists, researchers and volunteers work day in and out to conserve the biodiversity in Charotar and keep the coexistence going. Their hard work serves as an inspiration for this film!

Why this fundraiser?

A big part of my film will be shot at night as that is when the crocodiles are most active during nesting season. Capturing the crocodiles' behaviour in this habitat is key to telling the story of coexistence in this region. The biggest challenge with this is acquiring the right filming equipment and resources that will allow me to film good footage of the village and the animals in low light. Unfortunately, this is neither easy nor cheap. Other major expenses involve flights, accommodation, local transport and compensating any crew I hire in the country. Finally, although the team at VNC have graciously offered their support for this film I truly want to make a meaningful contribution to their conservation efforts.

How you can support!

You can support this project in several ways -

1. Contribute to the fundraiser - no amount is small and every contribution will go a long way to making this project a success!

2. Share, share, share - share this fundraiser with all your friends, families and social media network!

3. Reach out to me if you know anyone who can help me with equipment or other sponsorship for the project.

I've already invested much time, effort and savings into getting this project to lift off. But I still need your support to make this film as excellent as it can be by helping me get the right equipment, transporting my crew to the location and organising location logistics. I do not intend to make a profit on this film, so every contribution will go towards increasing the production value and outreach of the film. And whatever amount I am left with after the production will go towards directly supporting the efforts of the Voluntary Nature Conservancy.

Thank you!

Please note: The images used in this fundraiser and the crowdfunding video are taken by members of the Voluntary Nature Conservancy and were shared with me, with consent, to be used in this fundraiser. I do not claim ownership over them.