Bellie Amma reacts to The Elephant Whisperers' Best Documentary win at 95th Academy Awards
Protagonist of Oscar-winning documentary Elephant Whisperers
As The Elephant Whisperers won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film (Short Subject) on March 12, Bellie Amma, who featured in the documentary, spoke to the media and expressed gratitude for all the love the documentary received in the last few months.
Talking about the impact of the documentary, Bellie said, "The documentary (Elephant Whisperers) has gone as far as the Oscar awards. Only now I understood that it has reached this far. It's not just me who deserves appreciation for raising the baby elephants... The doctor, compounder, forest officials, deputy director, field director, ranger, everyone helped me and provided me with all I needed and hence it was possible to raise both the baby elephants."
Reflecting on what the Oscar win can do for her community, Bellie said, "My story, documentary having won the Oscar award has brought cheer to everyone in Mudumalai Tiger reserve. Forest dept, Adivasi (indigenous) community everyone is delighted. No one has done something of this sort recognising the efforts of Adivasi (indigenous) people in Mudumalai. We are all living in the Mudumalai forest and have no exposure to the outside world. Me having raised those two elephant calves is what has taken us so far."
The documentary, helmed by Kartiki Gonsalves, follows a couple, Bomman and Bellie, who adopt two orphaned elephants in Tamil Nadu's Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.The Elephant Whisperers was a directorial debut for Gonsalves, who has previously worked as a social documentary filmmaker, natural historian, and photojournalist.
While accepting the Oscar award on stage, Kartiki said, "I stand here today to speak for the sacred bond between us and our natural world. For the respect of indigenous communities, and empathy towards other living beings we share our space with. And finally for coexistence."
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Other documentaries that got nominated for Oscars this year were Haulout, How Do You Measure A Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect, and Stranger At The Gate.
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