Every living thing

The ecological messages in two recent poignant and thought-provoking films are unsettling and disturbing, but they also offer an alternative model to conservation

As India prepares to celebrate 50 years of Project Tiger, its feted flagship programme to protect the tiger, two movies that made it to the Oscars this year offer alternative models of conservation. In doing so, they also raise uncomfortable questions about Indian society. One is The Elephant Whisperers , a 41-minute gem that won the award for the Best Documentary Short. The second is the poignant and thought-provoking All That Breathes, which was nominated for, but sadly did not win, the award for best documentary feature.  

Most striking is the fact that the human protagonists in both films represent people