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NEW
DELHI: Veteran environmental filmmaker Mike Pandey from
Delhi was today honoured with the prestigious V Shantaram
Life Time Achievement Award of the Mumbai International
Film Festival for shorts, documentaries and animation
films – MIFF 2012 – which commenced this evening
in the western metropolis.
 The
award carries a citation, a trophy and a cash prize
of Rs 500,000. Instituted in 1996 in memory of India’s
foremost film maker V Shantaram, the Life Time Achievement
Award aims to recognise the multi-faceted contributions
of an Indian for the documentary film movement.
The
Award was presented to Pandey by Maharashtra Governor
K Sankaranarayanan in the presence of Union Minister
of State for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhury
Mohan Jatua, veteran film historian Vijaya Mulay and
popular Marathi actor Amrutha Khanvilkar.
MIFF,
which is organised by the Films Division every alternate
year, will showcase more than 101 documentary, short
and animation films from 37 countries.
World renowned filmmaker John Bradbury of Australia,
Japanese animation  director/producer
Sayoko Kinoshita, Austrian cinematographer and Director
Michael Glawogger, Bulgarian filmmaker Adela Peeva,
Irish filmmaker Stefanie Dinkelbach, acclaimed film
maker Kumar Shahni are attending the event taking
place at NCPA which will conclude on 9 February with
the presentation of 22 Awards including the Golden
Conch Award for best films in International Competition,
Indian Competition, best fiction, and best animation
films.
Mike Pandey is one of India's foremost wildlife and
environmental filmmakers with over 300 national and
international awards. Several of his films, such as
Shores of Silence, The Last Migration, Broken Wings
and The Timeless Traveller have been directly instrumental
in bringing about legislative changes to protect species
such as whale sharks, elephants, vultures and horse-shoe
crabs.
The Delhi based film maker Mike Pandey was born in
Kenya and trained and educated in the UK and the USA.
In 1994, he became the first Asian producer / director
to win a Wildscreen Panda Award, also known as the
Green Oscar, for his film The Last Migration - Wild
Elephant Capture in Sarguja.
In 2000, his film Shores of Silence - Whale Sharks
in India, won a ‘Green Oscar' for the second
time. The film also led to the ban on the killing
of whale sharks on Indian shores. This film has also
won a National Award for Best Film in the "Exploration
& Adventure" Category, 2005.
 On
October 2004, he did India proud once again by winning
a Panda Award for the Third time for his film Vanishing
Giants - a story of his passion and involvement with
elephants. This film also led to the ban of cruel
and outdated techniques of elephant capture in India.
The prestigious United Nations International Award
For Outstanding Achievement In Global Conservation,
the Prthvi Ratna was awarded to Mike at the Vatavaran
Film Festival in November 2003, for his outstanding
contribution towards generating awareness, which led
to the conservation of a global heritage - the Whale
Shark.
Mike Pandey’s Riverbank Studios has produced
some of India's most popular programmes like Earth
Matters, aired on Doordarshan national network for
13 years, so far reaching over 800 million viewers.
With over three decades of filmmaking experience,
Mike Pandey has produced over 600 films. His powerful
films are living proof of the difference a film can
make in bringing about changes locally, nationally
and globally.
The Festival opened with a Bamboo Symphony –
‘Mula Paadum Ravu’ – which is a unique
Indian Folklore Fusion, founded by Unnikrishna Pakkanar
of Thrissur, Kerala. It is based on the principle
that music has its origin in nature and hence there
is a need to develop an art form that is eco-friendly.
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