Producer Guneet Monga’s ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves bagged the ‘Best Documentary Short Subject’ at the 95th Academy Awards on Monday.
The movie competed against Haulout, The Martha Mitchell Effect, Stranger At The Gate, and ‘How Do You Measure A Year?’.
Guneet took to social media and wrote, “We just win the first ever Oscar for an Indian Production! Two women did this! I am still shivering”.
In another post the filmmaker said, “Tonight is historic as this is the first ever Oscar for an Indian production.
Thank you Mom Dad Guruji Shukrana To my Co-Producer Achin Jain, Team Sikhya, Netlflix, Aloke, Sarafina, WME Bash Sanjana. My lovely Husband Sunny. Kartiki for bringing & weaving this story”.
“To all the women watching….The future is audacious and the future is here Let’s go! Jai hind #theelephantwhisperers,” added Guneet.
‘The Elephant Whisperers’ is an Indian-American short documentary film, which tells the story of an indigenous couple named Bomman and Belli who are entrusted with an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. They take great pains to ensure that the fragile, injured infant survives and grows to be a healthy juvenile.
A strong bond develops between the couple and the elephant. Set in the Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu, the documentary also highlights the natural beauty of the location. It explores the life of the tribal people in harmony with nature.
Produced by Sikhya Entertainment, the film had its world premiere on November 9, 2022 at DOC NYC Film Festival, a film festival for documentaries in the United States.
It was released by Netflix on December 8, 2022.
