India's 'The Elephant Whisperers' wins Oscar for Best Documentary Short

Kartiki Gonsalves-Guneet Monga
The film, produced by Guneet Monga, marks the debut of Kartiki Gonsalves, who believes Indian stories have the potential to be recognized in the world. Photo: Reuters

The Indian documentary 'The Elephant Whisperers' won the Oscar award for Best Documentary Short at the 95th Academy Awards on Monday. 

The Netflix documentary in Tamil deals with the unbreakable bond between an abandoned elephant and their two caretakers. It competed for the Documentary Short Subject category with Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger at the Gate.

The film, produced by Guneet Monga, marks the debut of Kartiki Gonsalves, who believes Indian stories have the potential to be recognized in the world.

Read more: Wanted people to see we share similar traits with elephants: Kartiki Gonsalves | Interview

India has so much to offer from every nook and corner. There are stories that are really small that have so much hope, like 'The Elephant Whisperers. 

And then there are beautiful stories like 'All that Breathes' that is in the heart of a city. So, there's a big range of stories from across India, which really have the potential of going out to the world and being loved by audiences across the oceans, Gonsalves had said in an earlier interview.

"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 space with and finally, for coexistence," Gonsalves said in her acceptance speech.

The team started shooting 'The Elephant Whisperers' from 2017. Photos: Netflix

The director went on to thank the Academy, producer Guneet Monga, her family and dedicated the win to her "motherland India".
"Thank you to the Academy for recognising our film, highlighting indigenous people and animals.. To Netflix for believing in the power of this... To Bomman and Belli for sharing their sacred tribal wisdom to Guneet, my producer...

"My mentor and my entire team and finally, to my mother, father and sister who are up there somewhere and you are the centre of my universe, to my motherland India," she added.

(With PTI inputs.)

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