Panaji: Angelos Rallis, Director of “Mighty Afrin: In the time of Floods” has said that while making the film he faced various challenges and had to shoot barefoot surrounded by snakes during floods.
Rallis was speaking on Wednesday during an interaction programme in the 54th International Film Festival of India.
To show the world how the people of the sub-continent of Asia live during the floods, he chose to stay with them in those situations without any facilities available.
“It is a climate crisis story, wherein various aspects of the same are shown. If you want to do a film about climate change, then this sub- continent is the first place to check because it is an area which is severely affected,” the Greece filmmaker said, adding the film was shot for five years.
He said that it was a complicated process to shoot in Bangladesh as the place he had chosen had no facilities of hotels or even electricity.
“I experienced the situation in Bangladesh and later I shot the film. It was not an easy process as there was no electricity to use equipments. There were many difficulties…I stayed with local people and relied on them to know about weather changes and floods. It was a dangerous process. During the floods I saw snakes around me, but without fear we shot 10 to 15 hours a day,” Angelos Rallis said, adding batteries were used during shootings, which had to be sent for charging after every alternate day to far places.
“I am happy because it is a life experience. It was a challenge to explain to the community about this film project. I stayed there wearing ‘lungi’ and walking barefoot to see how the locals were living,” he said.
He added that it is a film about the climate crisis and about how people adapt, when there is no sort of help from anyone.
In the disappearing islands along the Brahmaputra river, orphan Afrin faces the ravages of floods in a coming-of-age tale.
The film captures her resilience as she seeks her estranged father amid the climate crisis, joining the ranks of new refugees, merging dreams with reality.
–IANS