Tamil language documentary wins Oscar

At yesterday’s Oscars, South India was in the spotlight. A Tamil language documentary about rescued elephants has won an Oscar for Best Documentary in the Short Film Category at the 95th Academy Awards.

Set in the Mudumai National Park in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, The Elephant Whisperers, the documentary directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, beautifully portrays the relationship between an orphaned elephant and humans who consider him a part of their own family.

On stage at yesterday’s award ceremony in Los Angeles, the director thanked the Academy, producer Guneet Monga, her family and dedicated the win to her “motherland India”.

The Elephant Whisperers follows an indigenous couple, Bomman and Bellie, as they fall in love with Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant given into their care, and tirelessly work to ensure his survival. Forging a family like no other that tests the barrier between the human and the animal world, the film highlights the beauty of the wild spaces in South India and the people and animals who share this space.