Survival International Wins Hollywood Film Award

I’ve written about Survival International’s activist efforts a couple times this year (see: Na’vi of Avatar in India Protesting British Mining of Sacred Indian Mountain and Amazon Being Sold to Foreign Oil Companies in Peru, Peruvian Indians Demanding Answers). This great organization is now going to receive an award from Hollywood for its activist efforts and great film-making.

It was recently announced that ‘Mine: Story of a Sacred Mountain’ won the award for ‘Best Short’ in the category of International Human Rights at the Artivist Film Festival. This film documents the activist efforts of the Dongria Kondh tribe in India to protect a sacred mountain from a Britsih mining company (first link above).

Survival International writes:

‘Mine’, narrated by British actress and activist, Joanna Lumley, depicts the struggle of the Dongria Kondh tribe of Orissa, India, to save their sacred mountain from Vedanta Resources’ proposed open pit bauxite mine. In August, the Dongria Kondh won an historic victory as India’s environment minister blocked the controversial mine.

’Mine’ will be screened at 4 pm, and the award will be presented at 8 pm, on December 4 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California.

Survival was at the forefront of a global campaign against Vedanta’s mine for several years, with the film playing a crucial role. ‘Mine’ has been viewed by over 650,000 people around the world. It even came to the attention of ‘Avatar’ director James Cameron, and the Dongria became known as the ‘real Avatar tribe’.

Survival’s US Coordinator, Tess Thackara, who will accept the award, said today, ‘We are very honored to have been awarded this prize. ‘Mine’ was an integral part of our campaign for the Dongria Kondh and shows what an invaluable part film can play in human rights advocacy. We hope all those inspired by ‘Mine’ will continue to support other tribal peoples around the world.’

Congratulations to Survival International and the Dongria Kondh tribe.

If you are interested in attending the Artivist Film Festival, it will be in Hollywood from November 30 to December 4, then is headed to New York and London (December) and Rio de Janiero (March) and you can buy tickets via the link above.

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Photo Credit: Survival

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