‘The Elephant Whisperers’ Ushers in the Goa Environmental Film Festival

The Oscar-winning documentary “The Elephant Whisperers” opened the first “Goa Environmental Film Festival” (GEFF) on Saturday.

Nilesh Cabral, the state’s environment minister, opened the three-day film festival, which focuses on worldwide environmental challenges.

Sanjit Rodrigues, the G20’s Secretary (Protocol), and Mahesh Patil, the head of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, were both present.

50 films will be presented at the Environmental Film Festival, according to Nilesh Cabral, who spoke at the event’s opening. “Earth protection should be a top priority for everyone. I’m hoping we’ll put some effort into this,” he remarked.

He said that while the GEFF was held concurrently with the G20 summit in Goa, it would now be held every year starting in 2019.

Cabral said that during the festival, films will be shown from Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, Ireland, Oman, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and other nations.

He said that by viewing these videos, viewers may learn about a variety of environmental protection-related topics. As a result, he made an appeal to the public at large and the student body to view these films by taking part in the festival.

Sanjit Rodrigues said, “I believe that the environment is a very precious and delicate matter as well. As we work so arduously to prepare for nine G20 meetings in Goa, we felt that there should be a link with the local community here. As a result, the concept of a film festival was proposed, which brings people together.

He said that these videos demonstrate the state of environmental concerns worldwide and how different nations are addressing them.

“Film is a fantastic medium to raise this degree of awareness, and it is a medium that is acceptable to everyone. Additionally, we have included the local Goan viewpoint in this film festival. It will allow us to assess our performance in this media. I’m glad that this event has had such a positive reception, Rodrigues stated.