ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
Using a diminishing bird habitat as a focal point, SEARCHING FOR SPARROWS documents the efforts of four citizens working in diverse fields in current-day Hyderabad, India, who are engaged in trying to reverse the impact of rapid urbanization on the environment.

SYNOPSIS
SEARCHING FOR SPARROWS follows four individuals who are citizens working to improve social and ecological conditions in their hometown of Hyderabad, India, a city undergoing rapid urbanization. While development is impossible to stop, this film calls attention to the personal responsibility of individuals to stay grounded in sustainable practices.

Anant is a sociologist who runs Hyderabad Urban Labs, a group that shares knowledge related to issues that arise with urban living. He notes how changes in industry, infrastructure, economics, and the resulting way of life in Hyderabad reflect broader changes in India and the world.

Arun takes viewers on treks into new territories, calling attention to construction that’s dangerously close to the few remaining, now contaminated, water bodies.

Madhu is a former banker who taught herself organic farming and is deeply invested in how food systems change and how that affects sustainability.

Lubna works with Save Our Urban Lakes, an organization that fights to protect Hyderabad’s lakes. Runoff from industrial plants and sewage have made a once-thriving ecosystem filthy and uninhabitable for wildlife.

This film takes a poetic approach in addressing the loss of bird habitats, shedding light on destructive practices that aren’t always directly visible but are responsible for damaging the health of the city. The effect on bird habitats portends serious consequences for people living in cities. Like the canary warning coal miners of the levels of methane, bird ecology can serve as an indicator of urban health.

This is not a quaint story about a particular city. It’s about taking a close look at the changes taking place in one urban example—searching for the context of these stories and seeking solutions. While the film’s focus is in Hyderabad, the questions raised resonate globally as cities elsewhere are experiencing the effects of development and climate change.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Laj P. Waghray
PRODUCER Laj P. Waghray
CO-PRODUCER Ramon Rivera Moret
IMPACT PRODUCER Malini Pershad Waghray

WEBSITE redcranefilms.org

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