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25 Nov 2024

Atman Mehta’s Film on Climate Crisis Premieres at Alaskan Tribal Conference

Atman Mehta

Golovin village in Alaska

A still from the film

The film ‘A Beautiful Place’, created by Atman A Mehta, that addresses the impact of the climate crisis on a remote village in Alasaka, premiered earlier this year at the 30th anniversary of an Alaskan Tribal Conference and was subsequently screened on PBS Alaska state satellite channel KTOO TV.

The film, shot entirely by 22-year old Atman, and produced almost single-handedly by him, is set in Golovin one of the smallest arctic villages in Western Alaska, and traces residents’ lives as they confront an increasingly severe climate crisis.

Atman, the son of Tejal and Spinal & Neuro Surgeon Dr Ashish R. Mehta, worked on the film over a couple of years after his graduation with small support from University of Chicago where he is currently pursuing his Masters and PhD program. He is working on his dissertation on economic and environmental transformations across the 1970s and 1980s, primarily focused on the US and Japan.

His parents, and brother Nisarg believe that Atman’s story, from “connecting with his Alaskan film mentor Ellen Frankenstein to getting access to a remote Alaskan village of Golovin (Population 156) through its council, to being the only ever Indian to reach that part of the Alaskan soil and soul”, is an interesting fable.

They highlight his varied experiences including “witnessing nature in its most elite purity, to battling weather, to meeting pure souls, to being a pure vegetarian in Alaska, to record more than 800 hrs of spontaneous narrations, to relentlessly battling through the production and post production single handedly” as some of the key milestones.

“I got into film making after some years of doing video journalism, due to my conviction about the power of cinema as a medium,” says Atman. He said that he chose this project “because few people would travel to a place as remote as Golovin, Alaska, which undoubtedly is facing disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis”.

Atman continues, “Hopefully the film allows audiences a surrogate presence in one of the places most affected by the climate crisis, and thereby understand the issue in a more concrete, human way.”

He explains that the film is narrated entirely by those featured in it, “to allow people to describe issues as they understand them, as opposed to relying on any kind of paraphrased narration”. He feels that this is “too often ignored while portraying stories of tribal and indigenous populations, including Alaska Natives”.

Atman is still formulating his future plans. “I'm not sure yet, but I would like to work in the climate/economic development space,” he concludes.

This is the link to the film.

https://youtu.be/F_voDPfgdD4?feature=shared