SHORT MOVES SHORT MOVIES: GOOD MORNING, SQUIRRELS! [DIRECTOR'S VISION]

GOODMORNING, SQUIRRELS

A short film for children and nature lovers

Years ago, humans and nature coexisted in a harmony. We needed to connect to nature as it was integral to our very existence. Present life style forces us to keep our children indoors, hooked on to computer or TV rather than outdoors, exploring. We need to drive ourseleves to “get back to nature”. We must induce this feeling of “connecting to nature” in the coming generation. We must help our children to develop a respect to their immediate natural surroundings.

The importance of animals, especially those with which a child can develop a nurturing relationship, needs special emphasis, particularly for early and middle childhood. We need to be connected to nature, primarily, to realize our duty towards maintaining ecological balance. . The film Good morning, squirrels is an attempt in this direction.

Squirrels make a great "science project" because they are essential parts of our ecosystem, even urban ecosystems. They eat, mate, give birth, plant seeds...and provide other services for our natural communities Squirrels are quite used to humans and many will come close to people hoping they will be fed. However, squirrels deserve our respectful distance. They have very sharp teeth and sharp claws and defend themselves by biting and scratching if they are startled. However, they are fun to observe.

There are many fun observations one can make about squirrels. These little critters are some of the most loved animals in the wildlife world, and they are right under our nose... well, may be right in the vicinity of your house/premises! Or porch! Or tree! The lovely relationship between Children and Squirrels is a favorite theme of our Poets and Lyricists.

When a child is out in nature all his senses get activated. He is immersed in something bigger than himself, rather than focusing narrowly on one thing. Kids who have direct access to nature are better learners. The story of GOOD MORNING, SQUIRRELS depicts the activity of a group of “nature loving” children, early in the morning, before catching their school bus. The movie speaks of how children, when out in nature, get their senses most activated. It tells us how they become better learners by exploring our nature.

Shrinath, Vineeta, Anjali, Rohita & Alwyn

It portrays that we must help our children to develop a respect to their immediate natural surroundings as every creature has its own value to maintain our ecosystem and the films ends with a catching phrase:

TAKE CARE OF NATURE, THE NATURE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.

I tried to capture panoramic scenes against the back-drop of the lush-green IIM Ahmedabad campus from close range with lot of difficulty and efforts with a view to disseminate the visual knowledge contained in snapshots for the advantage of the tiny-tots…the ones who love nature more than anyone else. The task was especially difficult because squirrels run fast and jump long distances on tiny branches so fast that they have been clocked at 20 miles per hour. I hope Visual media being the star attraction of children, kids would love to see this short film of 14 minutes’ duration…so also all nature lovers and environmental enthusiasts.

Dr.Anita Vidyadhar has played different active roles in this movie such as Music Director, Flutist and a Narrator. The names of other friends who have contributed to this movie are : Smt. Saraswathy S (Technical Support), Shri M V Prabhakar (Background score), Shri Arun Raaj and Shri Aneesh Swathi (Design), Shri Johny Joseph (Orchestration) But the name which I ought to have mentioned first is my friend and relative late Shri Sajan (Lyricist) who had passed away in the last month following liver cirrhosis. In loving remembrance of Sajan, as a Tribute, I posted below the song written by Him for my short film GOOD MORNING, SQUIRRELS.

( SUNIL RAJ )

a song from the short film:

[song theme : self introduction by a Squirrel]

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