Nocturnes

In the species-rich jungles of the Eastern Himalayas, scientist Mansi sets out to study nocturnal butterflies. She is joined by Bicki, a young volunteer from the local community, who helps set up a large light screen every night to attract moths of various shapes, colors, and patterns. As they watch, an illusion of a living image floating in the night unfolds before the viewers’ eyes, hinting at the changes that await these species in the face of climate change. The film unfolds not only as a portrait of two researchers devoted to work whose results are difficult to measure in cosmic time, but also as a slow meditation inviting us to take a closer look at the mysterious connections that exist in nature and to question humanity’s place and scale of action on Earth.

Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan

Anirban Dutta is a filmmaker, still photographer, and media educator. His work explores topics such as biodiversity, environmental issues, health, and gender and sexuality.

Anupama Srinivasan is a filmmaker, film educator and curator based in Delhi. She did her BA in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University and went on to study filmmaking at the Film & Television Institute of India. She has been making documentaries for over two decades, often shooting and editing her own work. Her films have been screened at various film festivals including Sundance, CPH, and Hot Docs.