NID graduation projects are special, as they are the perfect stepping stones to explore, create & experiment at a high competency, but also getting the opportunity to get industry experience which is backed by the institute's years old reputation of quality education.
God Vulture and Human explores the subject of Organ Donation from the perspective of Transplant Coordinators, highlighting their role in the process of organ donation, retrieval and transplantation. The idea of the documentary film evolved from a research paper on the same subject authored by Dr. Rajesh Chandwani (HRM faculty, IIM-A). The paper highlighted the role of Transplant Counsellors (or Coordinators) in the entire process of Organ Donation.
Transplant coordinators’ tireless efforts- coordination with multiple stakeholders, and counselling the grieving family makes them no less than a hero; a hero who works in silence; an unsung hero. From the Organ recipient’s side, they are often perceived as God, while on the contrary from the Donor family’s side, they are often looked down upon, being called like a Vulture, metaphorically who picks up the remains of the dead. The film is an effort to humanise them, hence the title.
As the idea to make a film around Organ Donation in itself is heavy and grievous, I tried to handle it in utmost delicacy while also trying to balance it with showing the ground reality around the subject, and the dogmas associated with it. I shot this film during the second wave of Covid in India, as a single person crew, on a Sony Handycam, to minimise the effect of my presence in the hospital premises and counselling sessions, while also capturing it in the most honest sense.
Apart from this year's National Award, the film has also been selected in multiple national and international film festivals such as DokuBaku IDFF (Azerbaijan).
RISHIRAJ AGARWAL (Film Director and co-producer) M.Des FVC NID Ahmedabad (2018-2022)