Telangana: Films Highlight Pastoral Life At Eco Festival
The screenings were followed by discussions on the lived realities of pastoral communities and their role in maintaining rangelands and biodiversity: Reports
HYDERABAD: For pastoral communities, climate change is not an abstract environmental issue but something reshaping livelihoods, landscapes and relationships with livestock. These connections were explored through films and discussions at the 11th Babul Eco Film Festival at IIT Hyderabad.
The festival marked the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, bringing films on pastoral life, grasslands, herding and changing relationships between people and nature to an academic audience.
Four films were screened — Planet Sheep from Germany, The Big Steppe from the UK, and Indian documentaries Gyur Se and Bagaal. The latter two were made by Dr Rashmi Singh, assistant professor, Department of Liberal Arts, IIT Hyderabad, as part of her research on pastoralism, rangelands and climate change in the Indian Himalaya, with support from an IIT Hyderabad Seed Grant.
The screenings were followed by discussions on the lived realities of pastoral communities and their role in maintaining rangelands and biodiversity. Singh said the documentaries offered a closer look at how pastoral communities in the Himalayan region negotiate environmental and climatic changes, while also bringing academic research into public discussion through visual storytelling.
The festival also included a photographic exhibition, an EcoCartoon display and a Reuse and Recycle Drive. Filmmakers joined virtually to interact with students and faculty, while Festival director Gangadhar Panday spoke about developing an everyday relationship with nature through simple practices such as conserving water and electricity and reducing waste.
IIT Hyderabad director Prof B.S. Murty said the institute was working towards making its campus net zero and expanding its green cover, alongside measures in water harvesting and waste management. “Environmental sustainability has always been a priority,” he said.
The programme was organised by Singh in collaboration with the Babul Eco Film Festival and Babul Films Society and was registered as part of the global 2026 celebrations supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
