1. Our Film
MAN VILLAGE is a documentary film of the rural poor of central India and how their
lives are seen as worthless in comparison to the protection of Tigers.
Losing the Tiger gives us a feeling that biodiversity will slump into irreversible decline.
There are many stakeholders - governments, environmentalists and documentary
audiences. In the background are the rural poor of India trying to live the same lives
they have lived for generations.
Our film is the story of those very people and how their homes have become the Tiger's
territory as big cats spill out of the reserves; how tension is building between their basic
human needs and the policies aimed at protecting wildlife. Their lives are seen as
relatively worthless in comparison.
Kipling does not come close to The Man Village.
Why we want to make this film:
We have been visiting a rural village in Chandrapur in Central India for over 10
years. We have been drawn to this area because going there is like going back in
time. Sari-clad women cut through verdant green fields whilst a clanking bullock cart
fades into the distance and the light at dusk as dusty hooves stir the air adds a languid
feel to this world. This is where we first shot our first short documentary, "Vitya". But
this languid, biblical landscape is punctuating by the threat of attack, as cats hunt calves
near the road and kill humans when disturbed.
Since our first visit in 2002, we have known these villagers to roam the jungle
fearlessly. The jungle provides them with useful resources like firewood, wild flowers,
nuts and berries. But when we went back in 2010, we found that everything had changed
- One of the villagers was attacked and eaten by a tiger.
The villagers have been aware of the presence of these cats as their cattle are regularly
picked up by them. But now as the tiger has got the taste of human blood, the villagers
fear it will soon attack another human. The villagers who were once fearless now dare
not go into the jungle.
With each passing day, the threat to these poor people's lives increases as the big cats
spill out of the tiger reserves and roam around their villages. Tension is building
between their basic human needs and the policies aimed at protecting wildlife as
government officials see their lives as relatively worthless in comparison. As the villagers
depend on their cattle for survival, they have no choice but to risk their own lives to take
the cattle into the jungle for fodder as they cannot afford to buy cattle feed. Getting
compensation from the government for any animals that have been taken away by the
cats is almost impossible.
Our story is unique because we are giving a voice to the rural poor and offering
audiences a chance to enter into their world. The film is set close to a tiger reserve, along
a one-mile stretch of dirt road bordered by thick jungle, 20km from Chandrapur. There
is a village at each end and a farm in the middle where many of the film's characters
work.

2. We have been visiting this place for over 10 years, treat them as equals and share meals
with them. We therefore have their complete trust. This trust has enabled us to talk to
forestry officers giving us insight into policy and the ability to film illegal activities such
as cock fighting that take place very deep in the jungle.
Our mission:
Man Village is an attempt to draw attention to the plight of these villagers by giving
international television and cinema audiences empathetic and engaging portraits of some
of its people.
We are filmmakers dedicated to the use of film to connect people from different parts of
the world. Our aim is to shed light on important international untold stories through
character based documentaries. We have won several awards and acclaim for drama,
documentary and cinematography.
Project Founders: Shyla Lee (Director/Producer/Editor) and Lukas Lee
(Producer/Writer/Director)
Also on board in India are: Lalita Kamble (Adviser/Translator and owner of the farm
where many of the film characters work), Shashim (Cameraman/Translator), Phillip
Codd (Original Music Composer)
Meet the characters in our film:
Pavan (Helmet): The real Mowgli. He roams the jungle fearlessly and with joy.
Sangeeta: A girl whose father was eaten by a Tiger and who must now take the cattle to
graze alone.
Lalita: who walks the length of the road daily
and
Papeeta, a woman who talks knowledgeably about how the resources in the jungle are no
longer available to her.
Punctuating this atmosphere is the threat of attack by Tigers and Leopards. They sit
close to the road looking to pick off lone calves. Disturbing them in the jungle can be
fatal.
How we plan to use the funds
So far we have used and exhausted our own funds for this project. This project was
therefore suspended due to failure in raising funds. Our regular contacts at the village in
Chandrapur inform us that the cats still actively attack their cattle and posed as the threat
to their lives. They live in fear and want their story to be heard. As a final resort we
have turned to indiegogo for support to complete this film.
We have 5 hours of footage but additional interviews of some of the characters
mentioned above and forest/government officials is required. The villagers are familiar
with the tigers' route and this needs to be captured. The footage we have of one of the

3. cats sitting close to the road is out of focus and not usable. In short we will need to
resume filming for a few weeks to a month.
We need funds for post production, sound design and distribution.
We ideally need $35,000 as it would enable us to use better camera and equipment and to
recover expenses and time already spent on the project but we are asking for less than
half the amount of $15000 just to be on the safe side.
Other Ways You Can Help
Spreading the word by asking friends and family to get the word out and make some
noise about our campaign. Don't forget to remind them about the share tools!)
THE MAN VILLAGE is an intimate and engaging feature documentary film about the
rural poor of central India; and how, as big cats spill out of the nature reserves in search
of adequate territory, they are coping with this daily danger.
The prospect of losing the Tiger makes us very uncomfortable. It generates a feeling that
biodiversity will slump into irreversible decline. There are many stakeholders -
governments, environmentalists and documentary audiences. In the background are the
rural poor of India.
Our film is the story of the tension building between a human community’s basic needs
for a safe environment to live and work and the policies aimed at protecting wildlife in
this part of the world.
But it is not a film that tries to prescribe opinion or answers to this subject. We merely
wish to give these people a voice and let the audience appreciate their perspective.
Why we want to make this film:
We have been visiting a rural village near Chandrapur, in Central India, for over 10
years. We are drawn to this area because being there is like going back in time.
Picture the scene: A long line of Sari clad women cutting through verdant green fields
whilst a clanking bullock cart fades into the distance. The light at dusk, as dusty hooves
stir the air adding a languid feel.

4. This is where we shot our first short documentary, "Vitya". But this unhurried, biblical
landscape is punctuating by the threat of attack, as cats hunt calves near the road and kill
humans when disturbed.
Since our first visit in 2002, we have known these villagers to roam the jungle
fearlessly. The jungle provides them with useful resources like firewood, wild flowers,
nuts and berries. But when we went back in 2010, we found that everything had
changed. Only a week prior to our arrival a villager had disturbed a Tiger and been killed.
The presence of tigers and leopards has a big effect on these communities as their cattle
are regularly picked off from the back of the herd when coming back from grazing.
But now, as the tiger has the taste of human blood, the villagers fear it will soon attack
another human. Villagers who were once comfortable in the jungle dare not venture in.
But some still must. They have no choice but to take their animals in to feed as they
cannot afford fodder. And getting compensation from the government for any animals
that have been taken away by the cats is almost impossible.
Everybody is fearful when travelling to and from work at dawn and dusk and children
must be escorted to school.
Our story is unique because we are giving a voice to the rural poor and offering
audiences a chance to enter into their world.
The film is set close to a tiger reserve, along a one-mile stretch of dirt road bordered by
thick jungle, 20km from Chandrapur. There is a village at each end and a farm in the
middle where many of the film's characters work.
We have grown to know all of these people over many years, treat them as equals and are
comfortable sharing meals with them in their own homes. We therefore have their
complete trust.
This trust has also enabled us to talk to forestry officers giving us an insight into policy.

5. This trust has also allowed us to film illegal activities, such as cock fighting, that take
place very deep in the jungle, thereby allowing us to paint a comprehensive and
absorbing picture of life within these communities.
Our mission:
The story of our film is not unique to this particular village in Chandrapur. Tigers have
been attacking and killing people in villages across India for centuries. But Man Village
gives the rural poor a voice and will give international television and cinema audiences an
empathetic and engaging portrait of these people. And, in so doing, allow them to
understand more fully the issue of wildlife preservation within the modern world.
We are filmmakers dedicated to the use of film to connect people from different parts of
the world. Our aim is to shed light on important untold stories through character based
documentaries. We have won several awards and acclaim for drama, documentary and
cinematography.
Project Founders: Shyla Lee (Director/Producer/Editor) and Lukas Lee (Producer/Writer/Director)
Original Music Composer: Phillip Codd
On location in India:
Lalita Kamble (Adviser/Translator and manager of the farm where most of the film’s
subjects work)
Shashim Premanand (Camera)
TituBesekar (Lighting)
Sachin Wandrey (Sound)
MarutiKotrangey (Jungle guide)
TinkuKhade (Photographer and Indian wildlife expert)
The subjects in our film:
Pavan (aka Helmet): The real Mowgli. This young boy roams the jungle fearlessly and
with joy.

6. Sangeeta: A girl whose father was recently eaten by a Tiger and who must now take the
cattle to graze alone.
Lalita: who walks the length of the road daily in order to work at the farm.
Papeeta: a woman who once depended on the resources in the jungle.
How we plan to use the funds:
So far we have used and exhausted our own funds for this project and have suspended
production. Our regular contacts at the village in Chandrapur inform us that the cats still
actively attack their cattle and pose the same threat to their lives. They live with this fear
and want their story to be heard.
We have turned to indiegogo for support to complete this film because we’ve heard
positive things about how crowd-funding is changing the way important stories are now
being told.
We already have 5 hours of footage but additional interviews with more characters and
forest/government officials are required.
The community is familiar with the cat’s route and this footage needs to be captured.
The current big cat footage we have is out of focus and not usable.
We will need to resume filming for between 2-4 weeks and need funds for travel, filming,
post production, sound design and distribution.
A conventional film production unit might need $50,000 - $100,000. But our
approachis to work economically as a small unit and estimate that the project can
be brought to fruition for $18,000.
Other Ways You Can Help
Spread the word by asking friends and family to get the word out about our campaign.
Don't forget to remind them about the share tools.