Amidst Sundarbans’ climate crisis, Madhumita restores a fragile mangrove forest, while her daughter Soma comes of age, inheriting a legacy of care and understanding what it means to be rooted.
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Participants
Somashree Bag
Primary Participant
Participant
Somashree Bag
Primary Participant
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Madhumita Bag
Soma's Mother, Secondary Participant
Participant
Madhumita Bag
Soma's Mother, Secondary Participant
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Shivshankar Bag
Soma's Father, Tertiary Participant
Participant
Shivshankar Bag
Soma's Father, Tertiary Participant
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Team
Ipshita Bhattacharyya
Director & Producer
Team
Ipshita Bhattacharyya
Director & Producer
We are all made of each other and even in our individualism we are all connected. It is this dynamic interlinking of human experiences that inspires Ipshita to tell stories. Working as an independent filmmaker, Ipshita explores storytelling through...
We are all made of each other and even in our individualism we are all connected. It is this dynamic interlinking of human experiences that inspires Ipshita to tell stories. Working as an independent filmmaker, Ipshita explores storytelling through the intricate facets of nature, culture and conservation. With a background in television production, she worked extensively as a director / producer on several travel documentaries, from exotic landscapes to remote villages from 2005 till 2017. As the Creative Director with NDTV network Ipshita worked on conceptualising and directing content for branded social campaigns which were important tools for raising public awareness on social issues and brought experts, celebrities, bureaucrats, political leaders and the public onto a shared platform.
In 2017, Ipshita founded a filmmaking collective Reel Nomads (a team of freelance artists) that works towards crafting compassionate stories, which trigger inspiration and create dialogue. Her work is purpose led and through her collective she brings in an inherent understanding of grassroots India and its cultural, social and environmental challenges. In the past 7 years, her work has led to documentary projects with many social development organisations and international broadcasting platforms, creating films on environment, climate change, gender, social justice and culture. Her passion is to swim against the tide and go deeper into forging real bonds with the community, capturing intimate emotions and serve the common goal of leaving this world a little better than before.
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Nitin Kumar
Cinematographer
Team
Nitin Kumar
Cinematographer
With over 10 years of experience, Nitin specialises in filming human-centred narratives, travel and wildlife documentaries, working across a variety of formats and styles of cinema. His work is deeply rooted in authenticity and he is passionate
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With over 10 years of experience, Nitin specialises in filming human-centred narratives, travel and wildlife documentaries, working across a variety of formats and styles of cinema. His work is deeply rooted in authenticity and he is passionate about exploring the universal language of cinema, telling stories that resonate with a wide variety of audiences. His curiosity moves him to constantly experiment with the visual language and the world of cinema is his constant inspiration. As the director of photographer for My Mangrove Mother, Nitin immerses himself in the lives of the characters and their seductive yet fragile world.
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Niladri Bhattacharji
Editor
Team
Niladri Bhattacharji
Editor
With over a decade of experience in the advertising business, storytelling is Niladri’s forte. In 2015, Niladri decided to leave the world of advertising agencies and began his foray into filmmaking, In the past 10 years, he has worked on a
...
With over a decade of experience in the advertising business, storytelling is Niladri’s forte. In 2015, Niladri decided to leave the world of advertising agencies and began his foray into filmmaking, In the past 10 years, he has worked on a variety of formats exploring the nuances of storytelling for different audiences and platforms. From creating trailers with Hollywood based post production agencies to delivering short docs for not for profit orgs, from long fiction broadcasts on OTT / TV platforms to independent documentaries, Niladri has always loved to push the boundaries of his imagination. He understands the demands of a constantly evolving cinematic world and as a core member of My Mangrove Mother, he embraces the challenges and the adventure both on the edit table and on location.
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Budget
This section includes information about this project.
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Grants & Awards
November 2025Official Selection at Green Stories Pitch Lab
November 2025Official Selection at Himalayan Story Lab 2025-26 Cohort
December2025Letter of Intent from Taskovski Films Ltd
March 2026Artist Residency at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts
Stills
Our Ask
Since 2010, repeated cyclones and intensifying storms have made the Indian Sundarbans one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Entire communities are facing slow displacement and children are growing up with an uncertain sense of home, safety, and identity. Climate change here is not a future threat. It shapes everyday life.
There is a growing global audience searching for climate stories that move beyond catastrophe and despair. Stories that acknowledge fear, but also offer solutions toward hope, agency, and care. This film is rooted in that need.
This story must be told now because it unfolds through time; seasons, relationships and a pivotal moment in a young girl’s life. Our primary participant is on the threshold of adolescence, a transition that mirrors the fragility and transformation of the land she calls home. We cannot recreate or postpone this moment.
Filming must continue in 2026 so that we can spend a year with her, her family, her community and the landscape, allowing the story to emerge organically. We have already done one schedule of filming in March 2026. The next crucial phase for which we are trying to raise fund is the filming through the monsoon months. Missing this window would mean losing the integrity of the story itself.
Of the total project budget we are currently seeking funding for USD 30,000 to:
Film the monsoon production schedule in July / August 2026
This funding is crucial for the film to move from concept into lived reality and for us to capture the story with care, trust and continuity. Your support at this stage will directly shape the foundation of the film, enabling a process that is ethical, collaborative and deeply rooted in the community it portrays.
Supporting this film means investing in a story that speaks to one of the defining challenges of our time, told from a perspective that is often unheard. It is not a story of spectacle or disaster, but of patience, resilience and inheritance. It honours care that is practiced across generations in the face of uncertainty.
