Review of Tiger24
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 90
Director: Warren Pereira
Writer: Warren Pereira
Release Details: Elevation Pictures is thrilled that the documentary, TIGER 24, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Warren Pereira, will release on all major Canadian/US digital platforms on December 6th following a successful US theatrical run. TIGER 24 won the Panda award at the 2022 Wildscreen Festival In the UK and is a finalist at the Jackson Wild Media Awards, where previous winners include Academy Award® Winner, MY OCTOPUS TEACHER. The film has also claimed several accolades and awards across the festival
Review:
Man v/s animal perhaps is the oldest conflict. It raises an important question- are we encroaching the animal’s personal space? Is an animal wrong in behaving by its instinct? A documentary filmmaker Warren Pereira comes close to answering these questions when he accidentally finds himself in midst of one of the biggest man-animal conflict of India while filming Tigers in Ranthambore when Ustad a.k.a Tiger-24 is captured, plucked from his natural habitat, and sent to a zoo enclosure. Something doesn’t sit right, and Warren decides to explore the facts further diverting from what he originally had set out to do.
The documentary mainly focuses on this one handsome Tiger Ustad, a beautiful, magnificent creature in itself, who is happily living in the jungle with his mate Noor and few cubs – a happy tiger family if you will. But all is not well, as humans often venture into Ustad’s territory and in few incidents are mauled by the Tiger, believed to be the ‘Tiger-24’. Warren further explores each death in detail speaking to eyewitnesses and experts to understand what happened and what could have been done to prevent these tragedies.
The documentary stays true to its nature and provides a lot of in-depth account with original footage of the Tiger and the victims too (not for the faint hearted). It explores all four deaths giving first-hand accounts. It’s shot beautifully and at no point you find anything unnecessary or awkwardly inserted just for sensationalism. So, full marks to Warren for that. It’s amazing to see how many villagers (not all of course) that live close to the jungle are aware that they are encroaching the animal’s space and perhaps the animal is not wrong and acts in self defence. Warren is equally sympathetic towards the victim’s family as well.
It’s definitely worth a watch and one of the better documentaries you might have watched in a while now. There is quite a bit of raw footage and makes you feel like a witness to this. Your heart sure goes out to the victims as well as towards Ustad and his family.
The part where Ustad’s family is lost after he is taken to an enclosure, leaving his partner Noor and cubs searching for him, is heart breaking. It shows neither man nor animal is immune to certain basic emotions. Tiger-24 is a sad but beautiful representation of the true facts of man-animal conflict. It is unbiased, well-rounded and factual that naturally underscores just how we humans wreck the lives of the animals, the first occupants of this planet, now left at our mercy to survive.
ReviewRon 