“A fish cannot live without water. We cannot live without this forest.” Indigenous forest defender, Prakash Bhoir. Van Versus Vikas (Forest Versus Progress) interrogates India’s model of “vikas” (progress), which has taken a toll on Indigenous communities and created an ecological crisis. This is a place-based documentary short that centers two protagonists: Mumbai’s beloved and threatened Aarey Forest and the Indigenous Bhoir family, whose ancestors have lived in the jungle for generations. The film chronicles the resistance of the Bhoir family as they fight to #SaveAarey, a youth-led movement to stop deforestation from a contentious city metro project.

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