Know more about life in the sea through films, masterclasses and sailing expedition at this festival in Mumbai

A moment from the documentary, Dolphins of Maharashtra. PIC COURTESY/MAHAMTB ON YOUTUBE

Pick up any film set in Mumbai, and at some point in the story you'll find the protagonist - the struggling actor, the heartbroken lover, the local gangster - making a beeline to the shores of the city to gaze intently at the sea. We have a bone to pick with them. None of them showed us what's actually inside it. The Ocean Film Festival India this weekend at the Mumbai Zoo will aim to fix that with a special line-up of films, masterclasses, and explorations.

"Mumbai has a handful of hills in the heart of its forest. Every year, the city hosts two annual mountain film festivals. On the other hand, for a city that is surrounded by the sea, on a planet that is 70 per cent ocean, we have no film festival dedicated to the sea. That's as good a trigger as any to put one together," reasons Paresh Pimpale, co-founder of Ecofolks. For the organisation that began screening select films as World Ocean Day-special events in 2019, this weekend will mark the first full-fledged ocean-themed film festival.

Dhanya Pilo sails on the yacht, Maiden, in Southern Ocean for the Ocean Globe Race 2023. PIC COURTESY/Najiba Noori - The Maiden Factor

At the day-long celebration, filmmakers will give the audience a glimpse of how oceans shape life - both human and wild - off the coasts of India. Director Akshay Mandavkar's Dolphins of Maharashtra, for instance, is a ‘sound' exploration of the species of dolphins thriving in the Indian Ocean, with a special deepdive into the acoustic capabilities of the marine mammals. The Khalasis of Malabar, a documentary on the skilled Khalasi wooden vessel builders, presented by the National Film Development Corporation will make for a timely rewind.

When we reach out to sailor Dhanya Pilo, who grew up sailing off the coast of Colaba, she is gearing up to present a masterclass titled The Sailor's Eye: Lessons from the Sea at the festival. Oh, and she has a word for those folks we had reservations about earlier - landlubbers. "It's an informal term for someone who is content with life on land and doesn't know much about the seas," she laughs. While she's anything but one, Pilo has always looked back at land when she sets sailing. "I have seen the city's skyline evolve. Earlier, Gateway of India would stand out as a striking landmark when I looked back. Today, it's dwarfed by the many skyscrapers that all look the same," she sighs.

Seabird class sailboats sail in the open waters of the Mumbai harbour. PIC COURTESY/Teertha Guha Sarkar

In 2019, Pilo set sail from Mumbai to Sri Lanka. In 2023, from Azores (an island off the coast of Portugal) to Southampton in the UK, and in 2024, her team won the Ocean Globe Race 2023-24, an around-the-world sailing race. Yet, her concerns hit a tad too close to home. "I have witnessed whales and dolphins thriving in the Southern Ocean, but I'm more concerned about the plastic floating off Mumbai's coast, the garbage that has our mangroves in a chokehold, and the sewage flowing into our seas," she points out.

Paresh Pimpale

Gasping in awe (and concern) from your cosy seats when Pilo presents video clips and observations from her expeditions might not do justice to the stories, the organisers agree. To that end, sailing instructor Zia Hajeebhoy will lead a set of adventurous participants on a sailing session off Gateway of India for a hands-on, immersive end to the day. While you're at it, don't forget to look back and marvel at the city for a bit. We won't call you a landlubber, we promise.

ON April 6; 9 am to 1.30 pm (screenings), 4 pm (sailing)
AT The Mumbai Zoo, Byculla; Gateway of India
LOG ON TO ecofolks.com
ENTRY Rs 299 (screenings); Rs 1,499 (screenings and sailing)