Fine Line – Divided Lands

Riccardo Bianco and Matt Sclarandis.

By purchasing or renting this film, you are helping a daughter who has lost her dad, killed in an elephant attack. With your view, she will be able to study at university having a chance at a better future and breaking out of the farmer circle. Almost all elephant habitat is surrounded by farmland where locals earn their living and often reside. Farmlands adjacent to elephant habitats are often prone to crop-raiding from nearby elephants. In many cases, these farmlands are created by clearing prime elephant habitat. Despite the clearing of habitat, elephants continue to forage into these farmlands, causing damage to crops, property and often injuring or killing farmers. Small and economically vulnerable farmers in the surrounding areas suffer greatly as their livelihood might be destroyed by a herd of elephants in a single night. The situation is exacerbated when farmers plant crops that elephants like to eat such as sugarcane, maize, and vegetables. The easy access and availability to relatively high-content and nutritious food in farms make the farms a very lucrative option compared to forests. Human encroachment continues to grow around elephant habitats across Asia. Because of this Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a very important issue in Sri Lanka. We went to document the life of a few farmers who have been badly affected by this and we are helping Imasha, a girl whose father got killed by an elephant and she can't study at university anymore. By watching our documentary you are giving her the hope of going back to university breaking out of the farmer circle.