The film is a chronicle of subsequential death of 2 mangrove forests over a period of 4 years (2021-2024) in Goa, India and encourages to reimagine the significance of mangroves in times of rising temperatures and sea levels. The 2018 floods of Kerala was a wake-up call for Western Ghats of the vulnerabilities of ancient eco-systems. It pushed me to study the human impact on Goa’s delicate water ecosystem. In 2021, 70,000 Sq. meter of mangrove forests in Merces, Goa was destroyed as building debris disposal withheld tidal waters from entering the landlocked mangrove forest leading to an increase in salinity of the brackish waters and. In July 2021, fresh water floods due to incessant monsoon rains and opening of gates of Anjumen Dam caused a sudden change of salinity of backwaters and destroyed 1,141,000 Sq.meter of mangrove forest in my village, Corlim, Goa. Aerial and underwater film provide a unique perspective on the colossal impact that humans have on fragile freshwater ecosystem.
This is an anthology of aerial videography and photographs that draw attention to the ways humans damage the earth and each other. They are also a reminder of beauty in the land even when it undergoes catastrophic transformation. Through beauty, these images seek to make an emotional bond with the viewer, inspiring us to care about what we see.
The film presents three bodies of work: the long-term impact of mining and the changing mangrove ecosystem in Goa; salt making in Kutch and Rajasthan; and the direct impact of mining and its waste on the indigenous communities in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh.
The title evokes the term “foreground,” a gesture that moves something to a position of prominence. It also refers to the part in a picture closest to the viewer. Ironically, foreground and background collapse in photographs taken from straight above, rendering the ground the only view in the image.