PROJECT SUMMARY
Soni Sori, a tribal school teacher, runs an orphanage in India’s last remaining dense forest famously named The Lungs of India, located in the state Chhattisgarh. When a mining conglomerate starts destroying the tribe’s sacred land, inciting a bloody civil war, Soni is unexpectedly caught in the crossfire. She is arrested, tortured, and sadistically raped. However, her plight only emboldens her people, who protest relentlessly for her release. Freed after two years, Soni becomes an icon and the leader she never imagined she could be. She unites over 100,000 tribals, in India’s biggest indigenous nonviolent peaceful resistance movement to reclaim the forest.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
Award-winning filmmaker Hemal Trivedi began following Soni's journey even before she was arrested. Filmed for over 12 years, The Half Truths presents a complex and nuanced understanding of a story
unknown by the rest of the world, and absolutely misunderstood in vast parts of India. While all mainstream media is barely able to scratch the surface, this fiercely independent filmmaking team has been able to penetrate this story deeply. Using Hemal’s point-of-view as context she retains a non-judgmental tone very carefully navigating the complex morality of its subject. The audience is not told how to think or what to think. They are free to take in and make their own conclusions.
CHARACTER SKETCHES
SONI SORI
Soni Sori an ordinary Adivasi (indigenous) school teacher, was running a government residential school in the Rebel controlled forest.
In 2010, Soni’s nephew Lingaram Kodopi decided to report on burned down houses by Indian paramilitary in his neighboring village. This was in the middle of India’s operation Green Hunt -- which was an all-out offensive by Indian paramilitary forces and the states forces to “purge” the Naxals from the forest. When Soni started raising her voice against that, she was arrested along with her nephew and husband.
In the prison, Soni alleges that she was stripped naked and sexually assaulted and tortured with electric shocks. Upon medical examinations doctors removed three stones that had been inserted into her vagina and rectum by the police.
While in the prison, she smuggled out a few letters. Those letters sparked a free Soni Sori movement. Soni remained strong and she continued to smuggle out letters. She also refused to budge under pressure. While in prison she says she was offered amnesty and a financial reward of about 1 million rupees if she stops her pursuit of justice. But the ordeal of fellow prisoners made her strong and made her take a resolve to fight for justice for herself and others. In the prison she got shaped as a leader.
After two and half years of concerted efforts by Soni’s lawyer Colin Gonsalves and other Civil Rights organizations, she was granted bail. She could finally return to her forest in 2014 in a new avatar of a politician and a leader.
While in the forest, she mobilized 100s of thousands of indigenous people to start a non-violent peaceful resistance movement. Through her efforts she was able to get over 250 indigenous people out of the prison and prevented over 1500 arrests. She was also able to prevent mining of her part of the forest. Soni continues to fight and live in her village. She continues to protect her forest from mining interests. She is also now passing down the torch and nurturing next generation of women leaders who can continue to fight with her.
BADRU
Badru, an indigenous boy, was born in a small village in the forest. His parents were both farmers and he was helping them with farm work. When he was 11 years old his small village in the forest was attacked by the Indian para military forces. Badru’s house was burned down and his father was killed by the police in front of his eyes. Badru somehow snuck out of his village and escaped in the forest. In the forest he soon was recruited by the Rebels, who were defending the forest from the invasion of the Indian government.
He became a really good Rebel leader. He quickly climbed up the cadre and within a span of 8-9 years he became a divisional commander for the Rebels. He controlled the forest with an iron fist, killing anyone who dared to cooperate with the police. He shot Soni Sori’s father in the foot because Soni’s father was suspected to be an informer for the police. He was a mastermind of several armed attacks on the Indian police. Including attacks on the local police station that killed 12 policemen.
In 2014, Badru impregnated his wife. Soon after he decided to join mainstream India by enrolling in the Indian government’s surrender and rehabilitation program. Under this program he renounced his Rebel ideology and decided to uphold the Indian constitution and pledge allegiance to the Indian state. Under the rehabilitation he was promised Rs. 130,000 ($1700) and a monthly stipend of about $300. After his rehabilitation, Badru was hoping to be a teacher because he was sick and tired of the violence and he knew that violence is not the answer. He was however pushed into becoming a policeman. He was one of the most efficient police soldiers of the region.
Today Badru is a head of the police special task force that focuses on penetrating the forest and removing the Rebels from the forest. The entire special task force is made up of all former Rebels. He is also a highly decorated police officer and he has received a Presidential medal for his work. After joining the police he got his high school diploma. He is now planning to finish college in an open college. He lives well with his wife and his two children. Both his kids go to a really nice government school. He still hopes to become a teacher someday. He believes that violence is not the answer and the lasting peace in the region can only be brought through education.
COLIN GONSALVES
Colin Gonsalves is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and the founder of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). He specializes in human rights protection, labor law and public interest law. He has brought several cases dealing with economic, social and cultural rights.
Colin Gonsalves has written, edited and co-edited numerous articles and books on a range of human rights law issues. He has received several awards internationally and nationally.
Colin Gonsalves, is a BTech (1975) from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay. He began working as a civil engineer, but was drawn to the law through union work and concerns over labor issues and exploitation. That inspired him to be a lawyer and he is one of the leading lawyers of India today.
In 2011, while Soni Sori was in-hiding from the Indian police, he met her in Delhi. He immediately was drawn to her case and applied for anticipatory bail. Despite Colin’s best efforts he could not prevent Soni’s arrest.
Colin persisted in his quest to get Soni out of prison. He helped create the Free Soni Sori movement. It was a global movement to put pressure on the Indian government. He also helped to mobilize several civil rights organizations to get Soni out of prison. He also assigned several of his best lawyers to this case. With his concerted efforts Soni was released from the prison on a bail after two years. This was a rare feat because the prisons of the forest are black holes and indigenous people never get out of it.
Soni’s release inspired Colin to open a legal help unit in the forest itself. Soni was serving as Colin’s field worker and translator. Together they got 250 indigenous people out of the prison. They were also able to prevent several arrests. Colin faced several hardships because of his legal work. His license was revoked, his funding was curtailed, his tax records were inspected. His office was ramshackled. His harddrives were wiped off. Some of his colleagues were even arrested under the charge of being Rebel sympathizers.
Despite everything Colin continues to fight and supports Soni’s quest to prevent mining corporations’ takeover of the forest.
INTENDED IMPACT
22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India. The forests of Central India are not just the “lungs of India” but 'serve' the entirety of South Asia. They are as important as the Amazon, although not nearly known or acknowledged as such. Despite these facts the Government of India is not taking serious steps to stop mining and deforestation.
Indigenous communities of Chattisgarh often consider themselves ‘keepers of the earth.” The tribals have been living in the forest for 1000s of years - these forests are their sacred lands. That's why they are the best preservers of the forest. Protecting Soni, her activism and the tribal way of life goes hand in hand with protecting the forest and reversing the course of climate change.
The Team
Hemal Trivedi - Producer and Director
Hemal Trivedi - Producer and Director
Hemal Trivedi - Producer and Director
Hemal Trivedi (India/U.S.) has been editing and directing documentaries for over 20 years. Hemal’s work has won one Oscar, three Emmys, and a Peabody. She’s been nominated for eight Emmys, an MTV Movie Award, Cinema Eye Award, and Independent Spirit Awards.
Cynthia Kane - Producer
Hemal Trivedi - Producer and Director
Hemal Trivedi - Producer and Director
Cynthia Kane co-created Sundance Channel’s DOCday bringing Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and Denis Poncet’s The Staircase (2006 Peabody, Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Awards) to US television. At ITVS, she shepherded over 150 international and U.S. co-productions for public media. At Al Jazeera America, she commissioned documentaries and series including Albert Maysles’ final work, In Transit.
Amelia Hanibelsz - Executive Producer
Laurence Uebersfeld - Co-Producer (France)
Laurence Uebersfeld - Co-Producer (France)
Amelia Hanibelsz is a two-time Primetime Emmy-nominated Supervising Producer and a Genesis Award-winning producer-director. Over two decades, Amelia has produced, and directed award-winning content for Discovery, National Geographic, Animal Planet, The History Channel, Fremantle Media, The Smithsonian Channel, A&E, and The Oprah Winfrey Network, in Singapore, Sri Lanka and New York.
Laurence Uebersfeld - Co-Producer (France)
Laurence Uebersfeld - Co-Producer (France)
Laurence Uebersfeld - Co-Producer (France)
Laurence Uebersfeld launched LuFilms in 2007 after working as a journalist in the US. She serves as an expert for documentary incubators and is a member of USPA, the leading TV producers’ union in France. LuFilms produces creative documentaries on contemporary issues with both European and international broadcasters, focusing on diverse filmmakers and highlighting women. Notable films include Before Father Gets Back and Margaret Garner.