When Kolkata-born wildlife filmmaker Ashwika Kapur traveled to rural Bengal, she stumbled upon a disturbing hunting trend being passed on to the younger generations. What she chose to do next sends a powerful message, through her short but strong new documentary.

Throughout the countryside of rural Bengal, which sees human beings living side by side with tigers, elephants and an incredibly vast and varied assortment of fauna, it is not surprising that many men are hunters. Started as a necessary ritual to feed their families and protect their villages, these days the hunts are more like a game, even encouraging annual competitions which take place around the northeastern Indian region. These contests involve everyone, from the elders to the children, men of course. And when award-winning wildlife filmmaker Ashwika Kapur, who herself hails from Kolkata — the regional capital, caught sight of this hunting frenzy, she was shaken to the core. A lesser woman would have walked away, discouraged and depressed.

But Kapur is nothing if not extraordinary, and the filmmaker, whose credits include work for the BBC, Animal Planet, Discovery and National Geographic, and she resolved to change the world. Or more precisely, that world which she had encountered — one person, one child at a time.

She did this with the help of five cameras, and through the support of Roundglass Sustain, a non-profit foundation which commissioned this film and is the only conservation platform in India that collaborates with partners such as photographers, filmmakers and NGO’s to create stories that impact change and behavior. Kapur set out looking for a group of young men, or boys, and found five just hanging out by the side of the road. It was as if they were waiting for her, catapults in hand, ready to pounce on the unfortunate animal that would cross their path.

Kapur approached them, this is all done alongside the viewing audience in her brilliant film which sparkles with humanity and hope, and asked them to swap their homemade weapons for photo cameras. They all agreed, jumped at the chance, and after a quick tutorial, were off to photograph wildlife. After all “shooting” is a word that refers both to hunting and to film making.

These kids turned out to be magnificent subjects for her charming doc, which is short and to the point and even features Kapur as the story’s narrator. In less capable hands, this particular plot ploy could have turned into a cinematic don’t but in Kapur’s hands, and with her charmingly humble onscreen persona, it drives the important message the film carries home.

The film is a finalist for the ‘Impact Campaign’ prize at this year’s Jackson Wild Media Awards, along with films from Apple TV and The Redford Center and premiered in Bristol last night, where audiences were enthusiastic.

To quote the final song from Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, “if you can’t change the world, change yourself,” Catapults to Cameras is a project that doesn’t attempt the impossible. Instead, if offers a roadmap for a way forward, substituting one cultural activity with another less distructive, and in the process, changing the world for the better.

Photos courtesy of the filmmaker, used with permission.