Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga's Netflix documentary The Elephant Whisperers has won an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category. The film was competing against Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger At The Gate.
Produced by Achin Jain and Guneet Monga and directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, the 41-minute film follows Bomman and Bellie, a couple in South India, who devote their lives to caring for two orphaned baby elephants.
After the win Guneet took to Instagram to write, "Tonight is historic as this is the first ever Oscar for an Indian production. India’s Glory with 2 women". She also thanked her family and the film's team for the historic win.
The Elephant Whisperers is Gonsalves' directorial debut. This year, India had secured three Oscar nominations - Best Original Song (RRR's 'Naatu Naatu'), Best Documentary Feature Film (Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes), and Best Documentary Short (The Elephant Whisperers). All That Breathes lost to Navalny.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)