Documentary Awards for Pankaja Brooke

Pankaja is given two awards for two of her short documentaries in November in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pankaja has been travelling a lot lately – after a visit to Bali for some R & R with Vandana who joined her from Australia, she flew to Vietnam for a new film project (more about that soon) and from there back to Jakarta, Indonesia, for some honours: she was given an award each for two of her short documentary films at the 2013 International Film Festival:

The Award of Excellence for Ramesh and the Quality of Life Project was presented to her by the King of Kutai (one of the oldest kingdoms in Indonesia, located in East Kalimantan, Borneo) and an Honorary Mention Winner Award was given to her for Master Wu Nanfang on Song Mountain.

Ramesh and the Quality of Life Project was previously shortlisted for the Golden Poo Awards as part of the Global Handwashing Day and World Toilet Day campaigns. The documentary is about Ramesh, a young man from a very poor family in southern India. He lives in Tiruvannamalai, famous for its ancient Shiva temple and the ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi, one of India’s most revered saints. Ramesh has a Master’s degree in Bio-Chemistry, and uses his skill and local knowledge to build eco toilets for the villagers.