Experiencing Interruptions?

Neighbird: A Documentary on Urban Wildlife

It’s not often that your understanding of the place you live in is completely turned on its head. But that’s what happened to us. When we were forced to lock down in March 2020, we finally slowed down enough to pay attention to life right outside our little apartment in Gurugram, India. We discovered that for years we’d been living in an incredibly biodiverse region of the world. But we’d never noticed it before. We discovered that even within one square kilometer, we were able to spot incredible biodiversity like red-wattled lapwings, cattle egrets, coucals, koels and more. Now, more than 2 years after the pandemic began, we’re so excited to share our journey of learning how to see our world in a completely different way in our multi-award winning documentary, Neighbird.

  • Manon Verchot
    Director
  • Sanshey Biswas
    Director
  • Manon Verchot
    Writer
  • Sanshey Biswas
    Writer
  • Manon Verchot
    Producer
  • Sanshey Biswas
    Producer
  • Manon Verchot
    Cinematographers
  • Sanshey Biswas
    Cinematographers
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes 41 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 30, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Multimedia
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Tagore International Film Festival
    Birbhum
    India
    February 7, 2022
    Outstanding Achievement Award
  • Calcutta International Cult Film Festival
    Kolkata
    India
    February 4, 2022
    Winner of Nature/Environment/Wildlife Category
  • INDO FRENCH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
    Pondicherry
    India
    February 8, 2022
    Best Feature Film on WIldlife
  • All Things Living Environment Film Festival
    Panchgani
    India
    Official Selection
  • Nature Without Borders International Film Festival
    Rehoboth Beach
    United States
    Official Selection
  • New Delhi Film Festival
    New Delhi
    India
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Manon Verchot, Sanshey Biswas

Manon Verchot and Sanshey Biswas met in the newsroom of India's second largest newspaper, The Hindustan Times, back in 2017. They quickly found that they enjoyed working together and they've been inseparable ever since. They married in early 2019. When the pandemic lockdowns began, Manon and Sanshey found themselves stuck staring out the windows of their apartment, with little opportunity to do what they love — reporting in the field. So they started to take a close look at their neighbourhood and soon discovered that something incredible had been at their fingertips the entire time. That's how their multi-award winning documentary, Neighbird, came about.

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Director Statement

"Like billions of people around the world have experienced, the period of lockdowns and social distancing has been very isolating. Documenting the biodiversity of our neighbourhood and then turning those observations into a documentary to share with others became a way for us to push ourselves professionally and creatively during this time. " — Manon and Sanshey