From the opaque pollution of New Delhi in India to the disappearance of sea ice in Siberia, “All We Breathe” and “Haulout” each tackle complex topics to highlight the ravages of human-caused climate change and its dependence on fossil fuels.

Hailing from the Yakut people, Maxim Arbugaev and Evgenia Arbugaeva offer a short film about the disaster that befell their native Siberian walrus, due to melting ice.

Titled “Haulout”, their film follows marine biologist Maxim Chakilev, who is responsible for studying the migration of this species on Russia’s harsh Arctic coast. It presents a striking picture: in front of the scientist’s hut, 100,000 walruses suddenly pile up on the previously deserted beach.

Interestingly, this spectacle then reveals a sad reality: the fat mammals huddled there because they had no other choice, because of the retreating icebergs. And this overpopulation has dire consequences, as they collide with each other.

The first Yakut creator to be nominated for an Oscar, the two directors hope to “contribute to the conversation about the disastrous state of our planet”, explained Ms. Arbugaeva told AFP.

Brothers and sisters, this duo is at the forefront of seeing the effects of global warming.

“Speaking from the homeland, in my opinion it is very, very important”, continued the director. For him, having a local perspective allows you to achieve “something very personal (…), you speak about your own heart and the broken heart of your community.”

Birds are in trouble

With “All that we breathe”, Shaunak Sen set his scene in India.

This feature film explores the devastating effects of pollution on animals in New Delhi, where the air is some of the dirtiest in the world.

This documentary follows three men at a self-funded veterinary clinic, who treat some of the hundreds of birds that fall to the ground every day due to the toxic haze around India’s capital.

Every day, whole cases of injured raptors arrive in their dungeons. The three of them were even desperate to save a bird whose wing was broken in the middle of the river.

“Hundreds of birds fall from the sky every day. What amazes me is people act as if everything is normal,” one man told his wife.

The film also explores how birds learn to eat trash, pick up cigarette butts to keep pests away, and sing high-pitched songs to communicate in the noisy Delhi traffic.

The documentary tries to invite the public to “consider the interdependence of human and non-human life”, the director told AFP.

Because besides the hot air, many birds are also injured by the wooden kite strings that are so loved by the Indians.

New perspective

For Mr Sen, “there has to be more” environmental documentaries, “given the attention that the state of the planet requires”.

The director urged his fellow filmmakers to embrace new perspectives, to direct “more sophisticated stories that make us think about the planet”, rather than focusing on “grim, doom, and despair”.

The film begins with a shot of a pile of trash and gradually reveals the flora and fauna that have learned to thrive in this dirty environment.

Instead, “Haulout” opens with the beauty of nature, before unraveling the tragedy caused by the loss of the iceberg: the walruses arrive exhausted on a crowded beach, where many succumb under the weight of their companions.

In a heartbreaking scene, a malnourished walrus cub touches the body of its dead mother, before weakly trying to swim out to sea.

During filming, “my hands were shaking because I was so moved, I was crying, the camera was not steady,” recalls Ms. Arbugaeva. “Sometimes certain sequences just don’t work. Key, crucial moments. But it’s so hard”.