"Conflict Tiger" wins Banff Mountain Film Festival Grand Prize

In the forests of the Russian Far East, an inexperienced and foolhardy poacher triggers an infamous series of tiger attacks on people. The authorities call upon the services of Yuri Trush, a specialist in tracking and eliminating tigers that have lost their fear of man. Conflict Tiger takes Yuri’s most notorious pursuit of a “man-eating” tiger as the basis for a documentary thriller. In the aftermath of this epic confrontation, the film emerges as a parable that challenges the cozy illusions of traditional “big cat” natural history by setting the animal’s precarious situation against the pressing needs of human survival.

“Direction, photography, editing, sound, and music are combined in this film to achieve a masterpiece,” says jury member Emmanuel Priou. “The strong and personal vision of the director allows us to understand the complicated relationship between man and nature.” “Conflict Tiger is a parable,” adds fellow jury member Bill Noble, “in which man becomes the hunted.”

UK/Sweden, 2005,
61 minutes

Directed and produced by Sasha Snow

Production company: Sasha Snow Film Production / Scandinature for BBC / ARTE / Discovery Channel U.S.

http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/festivals/2006/ film/awards/conflict_tiger.asp