BROKEN TAIL / BROKEN TAIL'S LAST JOURNEY

One man, one animal and a journey into the last days of the wild tiger
1x80 Min Feature Documentary & 1x52 min version / Format: HD
Funders: Irish Film Board, RTÉ, CBC Canada,

One of the world’s leading tiger cameramen travels through India on a personal pilgrimage, piecing together the extraordinary journey of Broken Tail - one of the planet's most famous wild tigers.

Colin Stafford-Johnson spent almost 600 days filming Broken Tail & his family for some of the finest tiger documentaries ever made. Broken Tail was the most flamboyant tiger cub he'd ever seen in Ranthambhore, one of India's premier wild tiger reserves. Impossibly cute, he gambolled and posed for Colin's camera through the first years of his life. But then without warning, Broken Tail disappeared. He abandoned his sanctuary and went on the run, disappearing into the Indian wilderness for almost a year. He was barely three years old.  Why did this young tiger leave Ranthambhore National Park, supposedly one of India’s best-protected tiger reserves?

How could he possibly have survived in rural India for perhaps a year? What does his death reveal of the fate of the world’s last tigers? On a spectacular journey across Rajasthan, Colin will travel by horseback retracing Broken Tail’s last journey, gathering clues as to his route and his behaviour, asking why he abandoned the park and above all – searching for the truth behind the future of the last wild tigers in India. This is not a wildlife film. It is about the obsession of a man who has spent more time filming wild tigers than anyone on the planet. It is about his personal pilgrimage to a tiger that captivated him and the hope that through his journey, Broken Tail may provide some insight into the long-term survival of the tiger.

Screenings:
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, 2010
Stranger Than Fiction Film Festival, 2010