Broken Tail

Directed by: John Murray & Colin Stafford, 2010 Ireland 58 minutes
Showing: Tuesday February 14th 2012 - Tiger Night
Location: Pacific Cinemateque

Tickets $18 online / $20 doors  Buy Tickets Here

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.

Irish Cameraman 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 charismatic tiger cub he'd ever seen in Ranthambhore, one of India's premier wild tiger reserves. Impossibly cute, he gamboled 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 wilds of rural India 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 have survived in rural India for so long? What does his death reveal about the fate of the world’s last tigers?

On a spectacular odyssey across Rajasthan, Colin travels by horseback retracing Broken Tail’s last journey, gathering clues as to his route and behaviour, exploring why he abandoned his home and above all – revealing important truths about India's last wild tigers.

John Murray
John is managing director of Crossing the Line Films & Productions, one of Ireland’s leading factual producers for the international market. Specialising in documentaries that bring viewers to the remotest corners of the Earth, CTL were the first Irish documentary production company to move into HD. Working with a wide range of Irish and international broadcasters, their films have broadcast in over 150 countries.

Colin Stafford-Johnson
Colin Stafford-Johnson specialises in Wildlife Documentary making and over the last ten years has been involved in some of the most highly acclaimed wildlife productions in the world. Most recently, his credits have included the BBC Planet Earth series and award winning Mississippi – Tales of the Last River Rat. Many of his films have focused on big cats in particular and he has spent almost 600 days filming tigers in India. Colin's work has taken him all over the world and seen him work in varying environments, from mountains, to deserts to rainforests. Colin currently presents Living the Wildlife for RTÉ, a series which takes him across Ireland in search of all sorts of wildlife and a few characters that share his passion for nature.