"Black Sand", a revealing documentary that exposed black sand mafia operations in Kerala, to be released on YouTube. The film has garnered over 50 national and international awards to date.

Kochi: As the black sand mining issue is gaining prominence again in Kerala, "Black Sand", a documentary which made waves in the national and international film festivals, is being readied for its release on YouTube. Directed by renowned Hollywood director Sohan Roy, the documentary narrates the horror caused by the irrevocable damage caused by sand mining at Alappad. The release is scheduled for February 8th, 2024 at 6:00 PM on Sir Sohan Roy's official YouTube channel.

Black Sand qualified for the Oscars ‘Best Documentary Category’ in 2021, and won over sixty awards in its maiden year, including an award by the central government. Portraying the actual face of the illegal sand mining syndicates in the state, "Black Sand" has earned critical praise for its hard-hitting depiction of the social, political and environmental effects of unregulated black sand extraction. With its worldwide release on YouTube, the award-winning documentary promises to ignite fresh discussions about the contentious issue, which has long plagued India's southern coastal regions.

Some of the awards received by this documentary include Best 'Nature Documentary' at Central Department of Culture's Mumbai Cine Film Festival, Baba Sahib Ambedkar International Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, Best Documentary Festival organized by London based 'Best Film Awards', L'Age d'Or International Arthouse Film Festival, Rajasthan Film Festival, Calcutta International Film Festival, World Film Carnival in Singapore, Tagore International Film Festival, Prague International Film Festival in Czech Republic, Gona Film Festival, Nawada Film Festival, Paris Film Festival, San Diego Movie Awards, Madras Independent Film Festival, Uruvati International Film Festival, Hodu International Film Festival, Indo-French International Film Festival, International Motion Picture Festival of India, Sahasra International Film Festival and more.

Abhini Sohan Roy produced the documentary. The research and screenplay of this is done by Harikumar Adiyote. Famous music director Bijuram gave background music. Johnson TI has handled the editing and Tinu handled the camera. Editing, coloring and graphics are by Mahesh, Bijin and Arun.

The translation of the film released in English and Malayalam languages was done by Neha and Mrinalini. Arun Sugathan and Lakshmi Atul are the executive producers of the movie.

With the film now reaching the masses through YouTube, it is likely to ignite fresh controversies around the sensitive issue of black sand mining in the political circles of Kerala, say the makers.