‘God Vulture and Human' explores the subject of organ donation through the lens of transplant coordinators, highlighting their critical role in the process of donation, retrieval, and transplantation. Through the lives of four transplant coordinators, the film delves into the intensities of life and death, while attempting to humanize these coordinators.

The film is the brainchild of Dr. Rajesh Chandwani (Associate Professor of Human Resources Management IIM, Ahmedabad) and evolved from his research on the same subject, which emphasized the role of transplant coordinators in organ donation.

Since childhood, whenever I visited hospitals, I wondered how those working on the frontlines of healthcare cope with their own struggles and grievances. In 2016, after my father's brain surgery and 18 months of regular hospital visits, I lost him. While dealing with my own grief, I began to empathize more deeply with the grief of others. So when this opportunity came, it struck a chord in me, and I immediately started working on it.

Transplant coordinators' tireless efforts - coordinating with multiple stakeholders and counselling grieving families - make them no less than heroes; the unsung heroes who work in silence. To the organ recipients, they are often seen as lifesavers, almost god-like, while the donor families sometimes perceive them as vultures, metaphorically scavenging the remains of the dead. The film is an effort to humanize them, hence the title.

Given the heavy and grievous nature of organ donation, I aimed to handle the subject delicately, while balancing it with the realities on the ground and the dogmas associated with it. I shot the film during the second wave of COVID-19 in India, working as a one-person crew with a Sony Handycam to minimize my presence in hospitals and counselling sessions, capturing the most honest moments possible.

The film features transplant coordinators - Sudha, Bhanu Chandra, Bhanu Prakash, and Dileena in both their workspaces and personal lives, offering insights into their ambitions and challenges, along with following the two brain-dead cases.

This film is my graduation project from the M.Des. Film & Video program at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and my first attempt at a medium-length documentary.

I hope this film finds its own course and reaches its audience.

- Rishiraj Agarwal