Much talked about movies like 13B and Dhoondte Reh Jaoge, which are being released nationwide on Friday, will to have to compete in Dangs with a locally produced full-length film, Sauvli, the first ever in Dangi dialect.

The film has been made with the objective of raising issues of social, political and educational concerns among the tribal people through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl, Sauvli. The girl loses her mother at an early age and struggles to come to terms with her stepmother and drunkard father.

The film has only one song and was shot in 30 days flat in Dhon village of Dangs, located on the Gujarat-Maharashtra border. It has been directed and produced by Anil Patel, a tribal and a National School of Drama pass-out.

The film also focuses on the erosion of traditional values in the tribal community, like food, clothing, dance and other beliefs.

Patel said the film is an effort to attract tribals to movies made in their dialect over those made in either Hindi or Gujarati.

The tribal areas of Dangs are flooded with the VCDs and DVDs of Hindi and Gujarati films. According to a survey conducted by “Earth Matters,” a non-governmental organisation run by Patel, most of the villages have more than 10 TV sets and a VCD/DVD player.

Patel said: “Due to the dumping of VCDs and DVDs, tribal values and culture is eroding. We are not worried about the eating habits or wearing of traditional clothes, but values should not change. The trial run of the movie in some of the schools here has generated a buzz.”