St. Louis Festival to Screen Tiger Widows Documentary
Kaustuv Mukherjee's first feature-length film examines women whose husbands were killed by tigers in the Sundarbans.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Documentary
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Filmmaker Kaustuv Mukherjee will screen his documentary "The Tiger Widows" at the St. Louis International Film Festival on Sunday, November 8. The film is set in the Sundarbans, a mangrove delta spanning India and Bangladesh.
Why it matters
The Sundarbans face rising seas, destructive cyclones, and tiger attacks, and the film centers on the families left behind. The filmmakers hope audiences will care about people they do not know.
The estimated number of tiger widows is as many as 5,000, drawn from regional estimates rather than an official tally. No official count exists, leaving the true figure unconfirmed.
The players
Kaustuv Mukherjee
Filmmaker who moved to St. Louis in 2008 and has made a dozen short films before his first feature-length documentary.
Elja Roy
Visiting assistant professor of film and media at Gustavus Adolphus College who developed the film's concept and served as researcher.
Gustavus Adolphus College
Private liberal arts college in Saint Peter, Minnesota, where Elja Roy teaches film and media.
The details
Mukherjee funded the project with his own seed money, plus support from friends, family, and crowdfunding, after a national grant application failed to secure funding. The film grew from research by Elja Roy, a visiting assistant professor of film and media at Gustavus Adolphus College, beginning with a 2018 interview with Arjun Mondal.
Timeline
2018: Roy interviews Arjun Mondal, who tells her about tiger widows.
2019: Roy learns Mondal was killed by a tiger.
February 2026: Mukherjee travels to India with a small crew and films for three weeks.
Sunday, November 8, 2026: The Tiger Widows screens at the St. Louis International Film Festival.
Big Picture
Tiger attacks in the Sundarbans, the mangrove delta spanning India and Bangladesh, have long shaped life for local families. The documentary extends that story by focusing on the widows left behind rather than the attacks themselves.
Viewers in St. Louis can see the film at the festival screening on Sunday, November 8, 2026. The festival is the documented screening opportunity in the source material.
The takeaway
The film shows how a single research interview can grow into a documentary that asks audiences to care about people they will never meet. Attending local screenings is one direct way to engage with stories like this.
What happens next
The Tiger Widows screens at the St. Louis International Film Festival on Sunday, November 8, 2026.
Further reading
Explore more documentary films from around the world.
Source note: This article includes information reported by STLtoday.
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