Theme 2: INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE & SUSTENANCE
These films were available to watch from 9-18th April 2022. We hope you enjoyed watching them and can share your responses on space.kriti@gmail.com If you missed seeing these films, look out for other upcoming screenings and festivals on Doculive.
(Will Sardinsky | 2017 | 07 mins | English)
This film follows Lani Malmberg, a self-proclaimed "gypsy goat lady" who herds 500 goats around the Western US as a form of ecological weed control. In a world averse to innovative solutions, Malmberg has carved out her own professional vocation in a way that can help inspire lasting change.
Aesthetically intrigued with an interest in how stories can create connection for communal well-being, Will Sardinsky is passionate about exploring the relationship between humans and their environment. Will’s work expresses his fondness of the Colorado landscape, making vast, untouched areas of the West a home for his subject and his audience. Will graduated with self-designed BA in Ecological Journalism and Media from Colorado College.
(Munmun Dhalaria | 2020 | 06 mins | Stod Bhoti with English subtitles )
This short film is an ode to life in the frozen desert, and the resilience of the women who call it home. Kibber, at 4270m, is one of the highest inhabited villages across the Himalaya. Farming communities, like the ones residing in Spiti Valley, are especially vulnerable to climate change and its direct repercussions through fluctuating harvests. Women in these remote communities disproportionately bear the brunt of any crises that affects the region.
Munmun Dhalaria, a NatGeo Explorer, is the director of MoonPeakFilms in India, which she founded in 2020, where she produces award-winning documentaries about nature, science, and social justice. Good filming ethics while delivering high-quality cinematic films, is embedded in her practice.
(Besutolu Shijoh, Povelu Shijoh, Vepralu Sapu | 2017 | 04 mins | Naga with English subtitles)
This film highlights women's rich knowledge of forest foods, and their role in the conservation of forest biodiversity.
The film is made by three women farmers from Phuhgi village of Phek district Nagaland. They belong to the Chakhesang tribe of Nagaland, and practice biodiverse agriculture. Along with their women farmers’ collective, they have set up a community seed bank in their village to conserve traditional seeds including millets. The trio have made few other films on topics covering traditional knowledge and skills on bamboo craft, community fishing practices, forest conservation.
(Rucha Chitnis | 2018 | 9 min | English)
This film celebrates the legacy of beloved Ohlone elder Ann-Marie Sayers. Sayers has devoted her life to preserving the stories and culture of her Indigenous ancestors. This documentary challenges viewers to consider the perilous impact of colonisation on the Ohlone people in the Bay Area.
Rucha Chitnis is a photojournalist, writer, and an emerging filmmaker. Her stories highlight the power and agency of women rising up and raising their voices against ecological chaos and economic inequities. Her work elevates a narrative of hope and resilience in opposition to the ethnocentric lens that often erases, dehumanises, and victimises women and communities of colour. She is a fellow at the International Women's Media Foundation.
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(Kewekrozo Thopi, Tshenyilo-u Chirhah, Vizoli Khamo | 2017 |
13 mins | Naga with English subtitles)
In a time when seed companies are luring the farming communities with its array of seeds, women farmers in Nagaland’s Phek district are asserting their right to ‘Seeds sovereignty’. This film captures the invaluable knowledge and significant role of eight Chakhesang-Naga women who have been saving and protecting their traditional seeds. The voices of the seed guardians are a true testament of women’s resilience and courage in the face of climate adversity, food and nutritional insecurities.
Ms. Tshenyilo-u Chirhah and Mr. Kewekhrozo Thopi belong to Chizami village under Phek district of Nagaland. They work with NEN Nagaland office based in Chizami and lead the PV team. Both discontinued studies after their higher secondary school, and got trained on filmmaking with NEN. As a duo and individually, they have made numerous films on a wide range of issues covering culture, climate change, gender, sustainable agriculture, etc. Ms. Vizoli Khamo belongs to Sumi village, neighbouring Chizami village, and was trained on PV along with Tshenyilou by Insightshare Network and together, they made several films on indigenous issues.
(Palmer Morse, Matt Mikkelsen, Taylor Graham |2020 | 12 mins | English)
Water Flows Together is told from Colleen Cooley’s perspective, exploring the ways in which her upbringing and her native identity have shaped the way she interacts with the world. The film is a meditation on the challenges Colleen and her community have faced, the unique relationship she has with the San Juan River, and the unique opportunities her role as a river guide affords as she seeks to create positive change.
Palmer Morse is an award-winning filmmaker rooted in activism who focuses on using the devices at hand in our visual and media culture that can drive our society to make change. Matt Mikkelsen is a sound recordist, audio engineer, and documentary filmmaker. He has worked as an engineer, sound designer, director, and producer on several award winning documentaries that have been screened around the world but has devoted most of his professional career to observing, recording, researching, and preserving natural soundscapes. Taylor Graham is a multimedia storyteller, Fulbright-Nehru Scholar, and National Geographic Explorer.
Panel Discussion: Indigenous Knowledge and Food Security
(held on 23.4.2022 as part of the Benglaluru edition of the festival)
Kavitha Kuruganti (farmers’ rights activist), Dr. Sylvia Karpagam (public health doctor and researcher) and Dr Arshiya Bose (conservationist, geographer and action-researcher) discuss wide-ranging issues such indigenous knowledge, the role of women, markets and certification in the context of food and nutritional security.
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