2013 / digital / color / 118min. (U.S.A. + Nepal)
The Nepalese Manakamana temple stands out against the Himalayas like a huge magnolia tree. This has been a place of pilgrimage for Hindus since the 17th century. They come here to beg for happiness from Bhagwati, the goddess of beauty. The really devout pray for five or ten hours at a stretch.
Until 15 years ago, they would have also just completed a three-hour hike, uphill. But these days, pilgrims can take a cable car and get there in ten minutes. Ten minutes also happens to be the duration of a roll of 16mm film. Documentary makers Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez do not make any cuts, and with “Manakamana” have made a film with less than twenty shots.
In these unusually long takes, the Nepalese jungle slides beneath the cable car like a surreal carpet. The pilgrims – often villagers who have never been in an aircraft – travel through the air to their communion with higher powers. The film zooms in on their emotions and astonishment.
A filmmaker, photographer and anthropologist who explores the confluence of social aesthetics and art in everyday life. She is a PhD candidate at the Sensory Ethnography Laboratory at Harvard University. Since 1999, her main research subject is Nepal, where she partly resides. “Kale and Kale” (07), “Monsoon-Reflections” (08), “As Long As There’s Breath” (10)
Has a passion for unconventional cinematography. His love for experimenting was already apparent when he graduated from CalArts in 2010, and it led him to the Harvard Film Study Center. “Occupation” (01), “Orphans of Mathare” (03), “Bastards of Utopia” (10)
Tokyo Image Forum：4/30 21:05、5/3 21:05
Kyoto：5/19 19:00
Nagoya：6/7 17:00
