Special Prize of the John Templeton Foundation, Nyon 2005

The people of a village in the Georgian Caucasus are the focus of this captivating  film, as they confront global issues while watching the “dragon” of an oil pipeline creeping inexorably toward their doorstep. The camera engages us, often with humour, in such issues as post-communist democracy, ecological dangers, changing laws, uncertain economics, and a transnational corporation. Even xenophobia rears its ugly head as foreign workers bathe in pure mountain waters. The genuine and wider concerns of the villagers are caught as they pray in a ruined church for local, national and world peace.