Visions du Réel 2005

It is an allegorical approach, through myths and fable to try to understand the fundamental issues of human and cosmic existence: where do I come form, who am I and where do I go?

These are portrayed harmoniously by the film-makers through the triple realities of past, present and future and by the use of historical film, animation and reconstruction.

This film deals with the domination of minorities in culture, economy and religious values. It is a gentle but firm call for mutual understanding and acceptance and an invitation to consider truth as something to be sought after with humility and courage.

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.