LIDF

In his latest film, Stone Pastures, Donagh Coleman depicts day-to-day life of a family in the high Himalayas. In this interview he tells us more about the villagers and discusses the difficulties surrounding the making of the film by Kamila Kuc

Kamila Kuc: Stone Pastures is a beautiful depiction of everyday life of a nomadic family in the high Himalayan plateau of Ladakh. The conditions of living are very difficult and every day is a struggle for survival. How long were you there for and how did you adapt to these circumstances?

Donagh Coleman: I stayed in Chanthang over several trips between 2003 and 2007. I would usually base myself in Leh (Ladakh’s capital), and then go stay with the nomads for about 10 –14 days at a time. It is really tough staying in those altitudes – the plateau where the nomads live is at an altitude of around 4,5 km, and in winter, temperatures can go down to – 40 C. In those conditions, you just constantly feel a bit apathetic, little headachy etc… you really have to motivate yourself to get out of your warm sleeping bag! When we got into actual production, we had a cook and a few helpers, which helped us to concentrate on the actual filming as opposed to just surviving. Still, it was tough.

KK: How did you establish your relationship with the subjects? I assume you had to use an interpreter…How did this affect your every day communication and relationship with them?

DC: Before actual production started in 2007, I had visited Ladakh many times since 2003, so I managed to pick up a few words of the language. It was surprising how much could be communicated with a few words and gestures! Of course I also had an interpreter / local guide. This man, Mr. Tsewang Dorjee, was invaluable for the project. Being from this nomadic village he knew the place and people inside out and could often anticipate what was about to happen, how people might respond to given situations etc… Tsewang often worked as an assistant director, setting up many of the shots and scenes. So I talked through him, and he also gave us summarised translations of what was being discussed. Because I spent so much time with the nomads, we got to know each other quite well. Also, they are comfortable with silence… As such, we built up quite a close relationship despite obvious communication difficulties.

KK: There is something truly concerning about the fact that these people produce pashmina, an expensive and highly desired product in the West, yet they struggle so much to satisfy basic needs. When you were out there, did you feel that there was something you could do to improve their everyday struggle?

DC: The nomads have been producing pashmina for generations, and have lived in a somewhat symbiotic relationship with the dealers, who make their living buying and selling the fine wool. Actually the dealer we see in the film was well regarded by the villagers. He would often give advance payments on the wool in the winter, before the pashmina was even taken. His father, father’s father and so on all did business with these nomads, and so they have a close relationship going back generations. The families know each other well. Of course the dealer has the upper hand here; he is not in the business for charity. However, in the context of making a profit, he tries to be fair with the nomads. Also, it should be noted that many these nomads are not so poor: after all, they own hundreds of goats, sheep and yak. Though they may not have so much money, they are largely self-sufficient. Their main problem is having to endure such tough physical conditions. They are at the mercy of the elements – a hard winter can wipe out their flock. In a way, you could say that nature is much tougher on them than the businessmen…We tried to give any help we could – transporting their things to and from little store houses where they keep their belongings (they don’t carry everything with them all the time), giving lifts to Leh, where they go quite often for different kinds of supplies. Also, we gave medicines, as well as providing the family and village with solar panels and batteries for electricity. My family is now sponsoring Kunsang, the youngest kid in the film.

KK: The nomads do not have certainty that once a year, when the dealer comes, he will pay them enough money to live for the next year and pay for kids’ education…

DC: Yes, the price of pashmina fluctuates up and down… However, this ancient system, where the nomads depend on the dealers is now out of date. Since working on the film, the nomadic villages have set up a pashmina co-operative with the local Ladakhi government, who now buys most of the precious wool for a set price. The nomads still sell some of the wool (usually the best quality stuff) to the dealers, from whom they can sometimes get higher prices then from the co-op. So the nomads are a bit more secure in the knowledge that they will get an ok price for the wool at the end of the year. Again, their main concerns have to do with the natural elements. As said, a hard winter can wipe out their animals; not enough grass in the summer can also have devastating effects etc.

KK: Despite tough conditions the family represented in the film was determined to get their children educated so at least they can have a better life. Do many children there get education and leave the village in a search for a new life, or do they mostly stay and follow their parents’ way of living?

DC: Most of the kids are sent to school to be educated. Only a few remain behind. Usually these are kids who are incapable of going to school (e.g. handicapped kids). Over the 4 years that I visited, the village really went through quite a drastic change, with more and more kids disappearing into school. Now the village consists of adults and elderly people. It’s kind of sad… You can really see a transformation during the school holidays, when the kids come back home.

KK: There are a number of humorous and touching scenes with a twelve-year old boy, Padma, who often runs away from school. Did you ever get to the bottom of why he really does it?

DC: Many reasons, I suppose… Unlike his little brother, Padma was attending an Indian government school. In such remote areas, the quality of government school teaching and teachers often leaves much to be desired. Kunsang, on the other hand, was going to a private school, which, despite shabby appearances, is one of the best in Ladakh. I think Padma resented going to such a crappy school, and kind of gave up on it. Also, he started school at a later age than Kunsang, and it was probably more difficult for him to get into that kind of “intellectual” frame of mind. He was already so used to roaming the mountains, shepherding etc. And like all the kids, he missed home.

KK: These nomads live away from civilisation as we know it. There is an enormous beauty and a certain romantic notion to it. What being in Himalayas taught you about your life standards and conditions? Did it make you appreciate it more?

DC: Certainly. Although the nature and space of the high plateau is absolutely breathtaking, it is such a tough place to live, especially if your body has not evolved for such an environment. Although I really treasured my time in Chanthang, it was such a joy to return back to my guesthouse in Leh, with it’s green garden, flowing stream… and oxygen. Life in the west, by comparison, seemed even more luxurious. Yet in someway I don’t think I appreciated this as much as returning back to the simple Leh guesthouse… In fact the level of comfort and abundance back home seemed at times obscene.

KK: In the age of experimentation in the field of film and photography, Stone Pastures is refreshing in that it is actually a very traditional form of documentary. One can think of Robert J. Flaherty’s Nanook of the North. Was this always your intention?

DC: Actually I initially had in mind something quite different: parallel stories between the everyday concerns and struggles of the nomads and a western lady (using a pashmina shawl). I never had the intention of making a social-political statement, pointing at the disparity between standards of living, third world vs. the developed west, but rather to find similar, intersecting and contrasting patterns between these different worlds… My starting points were actually more aesthetic and philosophical than one would guess from the finished film (for instance, I was exploring abstract juxtapositions of shawl textures and nomadic tents). However, in the end the material itself suggested a simple, spacious story, reflecting the place and people. It was unnecessary to contrive or fabricate anything else. The place and people were powerful – and metaphorical – enough in themselves. Also, I took this as a bit of an exercise in building a traditional, character-driven story. Not easy! Actually Stone Pastures is very different to my previous work, or films that I have been drawn to in the past.

KK: How was the film funded?

DC: This was an international co-production: Finland (The Finnish national broadcaster YLE, Finnish Film Foundation, Finland’s centre for audiovisual culture AVEK, Finnish Foreign Ministry); Ireland (The Irish Film Board); Great Britain (The Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation); France & Germany (ARTE). The film was produced by Illume Ltd (Helsinki), Wildfire Films (Dublin) and Orchid pictures (London). The producers and myself really worked hard to get the money for this – it took many years.

KK: You are a citizen of three countries: US, Finland and Ireland and now you and your wife live in Beijing. So you are a little of a nomad yourself…

DC: Actually we are staying in Helsinki at the moment with my wife, having moved from Beijing at the end of last year. But yes, I could somewhat identify with a nomadic way of life. As a child, we moved between Finland, Ireland and America (following my father’s work). And as an adult I’ve continued to move between these countries, as well as China and India, following different “work pastures”. As such, I’ve managed to avoid any gainful employment so far…

KK: You also make radio documentaries. How do you find the process of working for these two such different mediums?

DC: In terms of basic workflow, I don’t find the two so different. I tend to use sound material from a doc production to make a radio doc, and vice versa. I like working with sound; it is very intimate and emotional. Actually I come from more of a sound background myself. One of the elements I am most happy about in Stone Pastures is the sound. You know it was sound designed by Douglas Murray, whose work includes The English Patient, Harry Potter, Contact etc…and mixed by 2-time Oscar-winner Tom Johnson (Titanic, Terminator, There will be Blood, Tim Burton films etc.).

In some way I even prefer making radio docs, as these offer more creative freedom and room for experimentation with structure etc. Also, it is easy to manage everything oneself with radio docs, giving you more control. And of course you don’t have the enormous battle for funding, which saps most of your energy in trying to make a documentary film! (And you don’t have to deal with that much pressure from producers, as there isn’t so much money invested.) Of course I still hope to continue working in the visual medium, and am already working on a new doc project, which I cant wait to get off the ground.