Stone Pastures
Screened with: Murgia karst phenomenon (Murgia fenomeno carsico), Stone Pastures
19:30 Monday 30 March 2009 at The Soho Hotel
Plus post-film discussion: with Donagh Coleman, Professor of Anthropology Sophie Day (Goldsmiths University of London), Dr Charles Ramble (Lecturer in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, Oxford University), Francesca Merrit (International Assocation for Ladakh Studies)
Tickets: £10 (credit card and cheque only accepted if paying at the venue)The box office has now closed for this film.
Stone Pastures tells the story of a nomadic family living on the high Himalayan plateau of Ladakh. In this high altitude cold desert they struggle to rear their pashmina goats. Paradoxically, the worlds finest wool arises from the poorest and most inhospitable conditions imaginable, but for the illiterate nomads it is their only source of income.
Once a year the rich pashmina dealer Husman arrives to do business, it is by no means guaranteed that he will offer the nomads a good price. Will he offer them enough to be able to survive another year and send the children to school? Hopes for the future and a new life rests on their children getting educated, and with this, the migrations across the plateau may soon be but a memory. The prospects for the family in the year ahead hangs in the balance. This episodic film depicts the life of the family through the seasons as they face an uncertain future.
Presented in collaboration with the Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival, New York.
To read our interview with director Donagh Coleman, click here.
To read a review of the film, click here.
Director: Donagh Coleman
Producer: Jouko Aaltonen / Martha O'Neill / Beverley Cook
Country: Finland / Ireland / UK
Length: 65 minutes
