Keyword Sakha

A documentary road movie. Traveling across his homeland, the filmmaker explores what Yakut cinema is, and what it means to the Sakha people and to himself.

Aital is the last in a long line of Sakha shamen, supporting his disabled brother by making house calls in the Sakha city of Yakutsk alongside his unscrupulous business partner. Disillusioned with his vocation, Aital dispenses more common sense advice than mystical succour to his clients, whose complaints range from impotence to demonic possession – but he is still haunted by the suspicion that there is something otherworldly at play. Vladimir Munkuev’s witty, humane take on the role of the supernatural in a disenchanted world demonstrates Sakha cinema’s deep concern for native traditions.

Like a lone cowboy, Sergei passionately devotes his life to traditional horse breeding in the impenetrable Arctic Sakha; permafrost and the absence of roads, electricity and channels of communication mean that there is nobody else to rely on but oneself. Sergei is sensitive and introspective; he truly cares about his family, community and treats nature with the utmost respect. He loves the independence and freedom this life brings, despite the immense sacrifices that it necessitates, such as total isolation and being a stranger to his own children. Spectacular camerawork characterizes the Sakha horses in all their magnificence, and juxtaposes the post-soviet towns and the boundless taiga landscapes, where the cold bites through the screen.