Stoyanka na doroge vetra
Camp on the Wind’s Road
Nataliya Kharlamova / Russian Federation / 2018 / 60 min / Colour
When he was alive, Belekmaa's father honoured the traditions of his ancestors every day, passing on his example to his descendants. Now that he has left the mountains, his spirit begins to tell a different story: the pyre lit by the family to honour their death is suffocated by a sudden hail, which sweeps the funeral rite into the wind. His daughter then decides to move to the parent's camp, together with her family. Nataliya Kharlamova approaches the subjects by portraying fragments of daily life, facts of intimacy and conflict. Her gaze travels between interpretation and documentary inspiration, outlining the portrait of a woman determined to preserve the rituals of the nomadic people to which she belongs: a people of shepherds and horse breeders who inhabit the Tuva plateau, on the border between Russia and Mongolia. The days go by and the wind rises over the taiga forest for a final farewell, when the shaman arrives.
Nataliya Kharlamova
Born in Moscow in 1978, Nataliya Kharlamova studied journalism at Moscow State University's School of Journalism. A student of the artist Alexander Lapin, she has worked on numerous photographic research projects and since 2009 has dedicated her time to her documentary photography projects. She studied film at the Marina Razbezhkina and Mikhail Ugarov School of Documentary Film and Theatre.
Credits
Subject Nataliya KharlamovaScreenplay Nataliya KharlamovaCinematography Nataliya KharlamovaEditing Nataliya KharlamovaMain cast Belekmaa Saryglar, Chimit-Dorzhu Nurzet, Sergek KuularProduction company The Marina Razbezhkina and Mikhail Ugarov School of Documentary Film and Theater