FILMS
Features & Shorts
by Varial*
WAKHAN - 118min, color HD.
Winner at RVCQ 2014 for best first or second documentary.
( CANADA )
Official Selection and Coup de coeur at Etonnants Voyageurs Festival 2015
( France)
Edited by Cyril Lochon
Original Score David Drury
Produced by Pierre Trahan
Delegate Prod. Victorine Sentilhes
Wakhan, a cinematic poem, sketches two tribes: the Wakhis and the Kyrgyz. Filmed in furthest reaches of this mythical, Hindu-Kush plateau, and far removed from the Taliban, it's an exploration in the pursuit of pure, non-verbal sensations. This journey through the Wakhan Corridor connects with the daily lives of these reclusive peoples living at altitudes of 4,000 m. Artistic, experiential and impressionistic, Wakhan, a documentary, peers into this mysterious Afghan reality.
Wakhan could be described as a psychedelic documentary, the viewer is left with an unforgettable whiff of the uncanny, with the sense that he has been given a privileged look at what it really going on, and that he is the walrus _ Alex Shoumatof, Vanity Fair and New Yorker explorer writer.
One of the boldest proposals of the RVCQ was probably Wakhan of Varial Cédric Houin. Invited to a expedition north of Afghanistan, the viewer crosses the path of nomadic peoples living in remote lands plains of Pamir and Hindu Kush. Logically awarded the Prix Pierre and Yolande Perrault, this projectanthropological displays a formal originality that ignores any contextual setting. This work, rendered singular thanks to the purity of its look, is articulated around long shots of faces chiseled by wind and cold, scenes of everyday life and laughing children, and has an undeniable poetic flavor. _ CH Ramond, Sequences Magazine
TEENE' MAAYEN
26 min, color HD.
Produced by NATURE.ORG
Edited by Cyril Lochon
Original Music David Drury
Executive producer The Nature Conservancy
Production Ali Khechen & Victorine Sentilhes
This film brings the voices of the Mayan communities of the Yucatan Peninsula to the COP21 in PARIS 2015 in order to increase awareness about how climate change is affecting indigenous communities and what those communities are doing about it. While the people shown in the film cannot travel to the COP21, this film brings their stories to life with vivid imagery and stirring interviews that shows the reality on the ground for the people dealing with the impacts of climate change. The film and the following discussion will foster interaction and dialog among the participants about the role of indigenous communities in adapting to and mitigating climate change
This documentary film chronicles the impacts of climate change and deforestation on the indigenous communities who live in and around the Mayan Forest in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and their efforts to both combat it and adapt to it. The film captures stirring images and interviews emotionally depicting the toll that changing rain patterns have had on the Mayans, forcing them to adapt their planting practices and, in some cases, migrate to cities. But the story is one of hope, as we see the communities taking action with their own hands on their own lands to implement improved productive practices that both reduce deforestation and improve resilience. They are proud leaders on the frontlines of climate change and they have a message to share with the audience: “I am Mayan and I care for my Mayan Forest. And you? What is your Mayan Forest?”
CONTACTED
In Production, color HD.
Trailer Edited by Cyril Lochon
Production Ali Khechen & Victorine Sentilhes
The tale of the Bameno people is one of a place where men live in community, and where myriad forms of animal and plant life come together to form a lush microcosm. The Waorani people, belonging to the Kamperi clan, are among the Amazon's indigenous communities. They are at the heart of a centuries-long struggle to protect the Amazon, their own territory, the OMÉ and their way of life. However, the nature of this struggle has changed as have the relationships between this family's history and that of the outside world.
In 2013 Varial embark on a journey to the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador and reach the most remote Waorani village of Bameno, home to some of the last hunter-gatherers, whose territory is threatened by Big Oil. He travelled by land from the city of El Coca and then took a two-day boat trip on the Cononaco River to reach Bameno. He spent a month documenting the life of these last warriors, now prisoners of recent political decisions. What he discovered during these weeks spent with the 80 members of the Baihua family is their level of modernity and adaptability to the modern world, as well as the real challenges they face to protect their territory.
Written from an intimate and immersive angle, the project celebrates the beauty and simplicity of these ancient cultures, generally unknown to the world, without concealing the modern issues faced by these men and women.
SHORTS & INSTALLATIONS
SHINING HOPE FOUNDATION
BAREFOOT COLLEGE
MATTHIEU RICARD