Tales of Sand & Snow 2005
Distributed by National Film Board of Canada, 1123 Broadway, Suite 307, New York, NY 10010; 800-542-2164
Produced by Yves Bisaillon
Directed by Hyacinthe Combary
VHS, color, 48 min.
Sr. High - Adult
African Studies, Anthropology, Canadian Studies, Area Studies, Multicultural Studies
Date Entered: 02/23/2007
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication, University of California, Santa BarbaraThis film examines two very distinct cultures, separated on two different continents: the Gourmantche of Burkina Faso, a culture that reads their people's future in the sand-patterns of the desert; and the Atikamekw of Wemotaci in northern Quebec, Canada, a culture that lives on the forest line on the peaks of mountains (known as taiga), who connect with their spirit ancestors and gods within sweat lodges in deep snow. The filmmaker is a transplanted Gourmantche, who wants to portray the spiritual traditions of these two cultures to a world where dehumanization is a threat to their very existence. An intensely interesting and fascinating documentary.