Coming to MoMA as part of the annual Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You series tomorrow, Saturday, November 16 and Monday, November 18: SURVIVAL PRAYER
Benjamin Greené’s portrait of the people and land of the Haida Gwaii archipelago debuted at Camden last year. It went on to screen at Vancouver, Ashland, Cleveland, and Sarasota, among others, picking up a special jury prize at the latter.
Opening with a close up on the wizened face of one of the indigenous Haida people as she relates a legend about Raven in the language of her people, forgetting a few words, the film immediately underscores the fragility of the culture it’s exploring. Interviews with various inhabitants of the island chain located off the coast of British Columbia, Haida and non-Haida alike, address environmental concerns, the local fishing and logging industries, and the need to return to more sustainable practices in their stewardship of the water and land – before the last of the elders, and much of their traditional knowledge, passes. Greené’s filmmaking is thoughtful, featuring exceptional cinematography and sound design, as it bridges history and modernity, ethnography and meditation, to capture a sense of place.
what (not) to doc 