When Saraswati arrives as the first educated daughter-in-law in a Himalayan village, she wonders how she will ever feel at home. But faced with the scepticism of an older generation of women, she grows determined to succeed. As the village’s ten-day Pandav Lila festival approaches, the film offers a window onto the everyday work and spiritual practices that bind people to each other and the land. An intimate story of longing and belonging in India’s sacred mountains, ‘Spirit’ explores what it takes to make a home in a remote community in the thralls of change.
This film was part of VIMFF 2020, VIMFF 2020 Tour and is no longer available for viewing.
Dr. Jane Dyson is a human geographer who began working in the village in 2003 and now considers it her second home. Jane has written academic books and articles, and produced radio documentaries and an award-winning film (with Ross) about the village. She teaches at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Ross Harrison is a filmmaker whose work includes events coverage, documentaries and campaign films. He travels regularly for projects and has worked in Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, on subjects from rainforest conservation to education inequality, tribal land rights to urban community gardening.
