Documentary films can be very strong communication tools by bringing to light stories illustrating important sides and issues of bio-cultural diversity. Films can raise public awareness, can educate, bring changes and at the same time they can entertain and affect emotions of the audiences.
Within the project aimed at improving communications on the issues of biocultural diversity in the region through active participatory processes, it was planned to produce a documentary film about custodians or keepers of traditional knowledge. In the result the film about custodians of traditional knowledge called ‘The Keepers’ as a series of short films was created. It includes three films: “Great Storytellers” (about phenomena of Manas-tellers); “Music of Immortal Worlds” (about traditional music art) and “Sacred Space” (about the yurt). The filmmaker – Dalmira Tilepbergen. Texts were prepared with the support of the film consultant – Indira Raimberdieva, Director of Peacebuilding Center. Each film is 15 minutes long. Films were translated into three languages: Kyrgyz, Russian, and English. Three parts of the film "The Keepers" speak about revival and development of spiritual sources of everyday life and traditions of Kyrgyz people. The films attract public attention to custodians and keepers of traditional knowledge, to the unique connections of cultural and biological diversities and to importance of their preservation.
The film Great Storytellers speaks about art of ‘Manaschy’ – Manas-tellers. Epic "Manas" - is one of the most mysterious and striking phenomena in the culture of Kyrgyz people. Sacred Space is about yurt as an expression of the very essence of Kyrgyz people since it reflects the key qualities of people – rationality in everyday life, moral values, deep intuitiveness and devotion to spiritual world. Music of Immortal World speaks about traditional music which permeates the entire Kyrgyz nomadic life. It always played an important and multi-faceted role in the fate of Kyrgyz people.
Films first were presented to partner organizations which representatives gathered in the regional office of TCF. Filmmaker Dalmira Tilepbergen presented her work. All films were positively accepted by the audience. We received some recommendations and comments from the audience. After correcting and translating, the films were shown to various audiences such as meeting organized by partner organizations Institute of Strategies of Sustainable Development and Peace-building Center. We demonstrated films in three boarding schools for orphans. Multiplied in discs, films were distributed among partner organizations and recommended to Public TV and Radio Company. Films were uploaded in Internet and proposed for the Festival of Ethnographic Films in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Synopsis of the film
Spiritual revival of every nation is closely related to the resurgence of the views on its own history and culture. However, this "renovation" often becomes a stumbling block in the ways of modern development. The centuries of prevailing of rational or narrowly materialistic worldviews created a gap between modern people and traditional culture. That is why regeneration of perception of the authentic culture is like the opening of the forgotten doors, and the custodians and keepers are the "keys" to these doors. It is not so easy to find these “doors” in the context of well-established habits in the perception of the surrounding world. In this case, our cultural riches will not be opened up to us in its full beauty and potential without their custodians and keepers.
During realization of the ‘Local initiatives support program’ of the project, two more documentaries were made as small creative projects – ‘Kalyak’ and ‘Osuyat’. Another documentary called ‘The Silence of the Words’ with Emil Shukurov was dedicated to 75th anniversary of the well-known ecologist.