Spirit: Longing and Belonging in the Indian Himalayas

Abstract

Ethnographic film based on long-term research in the Himalayas, and an output of research funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project. When Saraswati arrives as a newlywed daughter-in-law who is unusually well-educated, she wonders how she will ever feel at home in the village. As sceptical older generation of women scorn the work ethic of the younger women, Saraswati grows determined to succeed. This story of longing and belonging in the sacred landscape of the Indian Himalayas explores what it takes to carve out a home in a remote community. Seen simultaneously through the eyes Saraswati and the village as it prepares for a ten-day festival, the film charts the everyday wo..