Goats, sheep and wolves are in the spotlight at the International Autrans Festival – Qartuluş
“Yukon, White Dream,” “Young Shepherds”… A look at three documentaries screened during the latest edition of the Autrans International Mountain Film Festival.
On the evening of December 4, the 39th edition of the Autrans (Vercors) International Mountain Film Festival ended. An event where films and documentaries, books, but also debates, exhibitions, seminars (and a big party in the evening) bring together industry players and the general public every year. Within two years, Let it go in two documentary disciplines (lists can be found on the website of the festival) (1) participates directly as a jury. Take a look at some of the films being screened (the first part can be found here).
“Yukon, White Dream”
By Jeremy Villet
It’s a documentary filled with poetry… A boy tending goats and other animals in the White Yukon; In Canada… He waits for winter, when they have great and magical coats… But you have to take your chances. He should climb, bivouac, wait, not take too many pictures. This film won an award at the prestigious “Wild Life” competition. Filmmaker Jeremy Willett travels the white deserts of the northern hemisphere alone with a “pulka” (ski) and a telephoto lens in search of animals that live in the cold.
“The principle of animal photographythe young photographer explains, to disappear when we take it is to anchor a memory in our memory. Goats live where the sky meets the ground. The snow really muffles all sounds. No more noise. The presence of only black and white contributes to the silence. These “bikets” live in mountainous areas. Mouflon’s horns look like a cave painting. Villette dresses like an alpine hunter, but the goats often win the hideout. “They’re amazing to look at, they’re like a charcoal drawing. They merge with the snow in the foreground. For me, a beautiful photo is when there is nothing to erase. Or the art of using snow white as an artist would use his blank canvas.
“Young Shepherds”
By Johan Guignard
with Young Shepherds, the Médiadocs jury awarded a film full of humanity. By following three different routes. Ousmane from Mali, who, despite his professionalism and complicated past, still does not have permission to live in France – to say that it is a shame would be a sweet understatement … Agathe, a young woman who has gone through a cultural whirlwind. he runs after his sheep. And finally Lucas, the actor who has found it difficult to practice his profession due to Covid and has found a new commitment that excites him very much.
Director Johan Guignard perfectly transports us to a universe a thousand leagues away from our urban pursuits. We appreciate the work of the dogs that surround the herd. We worry with them whether the shepherds have lost their animals. We look with fear at the crows circling above. Counting sheep taught us how to sleep at night. What the director achieves with this documentary is to talk to the sheep.
“The Wild Part of Us”
By Jean-Pierre Valentine
Director Jean-Pierre Valentin succeeds in a bold bet here. Don’t caricature the argument between the monster’s defenders and destroyers… This is no small feat. Thus, we will have a chance to see naturalists who shed tears in front of torn sheep, shepherds who explain that wolves have their place even if they bite their animals. “A movie should be made about a lynx… And a bear”, Jean-Pierre introduced Valentin to festival goers during the Autrans festival. For her part, researcher and philosopher Virginie Maris, discussing the wild side of the world, put the director’s words on the cliff. “The monster acts as a mirror of what we are, what kind of violence we have…”. recalling the shootings of “sampling” – the choice of words also says a lot about the thing – “destruction” packages. And one breeder concludes: “Re-negotiating our alliances and relationships with the world is a challenge given to us by the wolf.”
