Himself He Cooks # 121

Himself He Cooks

13:00, Friday 14th June, Museum Auditorium

rai 121 himself-he-cooks

  • Director/Anthropologist: ValĂ©rie Berteau, Phillipe Witjes
  • Year of Release: 2011
  • Duration: 65 mins
  • Country of Production: Belgium
  • Location: Amritsar, India
  • Ethnic Group: Punjabi, Sikh community

 

Tons of colorful fruits and rice, giant cooking-pots, anonymous volunteers moving in unison to feed the visitors: we observe a langar, the Sikh tradition of a common canteen where all are served for free regardless of their background. Set in the Golden Temple of Amritsar, a prominent place of Sikh worship, this beautiful, wordless film captures the spontaneous choreography of hundreds of people preparing tens of thousands of meals a day to reveal the unique face of this sacred place. Himself He Cooks is at once a striking visual essay, offering insights into the meaning of charity and philanthropy, and a profound meditation on food as the nexus of culture, nature, and human necessity.

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Organised by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain & Ireland (RAI) since 1985, it is an itinerant festival that moves biennially from one university host to another, in association with local community and cultural organisations.

The festival will be held from Thursday 13 June to Sunday 16 June 2013 in Edinburgh, hosted by National Museums Scotland and the STAR consortium. Scottish Training in Anthropological Research (STAR) is a collaboration between the Universities of Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and St. Andrews. Over 60 new films will be screened alongside a conference 'New Observations' and a selection of special events and workshop about art & anthropology and the use of archival film.

The RAI Film Festival is held in collaboration with the Center for Visual Anthropology, University of Southern California.

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