It is the privilege of the jurists to recognize not only award recipients but to also acknowledge extraordinary achievement by films that were in close contention. We wish to recognize a film that touched on the stakes of all our documentaries, particularly community care and cultural perseverance in the face of changing political, and often literally physical, landscapes. The film traces the heritage-past, present, and future-of a community as they negotiate their cultural survival, what is lost and what must be retained as they forge forward. Through lyrical, contemplative editing of archival footage from gatherings past and contemporary conversations, the filmmaker offers a meditation on identity and endurance that proves the power of the short format and offers a lesson to all in these times of political upheaval.
