Talking with the ancestors. Part 1: Introduction (2020) Film by Alina Zherdeva, Katya Larkina
Разговоры с предками. Часть 1. Знакомство
The shooting of the film was carried out during an expedition of students of the Department of Ethnology of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University to the Karakol Valley (Republic of Altai). This is a film-search, a search for answers to questions that involuntarily envelop at the first contact with the Karakol valley, at the first conversation in the village, at the first Altaic word, to which you find it difficult to find an equivalent in Russian. In the first part of the film ("Acquaintance"), the authors walk around on a ride from village to village and talk about the role of an ancestor in the life of the Altaians, about the meaning of the concept of souk, about the influence of the Soviet era and unshakable rules that diligently adapt to the 21st century.
Talking with the ancestors. Part 2: Side by side with the spirits (2020)
Film by Alina Zherdeva, Katya Larkina
Разговоры с предками. Часть 2. Соседство с духами
The second part ("Neighbourhood with the spirits") deals with how sacred knowledge in Altai fits into everyday life, the reasons for the construction of yurts (ails) in the 21st century, the non-obvious functions of fire in the hearth, the master spirits and connections with ancestors, about legends and curses, about the concept of property, and about the limits beyond which Altai goes for the inhabitants of the valley.