Documentary Films

Charcoal-Makers


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by Colette Piault
color, 30 min, 1990
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A strange landscape in the middle of the Greek mountains. The silhouettes of furnaces emerge from the hazy and smoke-dappled light. Charcoal-makers, who come sometimes from distant places with their families, are burning wood to make charcoal. They rent their services out to contractors during the five or six summer months. Verging on the poetic, the film describes the difficult and archaic process of charcoal-making in a modern world.

"Candid statements reveal the views of both men and women about their itinerant and physically demanding occupation of charcoal manufacturing. Visually haunting, memorable and perfectly composed images convey an impression deeper than words." — Society for Visual Anthropology, 1992

Festivals, Screenings, Awards
Bilan du Film Ethnographique, Paris, 1990
Label and Prize of Quality, National Center for Cinematography, Paris, 1990
RAI International Fesitval of Ethnographic Films, Manchester, 1990
4th International Festival of Visual Anthropology, Pärnu, 1990
Margaret Mead Film Festival, New York, 1991
Honorable Mention, American Anthropological Association/Society for Visual Anthropology Film & Video Festival, 1992