Scene from the film The River Where We Live
Scene from the film The River Where We Live
Scene from the film The River Where We Live
Scene from the film The River Where We Live
Scene from the film The River Where We Live

The River Where We Live

Direction
Year 
2006
Country
  • Canada
Runtime
92min 
Audio Tracks 
Subtitles 

The interior delta of the Niger River is a vast region inhabited by a million people. A unique social, political and communal organization has developed over this territory, giving a profound meaning to living together in relation to the movement of the river.

The delta is fashioned as much by the immutable alternation of the seasons as by a state of perpetual metamorphosis. A single place can successively accommodate a spawning ground, then a fishing zone. It will then turn into pastureland for zebu, goats and sheep, then into fertile land for agriculture, before finally assuming a desert-like appearance at the height of the dry season. The delta is home life- forms that are multifarious, contradictory and complementary, urban and rural, modern and traditional. Yet for 30 years, prolonged periods of draught and lack of rain have rendered all aspects of the river’s life fragile. The inhabitants try tod adapt as best they can to these changes, while the equilibrium of the river redefines itself according to the new climatic reality.

Details

  • Original Title
    Un fleuve humain
  • Direction
  • Cinematography
    Sylvain L’Espérance
  • Editing
    René Roberge
  • Music
    Francine Poirier
  • Sound
    Esther Auger, Serge Boivin
  • Runtime
    92 min (91+ min.)
  • Year
    2006
  • Country
    • Canada
  • Format
    • Colour
  • Production
  • Festivals
    • 29e festival Cinéma du réel, Paris
    • 22nd DOK.fest, Munich, Germany
    • 10th Brooklyn International Film Festival, New York
    • 48the Festival dei Popoli, Florence, Italy
    • 11th Int. Documentary Festival Jihlava, Czech Republic
    • Canadian Spectrum, 2007 HOTDOCS Festival, Toronto
    • Jogjakarta Documentary Film Festival-FFD 2007, Indonesia
    • Visions du réel 2007, Nyon, Switzerland
  • Awards
    • Mention spéciale, Grand prix caméra stylo, 9e Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal
    • Finaliste, Prix Jutra du meilleur documentaire québécois 2006
    • Finaliste, Prix du meilleur long métrage québécois 2006 de l’Association québécoises des critiques de cinéma

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