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Garos villagers in
STILL, THE CHILDREN ARE HERE
Photo: Jed Johnston

STILL, THE CHILDREN ARE HERE
Directed by: Dinaz Stafford.
Produced by: Mira Nair.
Director of Photography: Ned Johnston.
Edited by: K. A. Chisolm.
Music by: Nitin Sawhney.
Released by: First Run/Icarus Films.
Language: Garo with English subtitles.
Country of Origin: India/Italy/USA. 85 min. Not Rated.

Focusing on the traditional Garos of northeast India, Still, The Children Are Here is a documentary with a twist: some of the scenes are reenactments - yet the film works. Director Dinaz Stafford spent many weeks living in Sadolpara, a village where the people have lived the same way for thousands of years, growing what they eat and having very little contact with the outside world. The film at first appears to be a series of unconnected scenes in which sometimes the dialogue is off-the-cuff, and other times stiff and formal; where the people's expressions are genuine, and sometimes masks. As the camera simply follows the daily lives of the hardworking but methodical villagers, the pace is very, very slow.

In spite of this, there is much to see, hear, and especially read between the lines. We see the villagers at night, smoking and talking freely about work difficulties, relationships and even sex; and in the field, meticulously growing the precious rice and praying to the goddess of water for rain. Through these slice-of-life scenes, we learn about a society where a good crop is the difference between food and starvation, poverty is increasing, illness is common, and death - especially among children - is horrendously high.

The outside world does slowly make its way into the village. There is the marketplace, which old women had always visited, but now out of necessity and not as a former luxury; these farmers have to buy their food, even rice.

The film is unhurried and sometimes feels staged. At first, it seems to have no structure. But in the end, these intimate scenes all create a clearer, deeper understanding of the difficulties of tradition and change. Roxana M. Ramirez, Peruvian laywer and journalist, formerly a member of the Peruvian Human Rights and Public Service Ombudsman
November 3, 2004

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