The Long Way to the Pasture

In the spring, the communal livestock of a Kyrgyz village is moved to the summer pastures in the mountains, a journey fraught with challenges. Occasionally, the camera lingers on a limping dog, a plaintively bleating, rain-soaked lamb, or a boy helping out by distributing raincoats to the more seasoned men. Some animals refuse to cross the swirling river, while others make it across with ease. Ultimately, it’s not about the individual but about the group.

The herd and the herders endure the same hardships, seeming to be at one with the breathtakingly beautiful, inhospitable landscape. There is only the here and now, both for the protagonists (humans, animals, and nature) and for the viewer. At the same time, the film feels timeless: the journey has been made again and again, for centuries.

This highly cinematic account of an annual episode in the semi-nomadic existence of a shepherd family won two awards at its world premiere at the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival.