I loved ‘37 Uses for a Dead Sheep’

I met up with Jennifer yesterday to see a new documentary called 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep.  I don’t think it’s playing widely in the US yet, but keep your eyes out for it because it’s really an incredible film.  I found a good review that gives a detailed description of it and you can also watch the trailer, which is mostly in English.

Basically, a British filmmaker and his crew teamed up with a semi-nomadic Central Asian tribe called the Pamir Kirghiz to tell the story of how they have migrated through four different countries in the last century before finally settling in eastern Turkey (the U.S. offered them land in Alaska, believe it or not, but they passed).  The director gets the locals to reenact moments from Pamir Kirghiz history and then adds interviews with both the elders and the younger generation, which is largely abandoning distinct ethnic traditions and eyeing opportunities far away in Istanbul.

The title suggests a pretty dark film, and while there are some tragic moments, it’s also quite funny and lighthearted, like when an elderly man wonders if he should be showing off his one remaining tooth on camera (rest assured, he does repeatedly).  It’s certainly as entertaining as it is informative.

I think it’s an all around excellent film with a compelling story that should interest a wide audience, but especially those of you interested in migration, cultural change, globalization, and Central Asia.  It’s also great for any Turkish speakers who’d like a real challenge in trying to decipher what the older generation is saying.  The Pamir Kirghiz are ethnic Turks and speak a dialect of Turkish, but I needed help from the German subtitles to get more than just a few words.  I’m certain that when the film comes to Turkey there will have to be subtitles even for a Turkish audience.

Finally, this film should be a treat for all the dairy farmers out there.

One last note: it was very cool to see a trailer at the theater for the film that my wife worked on as art director.  The English title is Boats Out of Watermelon Rinds, and while I don’t think it has a distributor in the U.S. yet, it has been making the rounds at various festivals, including last year’s Tribeca Film Festival.  It’ll be playing in Berlin at the FSK Theater from June 29-July 5.