THE
BASQUES OF SANTAZI
In
her book The
Circle of Mountains Sandra
Ott provided a fascinating analysis of social reciprocity ... The
film highlights the village's contemporary dilemmas and thereby
complements rather than visualises the arguments in Ott's published
ethnography ... The approach is to be applauded since the book and
the film now make excellent companion pieces that can usefully be
employed in any course on European ethnography. W. Douglass
52
minutes Colour 1987
Film maker: Leslie Woodhead
Anthropologist: Sandra Ott
This
film follows the lives over one year, shot during three intervals,
of two Basque shepherding families who live in Santazi, a village in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. The film is one of
the few films made for Granada Television's Disappearing World
series to be made in Western Europe, and it focuses on continuity
and change in the community.
Change
has come to the village of Santazi in recent years along the avenues
of new roads and improved communication with the outside world.
The effects range from people's relationship with the Catholic religion
to inheritance customs. Television has of course also entered these
villagers' homes. The traditional life of shepherding is also changing
amidst the conflict of interest between those who have formed a
syndicate in an effort to maintain the viability of shepherding
and the sons who have taken jobs as linemen for the electricity
company. This film shows the rationality behind the choices the
villagers are making.
This
film is recommended for courses in anthropology, sociology, culture
change, and European communities. Catalogue number (VHS): RA/VHS186 £8.
W.
Douglass, 1987. Review of the film. Anthropology
Today, Vol. 3, No. 5, pp. 17-18.
S.
Ott, 1981. The Circle of Mountains.
Oxford University Press, Oxford.
S.
Ybarrola, 1988. Review of the film. American
Anthropologist, Vol 90, pp. 1045-46.
If you are interested in hiring or purchasing this film please contact the Film Officer by or +44(0)20 7387 0455.
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