Synopsis
Along the Amur River, mountains abound with mysterious lively treasures. The gifts of the sky were only visible to those who honor the powers that flow through the vast taiga. To find what human desires, ritual offerings to the mountain’s guardian spirits must be properly performed. But most importantly, one must face the gods with a serene, translucent heart. An animated reinterpretation of an old Jurchen legend from the 13th century.
A word from Tënk
Tigris Alt Sakda, a Montreal-based artist of Manchu origin, investigates and reinterprets a legend from her past. The Jurchen, an indigenous people from Northeast China now extinct, widely considered to be the ancestors of the Manchus, are at the heart of this phantasmagoric animated short film filled with countless colors and nuances.
To quote the artist: "There is this whole idea that we can understand history through the plant and animal species [that inhabit a given territory]. They can teach us about complex political and geographical interactions by eluding contemporary conceptions of territory and culture.”
Using this as a starting point, it is through ginseng, a plant that the Jurchens mastered the cultivation of, that Tigris immerses us in the universe of her ancestors. In doing so, she contributes to the dissemination of a new, decolonized discourse that stands apart from the cultural hegemony of the Han in China. Indeed, the "Chinese people" are nothing less than the sum of 56 different ethnic groups.
Jason Todd
Artistic Director
Tënk
