A House Without Snakes

NEW DOCS

In Botswana, two young men must wrestle with the choice between honoring ancestral traditions or pursuing modern possibilities. For thousands of years, the Bushmen people have lived in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, but since the 1990s government pressures have pushed them out to settlements like New Xade. On the reserve, Kitsiso hunts and forages with his father. He understands that this land is everything, yet he dreams of living in a home with modern amenities. In New Xade, Ketelelo witnesses people who are losing their way of life and feels a sole responsibility for his own future. Education is his path towards opportunity, even though it means he must leave his family behind. As Kitsiso and Ketelelo describe these opposing tides, expressive camerawork moves between tight interior spaces and wide expanses of land, visually reflecting a deep attachment to place and a longing for new horizons.  ST

Director

Daniel Koehler

Producers

Daniel Koehler, Edward Pettitt

Editor

Daniel Koehler

Cinematographer

Daniel Koehler

Release Year

2016

Festival Year

2016

Country

United States

Run Time

29 minutes

Subtitled

Partially subtitled

Premiere

World Premiere