AIFF2022 Our 21st Annual Festival

Short Docs 3: STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

Expired April 11, 2022 6:59 AM
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5 films in package
Winter Worm Summer Grass
Set in remote mountains along the Tibetan Plateau, "Winter Worm Summer Grass" is an intimate portrait of a family who forges the meadow for medicinal caterpillar fungus.
Nuisance Bear
Documentary study of the polar bears who draw tourists to Churchill, Manitoba.
Closed captions available
No Soy Óscar
A first-generation Latinx father journeys through unrecognizable, unceded lands in the border regions between the U.S. and Mexico in search of the place where Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his young daughter Angie Valeria drowned.
Closed captions available
Some Kind of Intimacy
The filmmaker tries to communicate with the sheep living where his parents are buried.
Closed captions available
The Lifers Network
Searching for redemption, Roberto helps other released lifers change their lives.
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Set in remote mountains along the Tibetan Plateau, "Winter Worm Summer Grass" is an intimate portrait of a family who forges the meadow for medicinal caterpillar fungus.


When an American filmmaker happens upon them during a summer blizzard, they offer shelter and friendship.



Part of our Short Docs 3: STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND Program


Director Justin Perkinson


Director's Statement:

On one level, this is a film about a family and their search for an elusive caterpillar fungus know as "Winter Worm Summer Grass"; but in a deeper way, it is about connection, friendship, and goodwill.


Here's to the blizzard that brought us together. I am forever grateful for the experience we shared and the friendship we forged. "Tashi delek!"

  • Year
    2021
  • Runtime
    29 minutes
  • Language
    Tibetan, Mandarin Chinese, English
  • Country
    United States, China
  • Premiere
    World
  • Director
    Justin Perkinson
  • Producer
    Justin Perkinson
  • Cinematographer
    Justin Perkinson
  • Editor
    Esther Shubinski
  • Sound Design
    Colette D. Dahanne
  • Music
    Liu Fang
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