Winner of the Franklin Humanities Institute's prize for aesthetic excellence in a short film at the 2020 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Riafn depicts the stunning landscapes of the European Alps—mountains, valleys, trees, and waterfalls. But equally remarkable are its soundscapes—here, a cacophonous medley of unique, signature calls, bellowed by the solitary members of a far-flung community into an echoing distance. Eventually, these calls are answered, by the clangs and chimes of bells, swaying along with the easy ambling motions of cattle on their way home. A non-narrative film without exposition, Riafn relies on visual compositions and layered sounds, immersing the audience in a remote and beautiful pocket of the world.

“The film was inspiring in this time of social distancing in presenting the potential of editing to consider creativity across distance,” reads the jury statement. “The angles of the camera, the quality of sound, and the synthesis of images and sounds—their call and response—is affecting and rigorous…The film’s integrity rests on its artistic quality rather than a narrative, and its accomplishment in nonetheless documenting a cultural practice was commended by everyone.”