"To Live With Herds," Director: David MacDougall, identifier # FI-2019-0045, 1974
Scope and Contents
"This classic, widely acclaimed film on the Jie of Uganda, produced by the renowned ethnographic filmmaking team of David and Judith MacDougall, examines the effects of nation building in pre-Amin Uganda on the seminomadic, pastoral Jie. Much more than an intrinsically interesting historical document, it has achieved classic status among ethnographic films owing to its remarkable success in developing a coherent analytical statement about its subjects’ situation, yet at the same time allowing them to speak for themselves about the world as they see and experience it.
The film explores life in a traditional Jie homestead during a harsh dry season. The talk and work of adults go on, but there is also hardship and worry, exacerbated by government policies that seem to attack rather than support the values and economic base of Jie society.
A mother counts her children; among them is a son she hardly knows who has joined the educated bureaucracy. Later we find him supervising famine relief for his own people in a situation that seems far beyond his control.
At the end of the film Logoth, the protector of the homestead, travels to the west to rejoin his herds in an area of relative plenty; at least for the time being his life seems free from official interference. (Description by the official distributor - Berkeley Media LLC)
Winner of the Grand Prize, ""Venezia Genti,"" Venice Film Festival"
Credits: "Sound: Judith MacDougall
Field Assistants:
Sebastian Peter Odong
Peter Claverton Lukiru
Produced and Directed by: David MacDougall
Special Thanks To:
James Blue
Kenneth Gourlay
Richard Hawkins
James Heathon
A. M. Owen
Peter Rigby
Colin Young
and The People Of Losilang
The Film was made with the assistance of
The Ethnographic Film Program of the University of California at Los Angeles
The Committee on International and Comparative Studies of the University of California at Los Angeles
Makerere University
Rice University Media Center"
Dates
- Creation: 1961 - 2010
Conditions Governing Access
Digitized copy accessible upon request by contacting woodson@rice.edu and using identifier # FI-2019-0045 in the request. This item is stored in a nearline / dark preservation environment.
Extent
From the Collection: 12 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA
713-348-2586
woodson@rice.edu