PEOPLE . PLACES

BETWEEN WORLDS

2 × 50' (ENG, GER)
Terra Mater Icon

The people who inhabit our planet are as diverse as the Earth’s landscapes. Different in their ways of thinking and their skills, they all have one thing in common: their identity, their most precious good. But change is upon them – and a rich diversity of cultures, languages, and knowledge could be lost forever.

There are many reasons: tourism, political upheavals, and climate changes, not to mention the prevailing economic interests in our global society, are all taking their toll on the last remaining enclaves on Earth. Very few populations have been able to avoid change for this long. These peoples chose to remain isolated and vehemently refused contact with the Western world, but their days now appear to be numbered. This two-part series sets off on a cinematic journey to people whose world is changing and shows others who are fighting to preserve their culture and identity.

  • Trailer

    Trailer - English
  • Ep1: Guardians of Tradition

    Screener - English
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  • Ep2: The Ancestors Land

    Screener - English
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  • Ep1: Guardians of Tradition

    Screener - German
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  • Ep2: The Ancestors Land

    Screener - German
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Episodes

  1. Part 1

    Disintegration is at hand: while the Yanomami still celebrate ancient marital customs and rituals, life as they know it is being threatened. In Greenland, the custom of hunting seals using dog sleds has almost been replaced by a modern lifestyle. Different conditions prevail in the Pacific Ocean. There, in affairs of cultural and traditional importance to the inhabitants – for example, the purchase of land or the arrangements of weddings – they still deal in their own currency. Many Yapese teenagers are sent to the US or Australia for an apprenticeship, but most of them later return to the island to stay forever.

  2. Part 2

    The Tarahumara, indigenous people in Mexico, sell homemade snacks to the passengers of stopping trains, but otherwise renounce society and live their lives in small autonomous families. In Niger, the Woodabe also stick to their nomad lifestyle and travel from one watering place to the next, without feeling the need to change. The Suri of Ethiopia still practice their ritual ‘Donga’ stick fights, but the Ethiopian government wants them to stop. Some indigenous populations haven't yet found a way to protect their land and heritage but some have started to fight the windmills. Davi Kopenawa, charismatic leader of the Yanomami people of Brazil, nowadays lives between the worlds. The era of untouched populations living unchanged for thousands of years, far away from globalization and Western values, is coming to an end.

Festivals & Awards

  • US International Film & Video Festival 2015

    * winner : Gold Camera
  • Deauville Green Award 2015

    * winner : Silver Award in the Category: Handicap & Humanitarian Help
  • New York Festival 2016

    * winner : Gold World Medal in Cultural Issues

Facts

  • Original Title
    Zwischen den Welten
  • Year
    2014
  • Length
    2 × 50' (ENG, GER)
  • Resolution
    HD
  • Film by
    Udo Maurer, Lena Weiss, Sebastian Grübl
  • Produced by
  • Trailer

    Trailer - English
  • Ep1: Guardians of Tradition

    Screener - English
    You will need to login in order to watch Screener!
  • Ep2: The Ancestors Land

    Screener - English
    You will need to login in order to watch Screener!
  • Ep1: Guardians of Tradition

    Screener - German
    You will need to login in order to watch Screener!
  • Ep2: The Ancestors Land

    Screener - German
    You will need to login in order to watch Screener!