With Public Performance Rights: $69.95 (cable access, free public screenings)
Home Video: $19.95
On the distant steppes of Mongolia, using only simple tools, strength and ingenuity, a nomad builds a home much the way his ancestors have for the past one thousand years. Mujaan (The Craftsman) is a vivid window to a disappearing way of life in a pristine wilderness.
CREDITS: Chris McKee - Producer, Director, Videographer Adam Heller - Editor Amy Reed - Assistant Editor, Sound Designer Badma - Assistant Producer, Assistant Director Sukhι - Lead Actor Daniel Feinsmith - Composer
Format: 16:9 NTSC Region: All Regions Number of discs: 1 DVD Release Date: October 2005 Run Time: 25 minutes
Features: Mujaan - 25 minutes. Elements of Mujaan - six 3 minute shorts. Commentary Tracks - with archaeologist Jeannine Davis-Kimball, editor Adam Heller & producer Chris McKee.
TEACHERS GUIDE includes a 12 page insert with three classroom lessons & information about Mongolia.
REVIEWS:
Four Stars (Highest Rating). An utterly fascinating glimpse into a way of life that very few Americans will ever have the opportunity to experience firsthand. With the help of a glorious, simple soundtrack, what we observe on the screen almost takes on a mystical, hypnotic quality. Christopher McKee has done a beautiful, beautiful job. Worthy of Oscar consideration. -Todd David Schwartz, CBS Radio
This is a beautiful film of rural life in Mongolia. Carefully-constructed and thoughtfully paced, it really conveys the essence of what is today almost an ideal - the herding family's calm existence -Professor Caroline Humphrey, Cambridge University, UK
I was mesmerized by the artistry of McKee's technique and the way he used the various elements to tell his story, the story of building a shelter against the coming winds, a family's home made from materials at hand, a home that can be taken down and moved as the herds move to new grass, and put up again, the centerpiece of a nomadic way of life that has existed for millennia, a way of life that will soon be gone...captured on film. -Dennis Littrell, Amazon.Com
FESTIVALS/AWARDS: * Slamdance Film Festival * Banff Mountain Film Festival * Cinequest Film Festival * Short Shorts Film Festival / Japan Expo 2005 * Sonoma Valley Film Festival * Au Trans Mountain Film Festival * Silver Lake Film Festival * Telluride Mountain Film Festival * Kendall Mountain Film Festival * Syracuse Film Festival * Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Mongolias 800th Anniversary celebration * U.S. Peace Corps 41st Annual National Conference * Indie Film Cafι, local broadcast, Milwaukee, U.S.
