Photographer Phil Borges shows rarely seen images of people from the mountains of Dharamsala, India, and the jungles of the Ecuadorean Amazon. In documenting these endangered cultures, he intends to help preserve them.
“Foli” is the word used for rhythm by the Malinke tribe in West Africa. But Foli is not only found in Malinke music, but in all parts of their daily lives. Directed by Thomas Roebers, this short film portrays the people of Baro, a small town in eastern-central Guinea, and gives you a glimpse inside their culture of rhythm. As the Malinke man says, “Tous les choses, c’est du rythme.” (“Everything is rhythm.”) What makes this film even more beautiful is the fact that it was edited so as to reflect Malinke rhythms.
The Wayfinders is a profound celebration of the wonder of human genius and spirit as brought into being by culture.
Of the 7,000 languages spoken today, fully half may disappear in our lifetimes. This does not have to happen. The other cultures of the world are not failed attempts to be modern, failed attempts to be us. Each is a unique and profound answer to a fundamental question: What does it mean to be human and alive? When asked that question the peoples of the world respond with 7,000 sources of knowledge and wisdom, history and intuition which collectively comprise humanity’s repertoire for dealing with all the challenges that we’ll face as a species in the coming centuries. Every culture deserves a place at the council of the human experience.
