In Pursuit of the Siberian Shaman

This film takes a behind-the-scenes look at an indigenous shaman living on a remote Siberian island as he moves between intimate shamanic rituals performed for local clientele and shows performed at various resorts for Western tourists in search of “primitive” cultures. The film captures cross-cultural miscommunication as the shaman and tourists misunderstand one another, usually comically, sometimes disturbingly, made all the more poignant by conflict between the dominant Russian Orthodox Church and the local shamanic tradition.

Meanwhile, a close look at the early Soviet archival footage of Siberian shamans raises questions about what remains hidden behind the cinematic image, exposing the gap between Western romantic fantasies and the actual plight suffered by contemporary indigenous peoples.

Anya Bernstein

Anya Bernstein is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker.  Having never left her native Russia prior to the age of 17, she then immigrated to the United States.  Since then, sparked by her burgeoning fascination with cultural alterity, she has visited over 35 countries while managing to squeeze in various university degrees.  Over the last ten years, she has worked and studied in Moscow, Washington DC, Lyon, Manchester, and New York City, and has spent extensive periods of time traversing both North and South Asia for her fieldwork, films, and drifting.