Céline Roustan
For centuries, young girls getting their first period has been associated with the rite of passage that turns them into a woman. In the Karuk tribe of Northern California, this milestone used to be traditionally celebrated with a ceremony called an Ihuk. In Long Line of Ladies, directors Shaandiin Tome and S/W alum Rayka Zehtabchi (Are You Still There?, (SHn(y)oof)) immerse us in that community, as they get ready for Ahty’s Ihuk, preparing her by supporting her and passing down the traditions of their tribe.
I was familiar with both Tome and Zehtabchi’s work, so naturally I was curious to know more about how this film came to be. Zehtabchi shared that the short film started as “a sort of follow-up to our team’s 2019 Oscar-winning short doc Period. End of Sentence.” Collaborating again with the non-profit The Pad Project, the goal was to mirror that previous film by showing a community where menstruation is celebrated. After spending time with the Karuk tribe, the idea eventually evolved from that original premise to one about “community, family and tradition”.
My favorite documentaries are those that provide an “experience”, those that immerse and invite you into their universe. Tome and Zehtabchi’s approach does just that! With a benevolent camera, they opted for a structure based around the emotional journey of its participants, rather than a pragmatic, step by step approach to documenting the organisation of the event. We see the main participant Ahty connecting with herself and her roots, and how such a joyful event and its preparation affect her and the community.
“As part of the effort to be intentional and respectful while shooting, we took the leap to shoot on film. This forced us to slow down and be mindful” – The directors discus their production
While aiming to bring to the screen the beauty and joy of the ritual and honoring the participants, the directing duo were very aware of how Indigenous communities have been depicted historically through exploitative lenses. Which explains their very naturalistic, cinéma vérité approach and their decisions to steer clear of a contrived, manufactured exposition. As is often the case with this type of the film, the community heavily collaborated with the filmmakers as the team made sure to give “them agency over the telling of their own story”. This collaboration is still ongoing as the film is finding audiences.
The choice to shoot on film became a no-brainer when developing the short, as it forced them to be more intentional, yet respectful when filming the community. This challenge ultimately pays off with (frequent collaborator) Sam Davis’ striking cinematography, as the texture that film inherently brings to the image, perfectly matches the atmosphere they wanted to create and the beauty of the ritual, with its captivating color palette. Davis’ framing is also effective, with lots of wide shots, the film not only felt non-exploitative, by keeping a respectful distance, it also includes nature and the forest, which are intimately intertwined with the culture. Davis also edited the film, finding the right balance between Ahty’s journey towards the milestone and the community’s effervescence.
While this story is specific to the Karuk tribe, there is an undeniable universality in the themes of the film. Not only is it coming of age story, but one really can’t deny how heartwarming it is to see a whole community rallying to support and celebrate a young woman.
Long Line of Ladies had its premiere at the 2022 Sundance and went on to have an incredible festival career with many prestigious selections. The short picked up awards at SXSW, SIFF and SFFILM, making it eligible for Academy Award consideration and with its release online as a New York Times Op-Doc, this is definitely one of the strongest contenders in the Best Documentary Short category. #FYC