Feet in Water, Head on Fire

Terra Long’s sensuous debut traces the ancestry and importance of the date palm tree. Filmed in the hot, arid climate of Southern California’s Coachella Valley—the perfect environment for the tree to thrive—the film poetically tracks how the trees came to the region from the Middle East and North Africa and ways the people who tend to them have been affected by generations of agriculture, luxury real estate, and border politics. Weaving together voices from the Cahuilla and Mexican-American people who have cared for the trees, Long showcases the stunning landscape on gorgeous 16mm. Feet in Water, Head on Fire was created with eco-filmmaking techniques, and the director hand processed the footage with leftover local dates and plants native to the Coachella Valley. In Cahuilla, Spanish, and English with English subtitles. (90 mins., DCP)

The program begins with the short 28.IV.81 (Bedouin Spark), which finds a galaxy in a child’s nightlight. Director Christopher Harris shot and edited the work in-camera on one roll of 16mm film. (3 mins., 16mm)

See the complete Unorthodocs 2023 lineup.

IMAGE CAPTION
Feet in Water, Head on Fire, courtesy of the filmmaker.