Abstract:

Renowned ethnographic filmmakers David and Judith MacDougall explore the many meanings of photography in India in this profound and penetrating documentary. The film focuses on the photographers of Mussoorie, a hill station in the Himalayan foothills of northern India whose fame has attracted tourists since the 19th century. Through a rich mixture of scenes that includes the photographers at work, their clients, and both old and new photographs, this extraordinary film examines Indian photography as art and as social artifact -- a medium of reality, fantasy, memory, and desire.