Elephant´s Dream
Simone Catharina Gaul

Renowned ethnographic filmmakers David and Judith MacDougall explore the many meanings of photography 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, the film examines photography as art and as social artifact -- a medium of reality, fantasy, memory, and desire.
“There is now an interest in making films that do not simply deliver a statement about a topic but open it up in richer and more productive ways. These are films that develop complex networks of connections and relationships. In a sense they are meant as structures for generating meaning. That is certainly our intention in PHOTO WALLAHS. We want it to be a resource for a range of observations, ideas, and possibilities.” (David MacDougall, Visual Anthropology Review)