Private Project

Mosuo: Land of Mothers

One of the few matriarchies still existing in our mostly patriarchal world are the Mosuo, a group of people living in the Eastern Himalayas, located in Southwest China. For years they have been misunderstood. With an anthropological approach, this film offers an exhaustive description of their fascinating culture.

  • Ivo Hardies
    Director
  • Ivo Hardies
    Writer
  • Ivo Hardies
    Producer
  • Ivo Hardies
    Camera
  • Ivo Hardies
    Editing
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Mosuo: Tierra de Madres
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 10 minutes 8 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 29, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese, English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ivo Hardies

Ivo Hardies is a translator by profession, but spends her most quality time interpreting the world around her in her vocation as anthropologist and filmmaker. She has lived in China for over sixteen years, where she raised her daughter Yun.

Documentary filmmaking is teamwork, but a limited budget and a closeness to her subjects makes Hardies a highly-effective one-woman band, with all the advantages and disadvantages.

Whenever time permits, she takes to her motorbike with her minimal filming equipment—all in a single backpack—and goes in search of subjects. Her ethnographic participant-observer style and daring takes her audiences into places that few people, native or non, ever venture. Upon returning home, she reviews her footage, and the collaborative process begins, as she edits with the help of good friends.

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