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Sagan Dalja - White Wings

Sagan Dalja is a herb, dried leaves of a rhododendron species that grows high up in the mountains. Boiled as tea it is very stimulating. Many generations of shamans used it in their rituals to set their spirits to travel. They named it White Wings. This film is such a journey. It starts from Irkutsk bustling megacity on Lake Baikal with pedestrian zone, graffiti and street musicians and it leads out to the Tuvinian taiga. The filmmakers take us along as they travel through Buryatia and Tuva. Driven by the rhythm of urban street music, railway tracks and ceremonial drums we experience the living spirits of Siberia and meet Shamans who practice their archaic rituals not only in the vast emptiness of the taiga but also in neighborhood of concrete housing blocks.

  • Thomas Bartels
    Director
  • Thomas Bartels
    Writer
    Gert Schroeder
  • Thomas Bartels
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 27 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 2, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    60,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Russian Federation
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    digital HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Filmkunstfest Schwerin
    Schwerin
    Germany
    May 2, 2019
    German Premiere
    Official Selection
  • MEDIATING CAMERA Int. Festival of Visual Anthropology
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    June 27, 2019
    Russian Premiere
    Main Programme
  • Indo Global International Filmfestival
    Mumbai
    India
    July 26, 2019
    best director award, documentary film
  • Docs Without Borders

    United States
    official selection
  • Canadian Cinematography Awards

    Canada
    best nature/travel film
  • Polish International Film Festival
    Warsaw
    Poland
    October 21, 2019
    Official selection
Director Biography - Thomas Bartels

Thomas Bartels studied Fine Arts and became a freelance artist and filmmaker.
He produces films, works as DoP and builds projecting sculptures and installations.
He helt various teaching contracts for film and fine arts.
Exhibitions and film recordings in europe and abroad.
Since 2018 he is teaching at the film department of Braunschweig University of Arts.

films:
2011 Fragile Esquif, 35mm, colour, 15 min., stop motion
2009 Haut der Dinge, 35mm, colour, 6:30 min., animation
2008 Jetzt geht’s doch! 16mm, colour, 19 min., animation, Eva Schröder & Thomas Bartels
2005 Ikiliikkuja (perpetuum mobile), 35mm, black&white, 5 min., experimental
2004 Michanevomai – Ich ersinne eine List, 35mm, colour, 10 min., experimental
2003 Atlıkarınca, 35mm, colour, 17 min., experimental
2001 Schwimmer, 16mm, colour, 10 min., documentary
2000 The Day Slows Down As It Progresses, 35mm, colour, 13 min., experimental animation

1994 Gegenüber, 16mm, black&white, 2 min., experimental animation, Deborah Phillips & Thomas Bartels
1991 Im Schatten des Padyschah, 16mm, colour, 25 min., stop motion
1990 Ragout, 16mm, black&white/colour, 13 min., stop motion,
Martin Hansen & Thomas Bartels
1987 Fliegen in Aspik, 16mm, colour, 19 min., experimental fiction, Martin Hansen & Thomas Bartels
1985 Simulacren – Markt der Schatten, 16mm, black&white, 13 min., fiction, Martin Hansen, Uwe Uhlendorff & Thomas Bartels

DoP:
2001 Escape (Kirsten Winter) 35mm
1999 MosaÏc (Deborah Phillips) 35mm
1998 Muratti & Sarotti (Gerd Gockell) 35mm
1997 Santoor (Deborah Phillips) 35mm
1996 Hotel Morgana (Martin Hansen) 35mm
1995 33 & 3 Sätze (Sala Deinema) 16mm
1993 Requiem für Requisiten (Rosi S.M.) 16mm
1993 Jenny (Günter Borrmann) 16mm
1992 The Refusal (Klaus Sommerfeld) 35mm

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