International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

Synopsis

"Mlabri marry Mlabri." That's how it has always been. But what can IDang do with no Mlabri girls around? Chalat is getting ready to leave. He is going to attend a Thai boarding school. Chalat's mother is worried sick. Will her son ever come back? Chwuit knows that Mlabri life is about to change radically. As a child he roamed the jungles with his parents hunting for bamboo rats and digging wild roots. But the jungle has vanished. The old Mlabri are scared of the changes. But Chuwit knows that to survive as a people they have to fight for their identity.
There are only 320 Mlabri left on this planet. They used to be hunters and gatherers. One generation ago they came out of the jungle in Northern Thailand. For the moment they scrape out a meagre existence at the bottom of society.
This is a decisive moment in Mlabri history. Right now they face the crucial question: How does one adapt to a world full of Outsiders? Who does one integrate without disappearing?