Up Down & Sideways

Phek is a village in the Indian state of Nagaland near the border with Myanmar, with around 5,000 inhabitants, nearly all of whom grow rice for their own consumption. As they work in the fields in small cooperative groups called mülé, the men and women sing together. The rhythm and movement of hoeing, plowing, planting and harvesting is accompanied by songs and lyrics that echo through the hills. As the season progresses, the tone changes and the music becomes increasingly hypnotic. The songs have been passed down for generations and tell stories of the land, love, and the concerns of everyday life in an area that for many years has been troubled by political unrest. This portrait of a people with an extraordinary musical culture is lovingly filmed with an eye for detail. Shots of natural beauty and people working in the fields are interspersed with interviews about their lives and music, which are so inextricably linked.