Ganges: River to Heaven | |
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Directed by | Gayle Ferraro |
Produced by | Gayle Ferraro |
Edited by | Keiko Deguchi |
Music by | Claudio Ragazzi |
Distributed by | Aerial Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 77 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Ganges: River to Heaven, is a 2003 American documentary film by Boston filmmaker, Gayle Ferraro. The film documents the culture and beliefs of the Hindu religion across the Ganges River which has been considered holy in India.
The five-person film crew spent almost four weeks living at Assi Ghat, Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges River and during that time fully documented the religious culture and rituals associated with both life and death in this photogenic region of the subcontinent of India. The film crew included some of the most experienced and talented professional technicians available in India. [2]
Dennis Harvey of Variety reviewed "At once lyrical and smell-the-stench gritty, "Ganges: River to Heaven" provides a respectful, often engrossing overview of the water body that's among the world's holiest sites. Visually handsome package is enlightening on several levels, resulting in an attractive fest item with good prospects for public tubecast and possible limited theatrical exposure". [3] Devin D. O'Leary of Alibi said "The film's only major drawback is that it never digs quite deep enough into its subject matter. The film is undeniably beautiful, shot with an eye for everyday detail—something which India is overflowing with. Still, as a simple, gorgeously shot primer on Hindu spirituality, Ganges: River of Heaven works, delivering the worthwhile message that maybe death can lead to a greater life. [4]
The Ganges is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through Bangladesh and India. The 2,525 km (1,569 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly river. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna, the lower stream of the Brahmaputra, and eventually the Meghna, forming the major estuary of the Ganges Delta, and emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna system is the second largest river on earth by discharge.
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