The Living God
A portrait of the three Hindu Shankaracharya pontiffs of the Kanchipuram monastery, focusing on Jayendra Saraswati. Transmited on BBC 2, ZDF, Canal Plus and Premiere Channel. 1993.
Director: Michael Yorke.
Cameraman: Naresh Bedi.
Forest of Dreams
The dreams of five renegade Europeans living in the Amazon rain forest of French Guyana: an eccentric animal collector, a World War 11 pilot, a bourgeois hotelier, a tribal headman, and the Foreign Legion.
Director: Michael Yorke. Transmitted on Discovery Channel, ZDF and Canal Plus. 1993.
The Ho, People of the Rice Pot
I shot this film while doing anthropological fieldwork among the Ho ‘adivasis‘ in Jharkand, India from 1972 to 1974. I owe them a great vote of thanks. It was shot in 16mm negative stock on a Bolex synch camera. The quality is poor and from a very old and damaged projection print. Released 1976.
Director: Michael Yorke. Sound Recordist: Valerie Yorke. Editor: Gregory Harris.
Eunuchs, India's Third Gender
An intimate film about three Indian men, who decided they had the “soul of a woman”. They are ‘hijra‘, India’s transgender community. A sensitive ethnographic film portraying their traditions, lifestyle, and motivations. Transmitted on BBC 2’s ‘Under the Sun’ series in 1991.
Director: Michael Yorke. Cameraman: Andrew Carchrae.
Raj Gonds, Reflections in a Peacock Crown
A 50 minute ethnographic film about the ‘Dandari’ festival of the Raj Gond ‘adivasi‘ tribe of Telangana, India. Shot in 1982 and transmitted in 1983 the BBC Ethnographic Unit’s ‘Worlds Apart‘ series.
Directors, Chris Curling and Peter Loizos. Anthropologist, Michael Yorke. Cameraman, Roger Deakins.
Dust and Ashes. Maha KumbhMela festival
A 50 minute look at the profound faith of Hinduism that led 15 million people to the world’s largest human gathering – the great Kumbh Mela pilgrimage in Alahabad, India in 1989. for BBC 2’s “Under the Sun” series.
Director: Michael Yorke. Cameraman: Naresh Bedi.
Holy Men & Fools
A personal, never transmitted, film that I, Michael Yorke, made and edited on two Hindu sadhus, Uma Giri and Vasisht Giri, on a pilgrimage through the holy places of the Himalayas, ending up at Gangotri in 2004. It explores their motivations, devotion, philosophy and ‘sadhana‘, tantric spiritual exercises.
Producer, Director: Michael Yorke. Sound Recordist: Tara Douglas.
Kumbh Mela, The Greatest Show on Earth.
The Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 2001. A 52 minute compilation of 6 ½ hours daily broadcasts on Channel 4 TV. The great Hindu pilgrimage attracting 14 million of the faithful to join with the sadhus of India for a dip in the Ganges. Magnificent and moving ethnography, dubbed ‘the largest human gathering on earth’.
Director, Cameraman & Devisor: Michael Yorke. Narrator: Bhaskar Bhattacharya. Producer: Denis Whyte. Series Director: Paddy Mark.
The Muria
A 52 minute ethnographic film about the Muria ‘adivasi‘ tribe of Bastar in central India, exploring marital relations and the traditional values of the ‘ghotul‘, the youth dormitory system, that caused much controversy. A touching and insightful film, made in 1981 for the BBC Ethnographic Unit, ‘Worlds Apart’ series.
Assistant Producer: Michael Yorke. Director: Chris Curling, Cameraman: Ernie Vince.
Taking The Heat
A 50 minute film about an Indian peasant, B N Sinha, working in the dark satanic mills of the Tata Iron and Steel works in Jamshedpur. An intimate story exploring Sinha’s working conditions in an industry that has affected the life of the ‘adivasi‘ tribals. Made in 1988 for BBC 2’s ‘Under the Sun’ series in 1988.
Director: Michael Yorke.
The Coromandel Coast
A Film I directed for BBC Birmingham, presented by Ray Mears about the Vadabaliga fishermen on the Coralmandal coast of Andra Pradesh, India.
Date: 1998