Brooks and Film – People of the Wind
Brooks and Film – People of the Wind
‘People of the Wind’ is a 1976 documentary film produced by Anthony Howarth and David Koff. It follows the Babadi of the Bakhtiari, led by Jafar Quoli, as they travel to their summer pastures.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Documentary in 1977. David Brooks was the consultant anthropologist on the film, providing extensive notes and advice on the Bakhtiari, as well as advising the script. A document entitled ‘People of the Wind’ written by Brooks is partly some of the notes he provided to the film makers, and also a description of his time working on the film.
▸ Read Brooks, D.H.M (1981) ‘Peoples of the Wind: Bakhtiari Nomads of S.W. Iran’ [pdf]
Director’s Recollections
Anthony Howarth, the co-producer/director of People of the Wind has been kind enough to provide The David Brooks’ Archive with his recollection of working on the film.
The film. Well as director I can still watch it. That is unusual. The photography, story line and
Anthony Howarth
especially the editing all stand the test of time.
▸ Read Anthony Howarth’s recollections of ‘People of the Wind’, January 2016 [pdf]
Brooks’ Film Narrative
Brooks wrote a plan of the content, sections and work to be done for ‘People of the Wind’ under four different headings: dedication, table of contents, major exception, and photographs.
He includes a 5-page introductory narrative exploring the current understandings of nomads, the Bakhtiari migration, an overview of the political history and present political context of the Bakhtiari, and an examination of the Babadi taifeh and Jafar Qoli, one of the main kalantars of this group.
▸ Read Brooks, D.H.M ‘People of the Wind: The Nomadic Experience of the Bakhtiari Tribes of Persia’
Film Screening
‘People of the Wind’ (1976) was shown in 2003 at the 8th Royal Anthropological Institute International Festival of Ethnographic Film.
The festival took place in Durham and was co-hosted by Durham University’s Department of Anthropology and Institute for Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies. Sir Peter Ustinov (then Chancellor of the University) attended the event and made a presentation to that year’s winner of the David Brooks Memorial Prize, Catherine Young. Before the screening, Prof. Sue Wright introduced the film. The document below is a transcription of her notes from the occasion.
▸ Read ‘People of the Wind’ piece in Lanark Today
▸ Read Wright, S (2003) Introduction to ‘People of the Wind’, Durham Film Festival, July 2003 [pdf]
