Amerikanuak

(Amerikanuak)
Nacho Reig | Documentary

2011 | 92 minutes | Spain

More than half a century ago, many Basques left Spain to look for a better life working as sheepherders in the American West. In Amerikanuak, Nacho Reig looks at the lives of some of the last remaining Basque sheepherders in the United States.

Synopsis

More than half a century ago, many Basques left Spain to look for a better life working as sheepherders in the American West. In Amerikanuak, Nacho Reig looks at the lives of some of the last remaining Basque sheepherders in the United States. Against the backdrop of the vast blue skies and bleak but beautiful winter landscape of the small town of Elko, Nevada, immigrants such as Juan “Parrillas” Juaristi, an 83-year old resident at a Basque boardinghouse, reflect on the difficulties that many of these immigrants faced in forging new lives in a foreign country, their nostalgia for what was left behind, and their effort to preserve Basque culture. The Basque group Audience created the soundtrack specifically for the film, providing the perfect background for this film about Spanish emigration, adaptation, courage, community, and a rapidly disappearing way of life.

Reviews

"Moves in a territory between the Northern Exposure series and the movie Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee." — Time Out

"A realistic vision of how Basque diaspora is located in Elko, Nevada, USA" — El País

"Amerikanuak moves away from the usual narrative feature documentaries with historical facts, opting for a more cinematic approach." — DEIA

Citation
Main credits

Reig, Nacho (film director)
Reig, Nacho (screenwriter)
Bilbao, Gorka (director of photography)
Bilbao, Gorka (editor of moving image work)
Etxebarria, Zigor (film producer)
Barredo, José-Luis (film producer)

Other credits

Photographer and editor, Gorka Bilbao; music, Audience.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
American West, Elko, Nevada, audience, immigration, diaspora, Basque Country, Basque culture, shepherds, spanish, spanish language, latin america, latin american cinema, latin american film, ibero america, latin, latinx, latino, latina,,anthropologically, cultural anthropology, forensic anthropology, anthropologist, human nature, physical anthropology, ethnocentric, ethnography, functionalism, cultures, societies, human people, human society, functionalism, globalization, ideology, pragmatism, dogmatism, social change, society,basque country, basque studies, basque language, basque, basques, vascos, vasco, vascongado, euskara, euskera, aquitani,history, context, narrative, past, chronicle, lore, annals, historic, personal history, archive, record, saga, biography, memoir, study,sociology, anthropology, psychology, sociological, sociological perspectives, conflict theory, human conflicts, sociological thinking,conflict perspective, topics in sociology, sociology topics, sociology studies, social studies, people and cultures, human relations, human relationships, cultural studies, culture studies ,iberian studies, iberian peninsula, mediterranean, andorra, spain, portugal, andorra studies, spanish studies, portuguese studies,north america, america, us, usa, united states, united states of america, us mexico and canada, map of north america, north american countries, states of north america, provinces of north america, countries of north america, continental america,culture, identity, identity politics, culture wars, left wing, right wing, intersectionality, identity groups, civilization, literacy, humanism, cancel culture, online culture, cultural revolution, cultural diffusion, culture shock, popular culture, pop culture, material culture, cultural capital, cultural assimilation ,migration studies, migrant studies, immigration studies, refugee studies, diaspora studies, resettlement studies, settlement studies, migration, migrant, immigration, refugee, diaspora, resettlement, settlement, refugees, international migration, continental migration, resettling, settlers, settler, migrant, migrant studies, first generation immigrant, first generation immigration, new americans, new spaniards,political science, micropolitics, macropolitics, political theory, political education, political movements, political thinking, political criticism, poly sci, polysci, political sci, political sciences, political history, history of politics, political systems,Amerikanuak,basque,spanish,spain,Amerikanuak - Spanish Basque Immigrints Living in the American West,films in spanish,amerika,spanish films,basque language film,immigrant heritage week,spanish film,Amerikanuak.,Farm,americanauk," war of the spanish secession ",basques,army of shadows,spanish movies,Native title,Sheep Ranching,basque hotel,spanish languaage,Into The West,apaizak,basque california,spanish civil war,spain documentary,spanish cinema,In a foreign land,immigration,spanish language,spain basque,live,The West,american immigrant,american experience spanish flu,basque culture,spanish pronunciation,spanish american,idaho,immigrant,american west,ranching,Boise,anthropology,spanish immigration,beginner Spanish,human rights spanish,the land of the basques,spanish the great courses,gipsy kings documentary for spanish t v,sheep,alba,sheepmen,Basque Idaho,amama,nostalgia,ulysses gaze,Ranch dog,1918 Spanish flu pandemic,sheep herding,spanish american war,“spanish Civil war”; "Amerikanuak"; Pragda Films
Clips
No clips are available yet.
Festivals

San Sebastián Film Festival - Zinemaldia Section
Elko Ruby Mountains Film Festival
Bogotá Documentary Film Festival

DIRECTOR: Nacho Reig

NATIONALITY: Spain

YEAR: 2011

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish; Basque; Basque

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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