Journey of a Red Fridge
Encyclopedia
Journey of a Red Fridge is a 2007 documentary film about 17-year-old porter
Hari Rai
working in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal
. It was directed by Lucian and Natasa Muntean (aka Lunam Docs
), a Serbian independent documentary production duo specializing in telling the stories of working children. Journey of a Red Fridge was produced in association with The Global Fund for Children
.
, who lives in a small village in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal
, and his extraordinary journey. Hari is a student. However, he also works as a porter
so that he could pay for his tuition and cover his living expenses. Although very young, he already has three years of experience carrying loads up and down the mountain, mostly tourists' backpacks. This time, he gets a job to carry a huge red refrigerator from the top of the mountain, to the nearest town.
We follow Hari Rai
on his journey through the fascinating Himalayan
landscapes, we discover Hari’s inner life, his thoughts, hopes and dreams and we also get to know the culture and the local people’s way of life in this region. We learn about their relation with the most important aspects of their lives: family, nature and religion.
Out of 60,000 child porters
in Nepal
, Hari is one of the few lucky ones to have a chance of going to school. Journey of a Red Fridge shows us what it takes for him to get his education.
, the Netherlands. Since then, Journey of a Red Fridge has been screened at more than 60 international festivals and received 20 awards.
Journey of a Red Fridge was released on DVD in March 2009.
Video
Porter (carrier)
A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who shifts objects for others.-Historical meaning:Human adaptability and flexibility early led to the use of humans for shifting gear...
Hari Rai
Rai people
The Rai are one of Nepal's most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups. They were Raya meaning king. Once someone was recognized as a ruler then Hindus awarded the title Raja, Rai, Raya, Malla etc. When the king Pritivi Narayan Shah couldn't defeat Kirant king , he somehow took them in...
working in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. It was directed by Lucian and Natasa Muntean (aka Lunam Docs
Lunam Docs
Lunam Docs is an independent documentary film production duo - Lucian and Natasa Muntean - dedicated to documentary filmmaking on human rights and social justice, around the world, with special attention paid to children rights and child labour.Through their films, Lunam Docs is trying to present...
), a Serbian independent documentary production duo specializing in telling the stories of working children. Journey of a Red Fridge was produced in association with The Global Fund for Children
The Global Fund for Children
The mission of The Global Fund for Children is to advance the dignity of children and youth around the world. GFC pursues its mission by making small grants to innovative community-based organizations working with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth, complemented by a dynamic...
.
Synopsis
Journey of a Red Fridge is a story of a 17-year-old boy named Hari RaiRai people
The Rai are one of Nepal's most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups. They were Raya meaning king. Once someone was recognized as a ruler then Hindus awarded the title Raja, Rai, Raya, Malla etc. When the king Pritivi Narayan Shah couldn't defeat Kirant king , he somehow took them in...
, who lives in a small village in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, and his extraordinary journey. Hari is a student. However, he also works as a porter
Porter (carrier)
A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who shifts objects for others.-Historical meaning:Human adaptability and flexibility early led to the use of humans for shifting gear...
so that he could pay for his tuition and cover his living expenses. Although very young, he already has three years of experience carrying loads up and down the mountain, mostly tourists' backpacks. This time, he gets a job to carry a huge red refrigerator from the top of the mountain, to the nearest town.
We follow Hari Rai
Rai people
The Rai are one of Nepal's most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups. They were Raya meaning king. Once someone was recognized as a ruler then Hindus awarded the title Raja, Rai, Raya, Malla etc. When the king Pritivi Narayan Shah couldn't defeat Kirant king , he somehow took them in...
on his journey through the fascinating Himalayan
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
landscapes, we discover Hari’s inner life, his thoughts, hopes and dreams and we also get to know the culture and the local people’s way of life in this region. We learn about their relation with the most important aspects of their lives: family, nature and religion.
Out of 60,000 child porters
Porter (carrier)
A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who shifts objects for others.-Historical meaning:Human adaptability and flexibility early led to the use of humans for shifting gear...
in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Hari is one of the few lucky ones to have a chance of going to school. Journey of a Red Fridge shows us what it takes for him to get his education.
Alternate titles
- Die Reise des roten Kühlschranks (AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
TV title; ORFORFORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
) - Die Reise des roten Kühlschranks (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
TV title; ARTEArteArte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
) - Les tribulations d'un frigo rouge (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
TV title; ARTEArteArte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
) - Punainen jääkaappi (FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
TV title; YLE) - Putovanje crvenog frižidera (SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
TV title)
Exhibition and awards
Journey of a Red Fridge premiered at the 2007 IDFA Film Festival, AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the Netherlands. Since then, Journey of a Red Fridge has been screened at more than 60 international festivals and received 20 awards.
Journey of a Red Fridge was released on DVD in March 2009.
External links
- http://www.arte.tv/fr/semaine/244,broadcastingNum=1063800,day=6,week=38,year=2009.htmlJourney of a Red Fridge on ARTEArteArte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
] - Journey of a Red Fridge on YLE
- http://silverdocs.com/festival/films/2008/journey-red-fridge/
Video
- http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/films/redfridge/filmviewer.phpJourney of a Red Fridge - 3 minutes excerpt on Digital HimalayaDigital HimalayaThe Digital Himalaya project was conceived of by Professor Alan Macfarlane and Dr Mark Turin as a strategy for archiving and making available valuable ethnographic materials from the Himalayan region. Based at the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, the project was...
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