A SEARCH FOR ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE
DAN BON LALINN
A SHORT FILM BY LONDON VALLERY
WATCH NOW
Dan Bon Lalinn a film by London Vallery. 2020, USA, 19 min.
A Harvard astrophysics student follows her father through a day in his rural Kouri Vini community to explore her ancestral connection to her field and reflect on the generational-loss of indigenous knowledge.
Dan Bon Lalinn
London Vallery
History of Science, Filmmaker
London Vallery is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Cambridge working in the History and Philosophy of Science with a focus in Aerospace Engineering. Vallery completed her bachelor's degree at Harvard University in the History of Science. She has a research focus in the international development of aerospace engineering as it relates to astrosociology, indigenous representation, and environmental rights. Dan Bon Lalinn was produced within Vallery's ongoing Upward Expansion collection which covers the ways in which indigenous communities around the world utilize the stars and sky as a natural resource.
Reviews
"This is such a strong film - nuanced and humane. So many worthy details. The rarefied world of Harvard astrophysics eliding effortlessly into the bayou world of moon, stars, and bodies of water."
ROSS McELWEE / BEST DOCUMENTARY - SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 1987
"A beautiful, poetic narrative with its own distinctive visual and aural language involving listening to elders, call and response, reciprocity, and looking at the world around with a sense of awe. This is subtle, complex, and ambitious."
JULIE MALLOZZI / INTERNATIONAL AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARIAN
"This is such a beautiful film. It’s so intimate and personal. The stunning visuals pair really well with the film’s philosophical tone. The film judges no one and resists that hierarchy of knowledge that Harvard often champions. It just shows the intimacy of the filmmaker with their subject. The film balances the heroic with the delicate."
MAEVE MILLER / DIRECTOR OF THE 2020 DOCUMENTARY SUMMERTIME