A selection by Albert Ohayon

The Hutterites

Colin Low,
1964,
27 min 56 s

Synopsis
Point Of View
Education

The followers of religious leader Jacob Hutter live in farm communities, devoutly holding to the rules their founder laid down four centuries ago. Through the kindness of a Hutterite colony in Alberta, this film, in black and white, was made inside the community and shows all aspects of the Hutterites' daily life.

From the playlist : The 1960s: An Explosion of Creativity

The Hutterites was Colin Low’s attempt to give a voice to the little-known Hutterite community in Canada. With only a cameraman and soundman to accompany him, Low spent three weeks living in a Hutterite community in Alberta, recording the lives and rituals of this misunderstood people.

— Albert Ohayon

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Comments

“I toured a Hutterite colony with my adult daughter a few years ago. I have always been intrigued by how such a culture could exist for so long and even through these modern times of so-called knowledge and wisdom. If there is anything that I have come to understand it is that for me their life is a metafor. A metafor to awaken us to the power of community, of sharing, of treating each other as equals and caring for those in need.” — ranfisher, 21 Dec 2012
“I saw this movie in my high school anthropology class many years ago when it first came out. It seemed strange to me then. I have done a lot of studying since then and one thing that strikes me is that if a group of people cooperate they can live any time period they want with relative comfort. The agricultural revolution happened 5,000 years ago and at the time some people were able to live ok lives and even build things like pyramids and the lives of other people were miserable. The industrial revolution happened 100 to 200 years ago and people were freed from much drudge work and the lives of others are still miserable. The technology is no longer the answer, its something sociological. At this point I wouldn't mind the trade.” — Voss, 8 Mar 2011