This film has an exceptionally wide range of uses — from science, engineering and anthropology classes to social studies and third grade “how people live” studies. At an altitude of 10,000 feet in Badakhstan, in north eastern Afghanistan, one hundred Tajik men and boys from one village work together to rebuild their hand-constructed bridge — their lifeline to market and their only means of contact with the outside world. For centuries melting spring glaciers have turned their stream into a raging torrent, destroying or damaging the bridge they made of wood and stone the year before. And for centuries men and boys have carried new stones on their backs and hewn new trees with a crude adz to replace natures damage. these one hundred Tajiks of today, in just three days of actual construction, bridge the river with a remarkable cantilever spend of 120 feet. The viewer is abruptly removed to a time in history long before machines assisted man in harnessing his environment.

Edited Film