In Digoli, a small village in the Indian Himalayas, “magical” rituals and arranged marriages remain a common part of the mountain culture. But with the arrival of mobile phones, the extension of the radio relay system, and the exodus of men to the cities, modernity has begun to exert its influence.

One beacon of Digoli’s newfound innovation is the development of Avani, a cooperative that produces delicate silk. For fifteen years, Avani has enabled women to become socially and economically independent. Hema, one member of the co-op, finds herself torn between a traditional lifestyle working in the fields to provide food for her parents, and the opportunity to weave silk for Avani.

Hema is chosen to travel to New Delhi to sell silk, but ultimately chooses to returns home. At age twenty-nine, when she’s considered too old for marriage, she weds a jobless poor man named Harish. Without property, cattle, or money, they move to a remote village, but Avani soon proposes that Hema start a weaving center to teach locals, including her husband. Filmmaker and noted artist Catherine Addor-Confino punctuates the film with her vivid paintings, adding an imaginative element to this inspiring story of one woman’s entrepreneurial spirit.

“This film puts forward the battle for human rights, the recognition of dignity for all, in equality. . . A positive model of material and human development."
‒Brigitte Polonovski, The International Council of Women, United Nations

“A quiet and moving film"
‒Suman Dubey, Secretary, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust