Feet in Water, Head on Fire

Feet in Water, Head on Fire was part of IDFA program in 2023, and withdrawn by the filmmaker. Upon the request of the filmmaker, we publish the following text as received:

"This film was one of 12 to withdraw from participation at IDFA 2023, amongst 28 total withdrawals that included moderators, jury, and others in protest at the festival's damaging denunciation of an action in solidarity with Palestine that took place on the opening night of the festival. At the time, the festival erased all information relating to the films withdrawn in protest from the website. In response to the publication of the Palestine Film Institute's 'Industry Protocol in Times of Genocide' in August 2024, and as a gesture towards transparency, IDFA reinstated the information relating to the withdrawn films in September 2024. No further accountability has been taken.”  - The Palestine Film Institute on behalf of the filmmakers, for the full statement click here

Film synopsis

The date palm became the symbol of Coachella Valley after California farmers imported the fruit tree from the Middle East in the early 20th century. This palm is also the connecting factor in Feet in Water, Head on Fire, in which filmmaker Terra Long paints an intimate portrait of an area that has been both formed and deformed by human hands.

In loosely structured impressions shot on 16mm, Long introduces the viewer to numerous valley inhabitants: the indigenous Cahuilla people, who have been doing the heavy work for generations; landowners whose forebears built the first plantations; and retired white residents whose residential areas and golf courses consume much of the scarce water.

The overarching impression that Long’s film creates is that of a vulnerable region on the San Andreas Fault whose inhabitants don’t seem to realize how much their existence is dependent on the vagaries of nature. Because where tectonic activity once formed Coachella Valley, another earthquake could obliterate everything.