NINE PRECIOUS STONES
a dying art
Director's Statements
Samia Shalabi
Traditional arts, and the knowledge carried by their artisans, are rapidly disappearing. For 23 years, I have worked alongside Kumar, a traditional goldsmith in Mysore, India, whose practice embodies both technical mastery and sacred cultural meaning.
Nine Precious Stones: A Dying Art traces his story, revealing a craft shaped by generations of inherited wisdom, now at risk of being lost. Through Kumar, we explore not only the making of a piece of jewelry, but the deeper significance embedded within it.
As an artist, I am drawn to stories that speak directly to the heart, stories that expand our sense of what is possible. At a time of profound and rapid global change, connecting with these ancient living traditions reminds us of where we come from and why this knowledge matters.
Sam Maria Viji
Filming Nine Precious Stones: A Dying Art was an opportunity for me as a filmmaker to take pause, a reminder of the urgency to document the lives of unknown artisans making their delicate craft and their perseverance in holding true to these traditional arts.
This film touches simplicity, realism and evokes empathy. The central character Kumar expresses his deep affection for goldsmithing. Kumar navigates the narrative through his backstory, the sacred knowledge he possesses, the legacy he holds and the process of making Navaratna. This film impels me and the team to make films which tell remarkable stories of dying arts.
AWARD WINNING FILM
WITH FIRE & BREATH
a dying art
Director's Statement
Samia Shalabi
With Fire & Breath: A Dying Art was a vision that came to me while soaking in hot springs under the stars in Taos, New Mexico in February of 2022.
For 20 years I have been studying traditional Indian goldsmithing throughout India.
While on what I thought would be a holiday to the beach, I met Balan for the first time. Since that moment in 2008, we have been working together.
Through this movie I hope to create awareness around the dying art of traditional goldsmithing. The hard work and legacy of Balan and traditional goldsmiths throughout history has gone unseen far too
long and soon this way of making jewelry will perish. Throughout the storyline we weave Balan’s history and the making of an elis, a talisman and the very first piece of jewelry he made for me 16 years ago.
Director's Statement
Sam Maria Viji
When opportunity invited me to co-create a film about Balan the goldsmith living in a small village near Kannur, Kerala, my memories came alive.
As a boy growing up in Kerala in the 1980’s I remember being intrigued while watching an ironsmith working at his forge adjacent to his home, it was very joyful for me.
Making this movie has been a sublime experience, rewarding me with the fond memories of childhood as well as using my craft, movie making, to showcase and memorialize Balan and his craft, goldsmithing.
With Fire & Breath: A Dying Art celebrates the coexistence of nature and an artisan while exploring the fragile future of traditional goldsmithing.
