Faces of the Hand

There is nothing more intriguing than what is hidden behind the obvious. The human hand is a miracle which we completely take for granted. The work of our hands, in their eloquence, silence, restlessness, creativity, and violence, have made human history and continue to shape the present and future.

FACES OF THE HAND takes you on a visual journey through different cultures and a range of human experiences and shows the many faces of our hands; working, communicating, creating music, expressing our sensuality, and used as weapons for defense or aggression, and as instruments for healing and worship.

This film is both poetry and anthropology, science and art, sacred and profane; an odyssey from cave art thirty millennia ago to robot hands controlled by computers.

'In under half an hour, this superbly shot and edited video manages, with minimal narration, to convey the enormous physiological complexity of the hand, its vast flexibility, and its uses across cultures as an instrument of creation, healing, aggression, communication, and tenderness. An extraordinarily moving work that reveals poetry and wonder in the everyday world.' Gary Handman, American Libraries

'A fascinating and lyric journey...Of excellent quality, it is suitable for a wide range of ages from grade school through university. It would be particularly relevant in courses on anthropology or communication, and would also serve well in courses on art or history.' Rebecca S. Graves, MC Journal

'An amazing combination of science, poetry, and anthropology' Cultural Survival Quarterly