Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The Christian pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago originated in the 9th century. Today, it remains a popular trekking route for pilgrims religious and secular alike, with a network of routes beginning in France, Portugal and Spain, and ending in the town of Santiago de Compostela in the northwest of Spain.
Maria’s Way (2009) chronicles a day in the life of an elderly Spanish woman living along a Camino de Santiago route. There, just outside of her home, she has for years kept count of pilgrims and offered them stamps, which help credential them along their trek. Filming from behind Maria’s small route-side stall as she goes about her daily routine, the Scottish director Anne Milne’s short captures Maria interacting with gold-toothed nuns, rude youngsters with cameras and kindly pilgrims who are curious about her life and work. A feisty woman who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, Maria’s presence lends the film humour and heart. But more than just a slice-of-life profile, Milne’s film demonstrates how even the most outwardly mundane tasks can have deep resonance.
Director: Anne Milne
video
Religion
Hear from blasphemes, sceptics and free-thinkers in this ‘tour of medieval unbelief’
52 minutes
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
The ancient Hawaiian myth that sparked a modern ecological breakthrough
10 minutes
video
Music
‘Dun dun dun duuun!’ Why Beethoven’s Fifth sticks in the head and stirs the heart
5 minutes
video
Art
The irreverent duo who thumbed their noses at the Soviet Union and the US art world
11 minutes
video
Thinkers and theories
Henri Bergson on why the existence of things precedes their possibility
3 minutes
video
Future of technology
Is this the future of space travel? Take a luxury ‘cruise’ across the solar system
6 minutes
video
Metaphysics
Why mathematical truths exist with or without minds to consider them
8 minutes
video
Stories and literature
A French Creole folktale nearly lost to time is given new, gorgeously animated life
6 minutes
video
Food and drink
Is a ‘gastronomic society’ dinner the height of decadence, or an act of artistry?
11 minutes