Bitter Roots: The Ends of a Kalahari Myth

“Everyone who has followed the Ju'hoasi saga, from The Hunters (1957) to A Kalahari Family (2001) needs to see this film. In the Marshall tradition, Adrian Strong has made the subject close and personal. From the bleak ruins of a misguided international development project and the cynicism of those who would turn a profit in that barren landscape to the dawning realization that the Ju'hoasi will prevail, the film is unflinching. Bitter Roots is tightly made and keeps the question on the table — who has the right to dictate people's fate on their own land?”  — John Bishop, Media Generation
“Bitter Roots unveils how misguided development programs can be when they focus so narrowly on wildlife conservation and tourism. It also reveals how large NGOs and detached donors can contribute to further marginalizing the very people who they are attempting to help, an important though unsettling lesson for those who still wish to “save the world.” The film is a valuable educational resource for teaching students about international development, political ecology, and indigenous peoples.  — Rachel Giraudo, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
“Bitter Roots is an eye-opening, depressing, and angering — and therefore very effective — film… Suitable for college courses in cultural anthropology, applied/development anthropology, anthropology of threatened cultures, and African studies, as well as general audiences.”  — Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review Database
“…this low-budget film demonstrates what ingenuity and creativity can do.” — Robert J. Gordon, American Anthropologist, September 2012