Basques in Boise

The website of a documentary film featuring the Basque communities living in the western states of the US and the changes they are having to make to keep tradition alive while at the same time sustaining their livelihoods, hit the web this week just as the official trailer was being released on Youtube.

Basques in the West, a work in progress by Brent Barras (Canyons Studio) and Amaya Oxarango-Ingram, is different from previous films on the subject of Basques in America because it focuses more on what Basque culture in America is like today.

"Other films I have seen have focused solely on the history of Basque immigration to the US and the Basque legacy in the sheep herding industry. Of course our film will touch on these things…you can''t have the present without of the past…but the truth is Basque culture here in the States is different than it was 30 years ago. I want to try to dispel this notion that we''re all a bunch of sheepherders," explains Amaya Oxarango-Ingram in an interview on eitb.com.

For the film, Brent and Amaya have interviewed more than 30 people in the space of around 10 months and already have over 50 hours of footage. Most of the interviews have been in and around Idaho but they have also done interviews in Nevada, Oregon and Utah and plan on conducting a few film shoots in Washington, the Seattle area, New Mexico and California.

They have been paying out of their own pockets and are currently looking for outside funding or donations. For this reason, the website includes a Paypal link to enable you donate to the project. It also includes a link to the documentary''s official page on Facebook.

According to Amaya, through the film they are attempting to show the central tension with which Basques in the Diaspora are currently struggling; the tension between keeping up with and preserving tradition and accepting innovation and moving forward. "What aspects of a culture do you preserve and what aspects do you adapt because of the lifestyle you''re living and more importantly…Why?" asks Amaya.