In 1995, blind bluesman Paul Pena, who has played with Muddy Waters, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Jerry Garcia, and Merl Saunders and wrote the Steve Miller Band hit "Jet Airliner," traveled to Tuva, a small land in Northern Mongolia, with a small film crew and radio DJ Mario Casetta. Pena had become fascinated with the Tuvan practice of harmonic throat singing, in which singers are able to make incredible, almost magical sounds flow from deep in their throats. Pena's tour of the country leads him to the 1995 Throat singing Competition and Symposium, in which he competes in the kargyaa section, and the crowd is thrilled to see an American blues musician throat singing and talking to them in the Tuvan language. Brothers Adrian and Roko Belic document the trip, alternating between scenes of Pena's experiences with the people and shots of the beautiful Tuvan landscape and culture, from lush fields, stunning mountains, and hot deserts to dancing, a form of sumo-like wrestling, and a brutal sheep slaughtering ceremony. This majestic film won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 1999 Academy Awards as well as the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. The music in the film is literally incredible and it has to be seen and heard to be believed.
