the eighth province
The Eighth Province is a meditation on diaspora as seen through the experiences of Basque Americans living in Bakersfield, California. Through bertsolaritza— improvised oral poetry—sheepherding, literature, and unauthorized pedagogy, characters find creative ways to reclaim and practice their native language of Euskara. Even as the percentage of fluent Euskara speakers in the United States declines, Basque cultural clubs, festivals, restaurants, sheep camps, pickup trucks, and aspen groves become spaces where language and community thrive. Named for the colloquial term claimed by Basques living anywhere outside of the Basque Country, The Eighth Province ultimately explores the fluidity of identity and cultural traditions.
Director’s Statement
Despite growing up in a town in Southern California named after a Basque sheepherder—I was unaware of the Basque diaspora until I went off to college. As an employee at the 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, I met many Basques who came to Washington, D.C., to celebrate their cultural heritage with the public. I was particularly moved by the bertsolaris (improvising poets) and learned that there were only a handful of these practitioners left in the United States.
Through the tight-knit network of Basque communities in the Western United States, I heard of a bertsolari in Bakersfield who also operates a sheep company. Bakersfield—much like the Basques—had been a place close to home that I knew very little about, and this project became a personal discovery of a side of California I was completely out of touch with.
What I find inspiring about the Basque story is exactly what I hope audiences take from this film: that against all odds, people can come together to create and sustain community. At a time when the cultural acceptance of immigrant and minority groups is very much in question, I hope The Eighth Province inspires viewers through the story of Basque resilience.
Press
In Conversation: Q & A with B. Ruby Rich
Director/Producer Kyle Baker sits down with Film Quarterly Editor and film scholar B. Ruby Rich to discuss the making of The Eighth Province.
The Eighth Province featured in About Basque Country