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Boatman is a 1993 Italian documentary film directed by Gianfranco Rosi. The film depicts life and death on the banks of the River Ganges in Benares, India.

Synopsis
The film documents life along the Ganges River in Benares, India, the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) of Hinduism. Much of the footage comes from a boat trip Rosi goes on with Gopal, the titular boatman. Major themes in the documentary include the caste system in India and their different responses and practices when it comes to death, in addition to the significance of the Ganges in their lives. The film also features conversations with Western tourists as well as locals who make a living disposing of dead bodies.

Production
Rosi first visited Benares while a student at film school and became interested in the city being "the only city in the world where the dead and the living inhabited the same space". After some initial difficulties, Rosi decided to stop the project, but subsequently met Gopal, a boatman; their boat trip and Gopal's comments on life in Benares featured heavily in the film. It took Rosi five years to turn his footage into a feature film. The film was shot in black and white.

Release
Boatman was presented at various international film festivals, including Sundance Film Festival, the Locarno Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. The film won the Golden Maile Award at the 1994 Hawaii International Film Festival.

Reception
Boatman received positive reviews. Time Out praised Rosi's direction, including the film's "non-judgemental tone" and its "poetry and wit". MUBI described it as "a profound observational tour... to form a poetic portrait of a nation and its culture".