Varanasi, the Elegance of Chaos (Alfonso Domingo) Spain |

Varanasi, the Elegance of Chaos
Alfonso Domingo
Spain. 2025. 51 min

One must visit Varanasi at least once in a lifetime. It is a city that leaves no one indifferent—a symbol and microcosm of India, a land of wonder. We explore the banks of the Ganges and witness the rites of life and death in this sacred city: the cremation grounds, the Nagas (naked ascetics smeared with the ashes of the dead), the snake charmers, and the pilgrims flocking to Shivaratri, the festival of Shiva. In Varanasi, even the chaos fits right in.

Varanasi exists in a special space-time—a city where everything, even the chaos, seems to flow and, ultimately, fall into place. Like everything here, life unfolds between vertigo and grace, squalor and extreme beauty, serenity and the ceaseless succession of events. Everything seems to be in motion, repeating itself, yet at the same time, everything is motionless and timeless.

ALFONSO DOMINGO

Alfonso Domingo (Turégano, Segovia, 1955)—a journalist, writer, and filmmaker—has worked in print media, radio, and television. He holds degrees in Information Sciences and Political Science (Ibero-American studies). A journalist specializing in international affairs and a war correspondent, he has created fourteen documentary series and half a dozen feature-length documentaries—totaling over one hundred works, some of which have won multiple awards.

Among his recent works, in 2006 he directed La memoria recobrada (Recovered Memory), a five-part series on historical memory co-produced with TVE, featuring contributions from Pedro Guerra, Manuel Rivas, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, Luis Pastor, and Juan Madrid. In 2009, he directed the series Sahel, nuestra ribera (Sahel, Our Riverbank; 3×60 min; Mali, Senegal, and Burkina Faso) and Bajo todas las banderas: Españoles en la II Guerra Mundial (Under All Flags: Spaniards in World War II; TVE, History Channel, Argonauta, and TVG; 2×60 min). In 2012, he co-directed Dormíamos, despertamos (We Were Asleep, We Woke Up), about the 15-M movement. In 2015, he co-directed Héroes invisibles: Afroamericanos en la guerra de España (Invisible Heroes: African Americans in the Spanish Civil War). In 2016, he directed Melchor Rodríguez, el ángel rojo (Melchor Rodríguez, the Red Angel), which won second prize in the Imaginera competition organized by the Center for Andalusian Studies. In 2021, he directed Cantata de la guerra civil (Civil War Cantata), co-produced with TVE (winner at the 2022 Wica NY Festival). In 2026, he directed Varanasi, la elegancia del caos (Varanasi, the Elegance of Chaos).