Silvesterchlausen

Directed by Andrew Norman Wilson

Silvesterchlausen is a mysterious tradition that takes place every New Year’s Eve in Switzerland’s Appenzell, the most conservative part of the country. Groups of six men dress in ornate costumes and engage in wordless, polyphonic yodeling and rhythmic bell clanging. The ritual has been performed for at least 500 years, but nobody knows how or why it began.