RAI Film Admin

Film list

Andrè Singer in conversation '

Anthropology, Creative Practice and Ethnography '

Anti-Racist Documentary Filmmaking Workshop '

Talks
Convened by Elena Guzman Miasarah Lai .

This workshop offers fundamental strategies for anti-racist documentary storytelling from concept to production. The need for anti-racist filmmaking has reverberated throughout the film industry with

Ayouni 2020 75'

Directed by Yasmin Fedda .

Bassel was a successful open source developer and hacker in Damascus. Paolo was a well-known priest based in Mar Musa monastery. Both men were active in the 2011 Syrian revolution, and witnesses to

Middle and Near East War / Conflict / Reconciliation Memory Political Activists

Bang the Drum 2020 28'

Directed by William Nitzky .

For the Yao minority in rural southwest China, the bronze drum is a sacred heritage. Its sound aids the souls of deceased elders in reaching the ancestral land. When the Chinese government steps in

Central Asia and Far East Music/ Ethnomusicology Tourism/ Travel/ Pilgrimage Rural Shamans and Shamanism

Beats of the Antonov 2014 68'

Global Racialisations Directed by Hajooj Kuka .

Sudan has been in an almost constant state of civil war since it achieved independence in 1956, and it split into a pair of sovereign states in 2011. On the border between the two, Russian-made

Beyond observation '

Beyond observation: A history of authorship in ethnographic film. A discussion with Paul Henley. More than just introducing the best in new ethnographic films, the RAI FILM Festival also aims to take

The Body Won't Close 2020 74'

Main Competition Directed by Mattijs van de Port .

Our bodies are semi-permeable. All over the world, stories are being told about heroes who magically “close” their bodies, so as to become invincible. This film follows one such story, as it is

South America Essay film Gender Role and Identity Folklore Reflexivity

Broken Gods 2019 42'

Werbner Award Directed by Dakxinkumar Bajrange (Chhara) Alice Tilche .

Set among the Rathava and Bhil Adivasi communities of western India, Broken Gods documents the social impact of Hindu religious evangelism among India’s Indigenous groups. As Indigenous people join

Chasing Shadows 2019 70'

Werbner Award Directed by Roger Canals .

This film is an intimate portrait of the Kyangyang prophetic movement in Guinea-Bissau. The members of the movement communicate with their ancestors, who transmit messages from the high God through

A Colombian Family 2020 80'

Main Competition Directed by Tanja Wol Sørensen .

A powerful mother-daughter drama is at the centre of this film. Rooted in disagreement—both personal and political—the film follows the consequences of a war that leaves them with an impossible

South America War / Conflict / Reconciliation Family / Kinship Gender Role and Identity Intergenerational relations Memory Migration Personal Narrative Political Activists Refugees / Displaced populations Social Conflict

Come Here Come Here 2019 28'

Directed by Julia Sterre Schmitz .

As a poetic manifesto for a more plural understanding of female sexuality, this associative film interweaves many theories, images, fantasies, memories and confusions drawn from popular culture,

Western Europe Sex / Sexuality Love Gender Role and Identity Research Methods

The Daring Young Girl on the Flying Trapeze 2020 27'

Directed by Nina Ross .

As a child, Nancy Willis dreamt of joining the circus, longing for freedom and adventure. Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and told she would not live beyond her twenties, the now 65-year-old artist

British-Irish Isles Art/ Artists/ Artisans Personal Narrative Health/ Health care/ Healing Life Story/ Life History

Death of the One who Knows 2020 82'

Werbner Award Directed by Dana Rappoport .

In the Toraja highlands of Sulawesi (Indonesia), Lumbaa is one of the last masters of ritual speech. After his forced conversion to Pentecostalism, he is compelled to stop all his ritual activity and

Decolonising the Archive shorts #1 70'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Rethinking how collections are made and remembered

Decolonising the Archive shorts #2 73'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Rethinking how collections are made and remembered

Elder's Corner 2020 96'

Music Docs Directed by Siji Awoyinka .

From the colourful, celebratory sounds of Juju to the politicized urgency of Afrobeat, Nigerian musicians have spearheaded some of Africa's most prominent musical movements. For over a decade,

Emails to My Little Sister 2018 35'

Directed by Solomon Mekonen .

An autoethnographic phenomenology of blackness in Berlin via Ethiopia. The film explores the historical and ongoing relationship between the so-called West and Africa. A brother who lives north of

Western Europe North and Northeast Africa Migration Race / Racism / Antiracism Colonialism / Postcolonialism Reflexivity

Engaging Media Worlds [NYU] '

Faces Voices 2018 18'

Directed by Paul Basu Christopher Thomas Allen .

The film complicates any simple reading of a colonial photographic archive from Southern Nigeria and Sierra Leone that was collected between 1909 and 1915. Through a collaborative creative effort

West Africa British-Irish Isles Archival material / Museum displays Colonialism / Postcolonialism Race / Racism / Antiracism

Filmmaking for Fieldwork '

Lifetime Achievement .

Forget Alberto For Now 2020 19'

Directed by Beina Xu .

A refugee known only as Alberto flies from Athens to Brussels on a fake passport. Three years later, a small crew from Berlin tries to make a film by shooting the landscape of his transit. Things

Western Europe Western Mediterranean Reflexivity Migration Resettlement Refugees/ Displaced populations

Global Racialisations shorts 57'

Shorts Programme
Shorts Convened by Mahdi Fleifel .

Global racialisations - Q&A with directors '

Half Elf 2020 64'

Main Competition Directed by Jón Bjarki Magnússon .

A lighthouse keeper prepares his earthly funeral while trying to reconnect the elf within. Hulda and Trausti have shared a roof on Icelandic shores for over seventy years. Her love of books is

The Healer and the Psychiatrist 2019 74'

Werbner Award Directed by Mike Poltorak .

This film explores the tensions, contradictions, and resonances between traditional and psychiatric treatment in the South Pacific Island group of Vava’u. We meet two main characters: the

House No. 15 2018 7'

Directed by Aryo Danusiri .

Jakarta, Indonesia. Monsoon season. Children are at play in their flooded house, located in the riverside area of Ciliwung, known for its informal housing settlements. What unfolds before the camera

South-East Asia Everyday Life Children/ Young people Sensory Ethnography

I Am Belmaya 2020 80'

Main Competition Directed by Sue Carpenter .

Belmaya is desperate for independence. Born a dalit in Nepal, orphaned aged 9, barely educated, and trapped in an abusive marriage with a baby daughter, Belmaya, 21, has given up hope of finding

Imagine(ing) migration '

Imagine(ing) migration. The aesthetics of borders and resistance [SOAS]. What is migration? Is this the “age of migration”? What is diaspora? What challenges do diasporic communities bring to

In Search of Bidesia 2019 65'

Music Docs Directed by Simit Bhagat .

In the Indian language of Bhojpuri the name ‘Bidesia’ refers to a person who has migrated to a foreign land. However, Bidesia is also the name of a genre of Bhojpuri folk music, which reflects

In Search... 2018 90'

Main Competition Directed by Beryl Magoko .

As a young girl growing up in a rural village in Kenya, Beryl thought that all women in the world have to be “circumcised” by going through Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) at a young

IntranQu’îllités 2019 20'

Directed by Edward Owles .

Lyrically narrated by award-winning Haitian poet James Noël, the short film interweaves the work of several Haitian artists who want to redefine how their nation is perceived. The film explores the

Caribbean Islands Art/ Artists/ Artisans Nationalism Social Organisation

A Kali Temple Inside Out 2018 83'

Werbner Award Directed by Dipesh Kharel Frode Storaas .

Religious boundaries in India are not necessarily as sharp and antagonistic as news media lead us to believe. This film portrays everyday life inside and around a Kali temple in the city of Kanpur,

South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Collective / Community identity

Keynote by Faye Ginsburg '

Indigenous Media and Archival Imaginaries This talk considers archives created by Indigenous mediamakers who, over the last three decades, have produced an astonishing array of work -- from

Keynote by Stephanie Spray '

Stephanie Spray, Director, Center for Visual Anthropology at USC Dornsife, Los Angeles, USA. She is a filmmaker, phonographer, and anthropologist whose work explores and exploits the poetics of

Land Lot S7 2020 28'

Directed by Abtin Sarabi .

Following sugar cane field workers in Senegal as they chop and burn their way through seemingly endless fields, this poetic film takes an unconventional approach to understanding the gruelling work

West Africa Labour Agriculture / Farming

Lives and Deaths between Ebbs and Flows 2019 14'

Directed by Futuru C.L. Tsai .

Futuru Tsai explores the relationship between Amis people and the sea in this playful portrait of maritime culture in coastal Taiwan. The film focuses on various social and practical activities in

Central Asia and Far East Animals Indigenous peoples / First Nation peoples

Mahdi Fleifel Trilogy 103'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Affects and Imaginaries of Racialisation

Making Worlds Otherwise 2020 28'

Directed by Paul Gurrumuruwuy Jennifer Deger Enid Guruŋulmiwuy Warren Balpatji Meredith Balanydjarrk James Ganambarr Kayleen Djingadjingawuy Victoria Baskin Coffey Sebastian Lowe .

An exuberant experiment in the ethnographic art of remix that gives new form to Miyarrka Media’s project of yuṯa, or new, anthropology. Sound, images, colour, light, and deeply felt patterns of

Australia Collective / Community identity Colonialism / Postcolonialism Internet Digital media Participatory / Collaborative methods

Milano Milanovaç (with Make a Silence) 2021 49'

Music Docs Directed by Elisa Piria .

The film follows the life of Kristina, an extraordinary Serbian professional violinist. Music is everything in her family, any time is good for playing and everyone plays a musical instrument. But

Motels 2020 27'

Directed by Claudia F. Quigua .

Have you ever been in a motel room with rounded beds, love chairs, coloured lights and dancing poles? This film explores a prominent yet often overlooked aspect of Colombian culture through the

South America Sex / Sexuality Love Tourism/ Travel/ Pilgrimage

Muir ar n-Athraichean (Our Fathers’ Sea) '

Filmmaker Alastair Cole and anthropologist Magnus Course in conversation around the questions posed by their award-winning short film Muir ar n-Athreaichean (Our Fathers’ Sea). The film’s

A New Era 2019 71'

Werbner Award Directed by Boris Svartzman .

In 2008, local authorities evicted 2,000 villagers from Guanzhou, a river island in Southern China, to make way for new urban planning projects. In spite of the demolition of their houses and police

Central Asia and Far East Urban Development projects Infrastructure\transport Land rights Resettlement

New York Just Another City 2019 18'

Directed by André Lopes Joana Brandão .

Brazilian Guarani filmmaker Patrícia Ferreira reflects on New York City and Indigenous representation in dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History. This film is part of the collected DVD

North America Archival material / Museum displays Colonialism / Postcolonialism Indigenous peoples / First Nation peoples Race / Racism / Antiracism

Not in my Neighbourhood 2018 86'

Global Racialisations Directed by Kurt Orderson .

As cities around the world catapult themselves into ‘world-class city status’, we have to ask ourselves, “at what cost”? This film tells the intergenerational stories of spatial violence in

Ocak 2020 28'

Directed by Zeynep Kaserci .

The story of a family who earns their livelihood as hazelnut cultivators in rural north-eastern Turkey. Filmed in an observational style, it offers glimpses into the local social life of the village

Middle and Near East Collective / Community identity Agriculture / Farming Rural

Oink! 2020 22'

Directed by Rob Eagle .

An experimental research documentary offering a portrait of gay men who‚ in different ways‚ relate to the “pig” sexual imaginary. It provides insight into their experiences of identity,

Western Europe North America Sex / Sexuality LGBTQI* Collective / Community identity

Ojò Igbì (with Gũlā) 2020 60'

Music Docs Directed by Daniele Ferreira João Carlos Couto .

The ritual cycle of the Waters of Oxalá is one of the most important ceremonies of candomblé in Brazil. After days of preparation, the sons and daughters of the saint gather to cultivate and relive

Okinami 2019 24'

Directed by Can Tamura (aka John Wells) .

This film features a Japanese seaside ritual performed in honour of a marine deity, who is considered to hold the power to determine a safe and successful year of local fishing. This two-day event

Central Asia and Far East Festivals/ Carnival Urban Folklore Myths/ Fairy tales

The Olive Pickers 2020 51'

Werbner Award Directed by Toni de Bromhead .

One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk 2019 113'

Main Competition Directed by Zacharias Kunuk .

In April 1961, John Kennedy is America’s new President, the Cold War heats up in Berlin and nuclear bombers are deployed from bases in arctic Canada. In Kapuivik, north Baffin Island, Noah

Ophir 2020 97'

Main Competition Directed by Alexandre Berman Olivier Pollet .

This is a collaborative story of the civil war and ongoing struggle for sovereignty in Bougainville Island in the face of an all-too-familiar pattern of colonial rule and corporate mining interests.

The Ospreys and the Old Man 2020 9'

Directed by Ang Gao .

A 76-year-old man living in a village in the middle of China continues the traditional practice of using ospreys (鱼鹰. 鱼鹰 usually referred to as great cormorant in English) to fish while most

Central Asia and Far East Hunting/Gathering/Fishing Animals Elderly People

Oyate 2019 72'

Main Competition Directed by Dan Girmus .

This carefully observed film is composed of a series of moments, feelings, gestures, and events that took place on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during the summer of 2015. The narrative,

P01: Rethinking fieldwork '

Conference
Convened by Maruska Svasek .

P02a: Crisis, creativity and ethics '

Conference
Convened by Timothy Cooper Till J F Trojer .

P02b: Crisis, creativity and ethics '

Conference
Convened by Timothy Cooper Till J F Trojer .

P04: Rethinking anthropological film distribution '

Conference
Convened by Christos Varvantakis Sanderien Verstappen .

P05a: The crisis of communication '

Conference
Convened by Federica Manfredi Lucia Portis .

P05b: The crisis of communication '

Conference
Convened by Federica Manfredi Lucia Portis .

P06a: Worker’s precarity: audio-visual representations of resistance '

Conference
Convened by Lana Askari Paloma Yáñez Serrano Jose Luis Fajardo-Escoffie .

P06b: Worker’s precarity: audio-visual representations of resistance '

Conference
Convened by Lana Askari Paloma Serrano Jose Luis Fajardo-Escoffie .

P07: Critical play: Smartphones as a mode of creative engagement with crisis '

Conference
Convened by Sanderien Verstappen Mark Westmoreland .

P08a: Mask: the Face of Covid-19 '

Conference
Convened by Felicia Hughes-Freeland Cathy Greenhalgh .

P08b: Mask: the Face of Covid-19 '

Conference
Convened by Felicia Hughes-Freeland Cathy Greenhalgh .

P08c: Mask: the Face of Covid-19 '

Conference
Convened by Felicia Hughes-Freeland Cathy Greenhalgh .

P09: Together for Mental Health '

Conference
Convened by Erminia Colucci .

P10: Housing loss and insecurity '

Conference
Convened by Caterina Sartori .

P11: Social movements, protest, social justice & creativity '

Conference
Convened by José Sherwood .

P12a: Immersive Ethnography '

Conference
Convened by Rossella Schillaci Mark Westmoreland .

P12b: Immersive Ethnography '

Conference
Convened by Rossella Schillaci Mark Westmoreland .

P13: Our pandemic lives: photographing the pandemic '

Conference
Convened by Caroline Bennett .

P14: Co-agitō ergo sum '

Conference
Convened by César Enrique Giraldo Herrera .

P15: Quality and equality in collaborative projects '

Conference
Convened by Arjang Omrani Kris Rutten .

P16a: Global Black Lives Matter '

Conference
Convened by Raminder Kaur Mariagiulia Grassilli .

P16b: Global Black Lives Matter '

Conference
Convened by Raminder Kaur Mariagiulia Grassilli .

P16c: Global Black Lives Matter '

Conference
Convened by Raminder Kaur Mariagiulia Grassilli .

P17: Workshop: Radical inclusivity and visual ethnography '

Conference
Convened by Mike Poltorak .

P18: Chronotopes during crisis '

Conference
Convened by Alastair Lomas Charlotte Hoskins Andrea Bordoli .

P19: The future of Visual Anthropology in the wake of Black Lives Matter '

Conference
Convened by Judith Aston Shawn Sobers .

P20: Big mouth '

Conference
Convened by Nomi Dave Bremen Donovan .

P21: Crisis through comics: a roundtable discussion on graphic anthropology '

Conference
Convened by Letizia Bonanno José Sherwood .

P22: Rhythm, sight and sound: work in times of uncertainty '

Conference
Convened by Sandro Simon Valerie Haensch Ian M. Cook .

P23a: Disappearing world reloaded '

Conference
Convened by Blake P Kendall Pavel Borecký .

P23b: Disappearing world reloaded '

Conference
Convened by Blake P Kendall Pavel Borecký .

P23c: Disappearing world reloaded '

Conference
Convened by Blake P Kendall Pavel Borecký .

P24: Encountering reality as crisis '

Conference
Convened by Toma Peiu Luiza Parvu .

P25: Between academic theory-building and social engagement '

Conference
Convened by Henrike Neuhaus Yanina Carpentieri .

P26a: Empirical art '

Conference
Convened by Andy Lawrence Martha-Cecilia Dietrich Angélica Cabezas Pino .

P26b: Empirical art '

Conference
Convened by Andy Lawrence Martha-Cecilia Dietrich Angélica Cabezas Pino .

P26c: Empirical art '

Conference
Convened by Andy Lawrence Martha-Cecilia Dietrich Angélica Cabezas Pino .

P26d: Empirical art '

Conference
Convened by Andy Lawrence Martha-Cecilia Dietrich Angélica Cabezas Pino .

P27a: Colonial Film Archives '

Conference
Convened by Jacqueline Maingard Emma Sandon .

P27b: Colonial Film Archives '

Conference
Convened by Jacqueline Maingard Emma Sandon .

P27c: Colonial Film Archives '

Conference
Convened by Jacqueline Maingard Emma Sandon .

Palimpsest of the Africa Museum 2019 69'

Decolonising the Archive Directed by Matthias De Groof .

In 2013, the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Brussels (Belgium) closed for renovation. It is not only the building and the museum cabinets that are in need of renewal: the spirit of the museum has

Western Europe Archival materials / Museum displays Archaeology Education / Knowledge transmission History of Anthropology Colonialism / Postcolonialism Race / Racism / Antiracism

Persistence 2019 54'

Main Competition Directed by Anne Huffschmid Jan-Holger Hennies .

Human bodies don’t simply disappear. They were kidnapped, buried, broken into pieces. But they are also searched for, recovered and if forensic experts achieve the unlikely, reconstructed as

Central America Forensic Memory

Researching marriage, filming Family Time '

Shorts 01 - Creative lives 100'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

The power of art to make worlds come into being

Shorts 02 - Women, empowerment and religion 69'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Ritual encounters with divinity

Shorts 03 - Pleasure 76'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Ground-breaking shorts exploring the world of sex and pleasure [NSFW! Contains adult content]

Shorts 04 - Migration at the crossroads/1 62'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Questioning the representation of migrant experience

Shorts 05 - Migration at the crossroads/2 71'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Questioning the representation of migrant experience

Shorts 06 - Animals | Humans | Ritual 97'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Close encounters with bees, cockrels, fish

Shorts 07 - Sparks! 76'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Experimental short form pushing the boundaries of ethnographic film

Shorts 08 - Livelihoods 90'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Portraits of people working in rural settings

Shorts 09 - Indigenous knowledge 110'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

Teaching the next generation

Shorts 10 - Environmental crisis 69'

Shorts Programme
Shorts .

People coping with the consequeces of climate change, pollution and waste

Spirit 2019 19'

Directed by Jane Dyson Ross Harrison .

Saraswati is a new arrival in an Indian Himalayan village. She wonders how she will ever feel at home in the new setting. “Spirit” by Jane Dyson and Ross Harrison is a story of longing and

Central Asia and Far East Gender Role and identity Agriculture/ Farming Everyday Life Family/ Kinship

Stories from Cabo Corrientes 2020 77'

Main Competition Directed by Jordi Esteva .

The documentary immerses us in the fantastic and magical stories of the inhabitants of Cabo Corrientes, Chocò District (Colombia) where a community of Afro-Colombians, descended from slaves of

Survivors 2018 84'

Main Competition Directed by WeOwnTV .

With unflinching intimacy this film chronicles the remarkable stories of four Sierra Leoneans during the Ebola epidemic in what is regarded as the most acute public health crisis of the modern era

Suspension 2019 73'

Werbner Award Directed by Simón Uribe .

This film documents the building of a modern road through the imposing geography of southern Colombia. It brilliantly captures some of the absurdities and contradictions of a construction project

South America Development projects Infrastructure / Transport Material Culture Rural

TOTE_Grandfather 2019 80'

Main Competition Directed by María Sojob .

This film portrays an unexpected encounter between an old Tzotzil man, who is going blind, and his granddaughter, who does not remember her childhood well. The granddaughter, having grown up in the

Central America Indigenous Filmmaking Gender Role and Identity Family / Kinship Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Elderly people Love Intergenerational relations Linguistics / Language Memory

This Is A Majlis - A Sound Essay 2020 17'

Directed by Timothy Cooper Abeera Arif-Bashir .

This short film is a multi-platform sound essay. It is primarily illustrated with still images, that conjure an atmosphere of intimacy and intensity of the majlis-e-aza, a mourning gathering central

South Asia Music/Ethnomusicology Urban Art/ Aritists/ Artisans Social Change

The Two Lives of Li Ermao 2019 87'

Main Competition Directed by Jia Yuchuan .

Filmed over 17 years across Southern China, this remarkable film is an intimate and heart-wrenching portrait of Li Ermao, a transgender migrant worker, who performs in clubs looking for love and

Unwritten Letters 2020 59'

Directed by Max Bloching Abd Alrahman Dukmak .

Abd is a 24-year-old Syrian who took part in the early days of the 2011 revolution and now lives in Padova, Italy. Together with his German friend Max he is working on a film called Unwritten

South-East Europe Middle and Near East Migration Refugees / Displaced populations Participatory / Collaborative methods Life Story / Life History

VHS Diaries 2020 72'

Decolonising the Archive Directed by Niyaz Saghari .

The filmmaker revisits the diaries she kept during the years when video was banned in Iran. Using her personal VHS archive of films as a point of reference, the film explores a very personal film

The Visual Scholarship Initiative '

This session discusses the work of the Visual Scholarship Initiative (VSI), which was started in 2006 by a small group of graduate students at Emory University. It quickly established itself on the

The Water Goddess and the Computer 1988 58'

Lifetime Achievement Directed by J. Stephen Lansing Andre Singer .

Who says the lepchas are vanishing (Bang the Drum) 2019 42'

Music Docs Directed by Abhyuday Khaitan .

A tribute to Sonam Tshering Lepcha, cultural leader and creator of songs, literature, dances and a museum of the Lepcha people of north-west Bengal and Sikkim (India). His life has been devoted to

Wild Honey: Caring for bees in a divided land 2019 30'

Directed by Lisa Palmer .

For more than a century, the island of Timor has been divided by a colonial border. Timor’s migratory wild honey bees challenge this division. In community honey harvest rituals, queen bees are

South-East Asia Animals Food / Water Hunting / Gathering / Fishing