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164
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9
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309
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317
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317
Title initial
A
9
B
21
C
19
D
14
E
10
F
11
G
13
H
21
I
12
J
3
K
14
L
19
M
24
N
6
O
5
P
7
Q
1
R
15
S
42
T
23
U
8
V
7
W
11
Y
2
Region
Australia
2
British-Irish Isles
48
Caribbean Islands
4
Central Africa
1
Central America
7
Central Asia and Far East
20
Central Europe
3
East Africa
9
London
1
Melanesia
9
Micronesia
1
Middle and Near East
18
New Zealand and Polynesia
2
North America
15
North and Northeast Africa
15
Scandinavia
6
South America
35
South Asia
26
South-East Asia
15
South-East Europe
14
Southern Africa
15
Various
8
West Africa
19
Western Europe
16
Western Mediterranean
10
not set
8
Country
Afghanistan
8
Albania
1
Algeria
1
Angola
1
Australia
2
Austria
1
Bangladesh
1
Bolivia
1
Bosnia and Herzegovina
2
Botswana
7
Brazil
12
Burkina Faso
1
Cameroon
2
Canada
2
Cape Verde
1
Chile
1
China
7
Colombia
5
Cyprus
1
Czech Republic
1
Denmark
4
Ecuador
1
Egypt
1
Eritrea
1
Ethiopia
6
Federated States of Micronesia
1
France
6
Germany
5
Ghana
4
Greece
3
Greenland
1
Guatemala
2
Guinea-Bissau
1
Haiti
1
Hungary
1
India
14
Indonesia
9
Iran
3
Ireland
1
Israel
1
Italy
4
Jamaica
2
Japan
9
Jordan
1
Kenya
7
Lesotho
1
Los Angeles
1
Madagascar
1
Malawi
1
Malta
2
Mexico
3
Mongolia
3
Morocco
2
Myanmar
3
Namibia
1
Nepal
5
New Zealand
1
Nigeria
8
Norway
2
Pakistan
5
Palestine
3
Papua New Guinea
8
Paraguay
1
Peru
5
Portugal
3
Puerto Rico
1
Romania
5
Russian Federation
3
Samoa
1
Sierra Leone
3
Solomon Islands
1
South Africa
3
Spain
2
Sri Lanka
1
Sudan
5
Sweden
2
Syria
2
The Netherlands
2
Togo
1
Trinidad and Tobago
1
Turkey
1
Uganda
1
United Kingdom
51
United States
10
Various
8
Venezuela
8
Yemen
1
not set
11
Keywords
Agriculture / Farming
9
Agriculture/ Farming
1
Alternative culture
15
Animals
17
Animation
1
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
2
Archaeology
1
Archival material / Museum displays
8
Art / Artists / Artisans
8
Art/ Artists/ Artisans
2
Children / Young people
24
Collective / Community identity
22
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
5
Dance / Theatre / Performance
17
Death
8
Development projects
12
Disasters
1
Education / Knowledge Transmission
9
Education / Knowledge transmission
4
Elderly people
5
Environment
4
Ethnofiction
2
Everyday Life
9
Family / Kinship
14
Family/ Kinship
1
Festivals / Carnival
10
Film / Photography / Mass media
11
Food
3
Gender Role and Identity
39
Gender Role and identity
1
Health / Health care / Healing
21
Health/ Health care/ Healing
1
Herding
11
History
5
History of Anthropology
13
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
11
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
18
Informant-researcher relationship
5
Infrastructure / Transport
2
Inter-religious relations
6
Intergenerational relations
7
Internet
1
LGBTQI*
4
Labour
13
Land Rights
12
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
8
Life Story / Life History
2
Life Story/ Life History
1
Linguistics / Language
1
Love
5
Marriage
16
Material Culture
6
Memory
11
Migration
12
Music / Ethnomusicology
20
Nationalism
1
Nomads and Nomadism
7
Personal Narrative
4
Political Activists
11
Popular Culture
4
Possession
4
Post-communism
5
Prison
1
Public Figure
10
Race / Racism / Antiracism
3
Reflexivity
6
Refugees / Displaced populations
16
Religion / Belief / Faith
46
Reproduction (biology)
3
Resistance
5
Ritual
45
Rural
15
Sex / Sexuality
7
Shamans and Shamanism
3
Social Change
31
Social Conflict
12
Social Norms
3
Social Organisation
14
Socioeconomic conditions
14
Sport
7
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
9
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
14
Trade
7
Travellers / Roma
5
Urban
14
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
25
not set
8
Directors
Al Akash, Ruba
1
Allward, Caroline
1
Alves-Costa, Catarina
1
Anttila, Birgitta H.
1
Applewhaite, Che
1
Arnott, Susi
1
Asadullah, Sara
1
Asare-Nyako, Afua
1
Ash, David
1
Assunção, Matthias Röhrig
1
Austena, Aunund
1
Ayisi, Florence
1
Baily, John
11
Banks, Marcus
1
Barrett, Meg
1
Basu, Paul
1
Beckham, Michael
2
Beier, Ulli
1
Belkind, Lukas
1
Benfield, Andy
1
Bennett, Jami L.
1
Berg, Julia
1
Bernstein, Anya
1
Blake, John
2
Bolchover, James
1
Bonifacio, Valentina
1
Boswall, Karen
1
Bradbury, Ray
1
Brewer, Teri F.
1
Brice, Mark
1
Bringa, Tone
1
Bringas, Sylvie
1
Calugareanu, Ilinca
1
Campbell, Karlia
1
Carr, Peter
1
Chambers, Simon
1
Cheetham, Ben
1
Christie, Debbie
1
Christodoulou, Chris
1
Clarissou, Priscilla
1
Clay, Charlie
1
Clifford-Jaeger, Simone
1
Colucci, Erminia
2
Contreras, Elisa
1
Cook, Alistair
1
Coppe, Alexia
1
Coppens, Sharis
1
Corral Paredes, Carolina
1
Cross, Stephen
1
Cubero, Carlo A.
1
Curling, Chris
5
Davidson, John Paul
1
Day, Mike
1
Demiralay, Hakan
1
Dettmann, Christine
1
Dietrich, Martha-Cecilia
1
Dineen, Molly
1
Drion, Georges
1
Dyson, Jane
1
Eagle, Rob
1
Eaton, Michael
1
Edwards, Bob
1
Elliot, Dominic
1
Engels, Claudia
1
Eschenbach, Sebastian
1
Fales, Ludovica
1
Farrell, Emma
1
Fassnidge, Matthew
1
Fedda, Yasmin
2
Ferrarini, Lorenzo
1
Finnestad, Mari
1
Flores, Carlos
1
Ford, Ellie
1
French, Dominic
1
Getzels, Peter
1
Goldberg, Claudia
1
Gordon, Harriet
1
Grasseni, Cristina
1
Greenwood, Rachel
1
Griggs, David
1
Grigsby, Michael
1
Grossman, Alyssa
2
Grove-White, Will
1
Gruber, Martin
1
Gupta, Meghna
1
Hajee, Amin
1
Hammill, Ruth
1
Hann, Amelia
1
Hanson, Kieran
1
Hardie, Amy
1
Harper, Peggy
2
Harries, Andy
3
Harrison, Ross
1
Hartford, Hugh
1
Hatland, Line
1
Hawkins, Richard
1
Heald, Suzette
1
Heer, Madelief de
1
Hellwig, Jean
1
Henley, Paul
6
Hertog, Ester
1
Hill, Amanda
1
Hill, Joanna
1
Hillman, Rosie Reed
1
Hirl, Alexander
1
Hogel, Jakob
1
Hopkins, Ben
1
Horton, Robin
1
Howes, Arthur
3
Hughes, Richard
1
Hughes-Freeland, Felicia
2
Hunt, Claire
1
Hunt, Clare
1
Husmann, Rolf
1
Huysmans, Carla
1
Ihle, Johanne Haaber
1
Inman, Joseph
1
Jeppesen, Kira de Hemmer
1
Jerstad, Jon
2
Johnson, Dul
1
Johnston, Graham
2
Juárez-Allen, Gema
1
Kawanami, Hiroko
1
Kaymak, Vedide
1
Kenneil, Alastair
1
Kenyon, Sam
1
Kerlogue, Fiona
1
Kildea, Gary
1
Kirk, Laura
1
Kirkwood, Nick
1
Kriszio, Janina
1
Kroes, Lily Mae
1
Kurc, Julia
1
Kurutuac, Judith
1
Kühlbrandt, Charlotte
1
LaPin, Deirdre
1
Langhorst, Insa
1
Lansing, Steven
1
Lasko, Claire
2
Lawrence, Andy
2
Leach, Jerry
1
Lehto, Veera
1
Leizaola, Ricardo
2
Levaulx-Vrecourt, Henriette
1
Lewis, Ariane
1
Lipsanen, Heidi
1
Llewelyn-Davies, Melissa
1
Loizos, Peter
3
Longinotto, Kim
16
Loïzos, Peter
1
Lutz, Peter
1
Maagdenberg, Ester
1
MacDonald, Bruce
3
MacDonald, Caro
1
MacDougall, David
2
MacDougall, Judith
2
Marcus, Alan
1
Marin, Nadja
1
Matz, Maayan L.
1
McGuirk, Siobhan
1
Meriwether, Maria
1
Merli, Laetitia
1
Merrun, Gabriel
1
Milling, Julie
1
Milne, Claudia
1
Milner, George
1
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba
1
Moderbacher, Christine
1
Moffat, Zemirah
1
Moggan, Julie
1
Mollona, Massimiliano
1
Morris, Bessie
1
Moser, Brian
7
Munro, Neil G.
1
Musleh, Hanna
1
Nairn, Charlie
5
Namondwe, Charles
1
Navarro Smith, Alejandra
1
Nicolau, João
1
Okojie, Paul
1
Olatunji, Ife
1
Ono, Ray
1
Owen, Chris
1
Owles, Ed
1
Owles, Edward
1
Pakleppa, Richard
1
Pardee, Lucy
1
Pasini, Carlos
2
Paterek, Austin
1
Patriarca, Niccolo
1
Payne, Becky
1
Pedrosa, Patrícia
1
Picard, David
1
Pinhheiro, Joceny
1
Planas, María Elena
1
Pollack, Claire
1
Powell, Harry
1
Pratt, Helen
1
Ravetz, Amanda
1
Read, Rosie
1
Reed, Alex
1
Rens, Maarten
1
Rice, Tom
1
Richards, Naomi
1
Robertson, Rachel
1
Robinson, Paul
1
Rosen, Jennifer
1
Ross, Nina
2
Samir-Shakir, Yasmin
1
Sandberg, Eirik
1
Savage, Rebecca
1
Schiltz, Anne
1
Schlenker, Juana
1
Schädler, Natalie
1
Schäuble, Michaela
1
Shakerifar, Elhum
1
Sheahan, Tom
1
Sheppard, John
4
Singer, André
16
Sjøberg, Johannes
1
Solomons, Natasha
1
Sowa, Remigiusz
1
Speed, Frank
6
Sperscheinder, Werner
1
Stefani, Fotini
1
Taylor, Jamie
1
Thomas Allen, Christopher
1
Torresan, Angela
1
Tovey, Ana
1
Tucker, Andrew
1
Vella, Steve
1
Vinken, Polly
1
Vybiral, James
1
Waddell, Anna
1
Wason, David
5
Webster, Rachel
1
Werbner, Richard
10
Whitby-Coles, Charlotte
1
Willerslev, Rane
1
Williams, Jano
3
Williams, Stacey
1
Winter, Pattie
1
Woodhead, Leslie
12
Wright, Evie
1
Yezbick, Julia
1
Yorke, Michael
1
Youngstein, Theo
1
de Bromhead, Toni
5
Øien, Cecilie
1
Series
Caught in a Web
3
Decolonising Shorts
1
Disappearing World Series
54
Forbidden Rites
3
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
121
Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology Staff Film
3
In Search of Cool Ground: The Mursi Trilogy
3
National Film and Television School
10
Pleasure Shorts
1
Shorts Collection 2
3
Shorts collection 2
1
Strangers Abroad
5
Sudan Trilogy
3
The Well-Being Quest in Botswana
8
Turkana Conversations
1
not set
100
Country of production
Australia
1
Austria
1
Brazil
1
Canada
1
Denmark
1
Germany
3
India
2
Indonesia
1
Jordan
1
Netherlands
1
Nigeria
6
Romania
1
South Africa
1
Sweden
1
United Kingdom
317
x
United States
9
Venezuela
1
Year of production
1931
1
1952
1
1963
1
1964
1
1966
1
1970
2
1971
3
1972
2
1973
2
1974
9
1975
5
1976
1
1977
6
1979
4
1980
2
1981
1
1982
4
1983
7
1984
3
1985
7
1986
6
1987
9
1988
9
1989
11
1990
5
1991
7
1992
5
1993
6
1994
4
1995
4
1996
5
1997
7
1998
8
1999
8
2000
9
2001
10
2002
11
2003
12
2004
9
2005
5
2006
7
2007
11
2008
18
2009
14
2010
16
2011
6
2012
3
2013
2
2014
4
2015
4
2016
1
2018
2
2019
2
2020
4
2021
6
2022
4
Film Festival Year
not set
297
0
1
2015
3
2017
1
2021
6
2023
9
Event type
not set
317
Festival Prize Category
not set
216
Animation
3
RAI Basil Wright
1
Shorts
3
Student
7
Werbner Award
1
not set
86
Review Status
not set
317
x
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not set
8
1
164
2
128
3
12
4
5
Film list
37 Uses for a Dead Sheep
2006
85
'
Directed by
Ben Hopkins
.
The Pamir Kirghiz are a tribe of some 2,000 people from the Pamir region of Central Asia. For the last 27 years they have lived in exile in Eastern Turkey. In 2005 an Anglo-Turkish film crew arrives
Middle and Near East
Film / Photography / Mass media
Animals
Migration
75 Grams
2008
31
'
Directed by
Priscilla Clarissou
.
Nestled below the rugged Chilean peaks of the Andes lies the gold mining town of Andacollo. The town's remoteness and mining economy has nurtured religious beliefs in the power of the Virgin over the
South America
Labour
Material Culture
Religion / Belief / Faith
Across the Border: Afghan Musicians exiled in Peshawar
2008
54
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
It is the year 2000 and most of Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban. Hearing that many of Afghanistain’s musicians are now in exile across the border in Pakistan, ethnomusicologist John
South Asia
Refugees / Displaced populations
Music / Ethnomusicology
Religion / Belief / Faith
Across the Tracks - The Vlach Gypsies in Hungary
1988
52
'
Directed by
John Blake
.
*'Across the Tracks' is a gripping film for the general viewer. It is beautifully filmed in observational style (lingering scenes of muddy courtyards) with enough subtitled interview material to
Central Europe
Animals
Labour
Travellers / Roma
Afghan Exodus
1980
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
When Granada Television visited Afghanistan to make the award-winning Disappearing World 'The Kirghiz', they were a proud, independent, nomadic people who made their living by rearing herds of yaks
South Asia
Refugees / Displaced populations
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Migration
The Ainu Bear Ceremony
1931
27
'
Directed by
Neil G. Munro
.
The RAI has reedited the original film of this ceremony among the Ainu people of Japan. In the bear ceremony, now no longer performed, a specially reared bear was reverently killed and its flesh and
Central Asia and Far East
Ritual
Animals
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
The Albanians of Rrogam
1991
52
'
Directed by
David Wason
.
With the fall of the Stalinist regime in Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, the people of a remote mountain village, Rrogam, are faced with the dilmma of how to re-allocate the land and
South-East Europe
Post-communism
Social Change
Land Rights
Rural
Amir - An Afghan Refugee Musician's Life in Peshavar, Pakistan
1985
52
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
The film investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan
South Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Refugees / Displaced populations
As Aye,
2022
26
'
Student
Directed by
Sam Kenyon
.
As Aye, is a fragment of correspondence with author and storyteller, Jess Smith, and with the ‘absent presence’ of Scottish Travellers in the archive and the landscape. Drawing on the memory and
Asante Market Women
1982
52
'
Directed by
Claudia Milne
.
As retailers, wholesalers, and negotiators, Asante women of Ghana dominate the huge Kumasi Central Market amid the laughter, argument, colour and music. The crew of this Disappearing World film have
West Africa
Marriage
Trade
Gender Role and Identity
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
Back to Basics
1994
33
'
Directed by
Dominic French
.
A group of environmentalists and homeless have purchased some land on which to settle and get back to a simpler way of life. But the nearby residents of the 'best-kept village’ in Somerset,
British-Irish Isles
Social Conflict
Alternative culture
Land Rights
Bailarinas
2003
32
'
Directed by
Heidi Lipsanen
.
Majê Molê is an Afro-Brazilian dance group which offers girls and young women in Olinda, Northeast Brazil, the opportunity to rise above the poverty, drug addiction and crime that scars their
South America
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Gender Role and Identity
Children / Young people
Barah Pal
2009
30
'
Directed by
Jennifer Rosen
.
12 castes of gypsy artists ended their nomadic ways nearly 45 years ago to squat in New Delhi. Now the slum is being dismantled and rehabilitated. These are their last months in the colony as they
South Asia
Refugees / Displaced populations
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Travellers / Roma
Urban
The Basques of Santazi
1987
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
*In her book 'The Circle of Mountains' Sandra Ott provided a fascinating analysis of social reciprocity (...) The film highlights the village's contemporary dilemmas and thereby complements rather
Western Europe
Herding
Social Change
Rural
Bearing
2021
29
'
Shorts
Directed by
Rosie Reed Hillman
.
The everyday frustrations, heartache and joy of early motherhood are revealed through intimate, observational vignettes, offering a frank and raw account of the filmmaker’s life as a new mum over
Beautiful Dachau
2008
30
'
Directed by
Alan Marcus
.
Beautiful Dachau is an experimental documentary that observes streams of visitors to the Dachau concentration camp, now a popular tourist attraction. 800,000 people visit the site annually.
Western Europe
History
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Beneath the Budding Greenwoods
2004
25
'
Directed by
Evie Wright
.
Anne and Rosemary both chose to bury their husbands in the woods, whereas Tony was certain he didn't want a vicar at his wife's funeral. Focusing on the experiences of three grieving widows, the film
British-Irish Isles
Environment
Ritual
Death
Religion / Belief / Faith
Benin Kingship Rituals
1963
20
'
Directed by
Frank Speed
Ray Bradbury
.
Until it was conquered by the British in 1897, the city of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, was the centre of a powerful kingdom. Its rulers, the Obas of Benin, were mysterious, secluded figures who
West Africa
Ritual
Dance / Theatre / Performance
History
Benjamin and His Brother
1999
87
'
Directed by
Arthur Howes
.
Years of war and ethnic conflict in the Sudan have created a generation of young men, known as the "Lost Boys", who have spent more years in refugee camps than in their home communities.
North America
East Africa
Refugees / Displaced populations
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Children / Young people
Family / Kinship
Between Memories
2015
34
'
Directed by
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
.
Eudosia is still searching for her husband’s remains in the highlands of Ayacucho; Lucero has been in prison for 25 years now for the crime of terrorism against the Peruvian state; since 2009 the
South America
Memory
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Black Mountain
2008
84
'
Directed by
Charlotte Whitby-Coles
Amin Hajee
.
A once unremarkable site of multi-faith pilgrimage to a Sufi Saint has been transformed and its local history rewritten - the film documents the journey of Charlotte, a student undertaking her PhD
South Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Inter-religious relations
Body Games - Capoeira and Ancestry
2014
87
'
Student
Directed by
Richard Pakleppa
Matthias Röhrig Assunção
Christine Dettmann
.
The film follows master Cobra Mansa and his friends in the search for the African roots of the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. A powerful myth links Capoeira to a legendary Angolan game called Engolo
South America
Southern Africa
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Music / Ethnomusicology
Festivals / Carnival
Born
2008
56
'
Directed by
Andy Lawrence
Judith Kurutuac
.
*Our hope is to create a magical-real environment in which to go beyond the limits of our historical perspective on childbirth and its culturally bound rites, and to demonstrate an emotionally
British-Irish Isles
Health / Health care / Healing
Family / Kinship
Children / Young people
Born Again
2003
19
'
Directed by
Carla Huysmans
.
Carla last met Maureen Mulozi in 1998 in Lusaka, Zambia where they were colleagues and friends. Since then Maureen's life has changed considerably: she became a 'born again' Christian and moved to
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Inter-religious relations
The Boy From Allison Street
1998
30
'
Directed by
Caroline Allward
.
Wayne has left school, sweet 16, disillusioned, with no qualifications. He is briefly distracted by Becka, the girl next door, and the discovery of his father's porno movie. But all he really wants
British-Irish Isles
Children / Young people
Love
Boya Boya (Shine Shine)
2014
18
'
Directed by
Karen Boswall
Ruba Al Akash
.
A portrait of Syrian refugee Mohammed, a 12-year-old shoe shine boy, 'Boya Boya (Shine Shine)' looks at the reality of the growing population of urban refugees from a child's point of view. While
Middle and Near East
Children / Young people
Refugees / Displaced populations
Labour
The Bracewells
2000
49
'
Directed by
Amanda Ravetz
.
In the late 1990s, when BSE (also known as "Mad Cow Disease") was conclusively linked to the fatal brain disorder vCJD, a number of British farmers went out of business whilst others faced
British-Irish Isles
Rural
Agriculture / Farming
Animals
Breaking the Yard
2018
21
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
"Breaking-the-Yard" documents the court hearings and troubled affairs of a quarrelsome young couple, a stay-at-home farmer and his police constable, town-savvy wife. They claim to be still
Southern Africa
Family / Kinship
Gender Role and Identity
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Love
Marriage
Bridging the Gap
2021
7
'
Animation
Directed by
Nina Ross
Meg Barrett
.
Aged 18, Meg started hearing a voice. She tried ignoring it, didn’t tell a soul, yet the voice grew. More abusive, more delusional and often completely out of her control. Eventually, her paranoia
Burying Hallelujah
2014
51
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Hallelujah, a 'bush mechanic' turned archbishop, gets the funeral he deserves, one of the very biggest in Botswana's railway town, Palapye. Many churches come together, their robes, splendid, their
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Death
Business as Usual
2002
27
'
Directed by
Lucy Pardee
.
Everyone knows about Ground Zero in New York, but have you bought into the memory? Big Mike, Tyrone and the other street vendors will sell you part of the disaster whilst offering you their views on
North America
Trade
Memory
Disasters
Cae Dai - a Home From Home
1997
30
'
Directed by
Will Grove-White
.
After the closure of the North Wales psychiatric hospital in the late 1980s, Sparrow Harrison opened his family home to local people suffering from mental illness. This film explores the humour,
British-Irish Isles
Health / Health care / Healing
Alternative culture
Cakchiquel Maya of San Antonio Palopó
1987
52
'
Directed by
Bruce MacDonald
.
The documentary shows how Cakchiquel Maya of a village on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala adapted to changes that took place in the decades before the film was made, when the lake became a favoured spot
Central America
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Call for Grace
2000
30
'
Student
Directed by
Laetitia Merli
.
During Mongolia's seventy years of domination by the Soviet Union, shamanism, like many aspects of Mongolian tradition, was forbidden by the Communist authorities, and went into decline. Since the
Central Asia and Far East
Shamans and Shamanism
Post-communism
Cannibalism
1999
60
'
Directed by
André Singer
Tom Sheahan
.
The history of cannibalism around the world and its role in different culture, from ancient Britain to Papua New Guinea. The Forbidden Rites trilogy explores cannibalism, head hunting and human
Various
Ritual
Archival material / Museum displays
History of Anthropology
The Carrot and the Stick
1988
44
'
Directed by
Susi Arnott
.
When they retired from selling insurance and teaching, John and Irene Brown volunteered to work overseas under a British Aid programme. They were sent to expand a marketing project aimed at
Melanesia
Development projects
Agriculture / Farming
Rural
Casado's Legacy
2009
49
'
Directed by
Valentina Bonifacio
.
For 100 years Maskoy people worked in Carlos Casado’s tannin factory. The factory, which had been founded on their land, based its production on the exploitation of local natural resources. After
South America
Political Activists
Labour
Land Rights
Caught in Between
2016
56
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
The focus is on a leading village elder, John Lelatlhego, a retired Human Resources administrator trained in settling disputes in the South African mines. John gets entangled in the long troubled
Southern Africa
Family / Kinship
Gender Role and Identity
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Love
Marriage
Caught in a Magic Place
2007
28
'
Directed by
Niccolo Patriarca
.
A story of sandwiches and generations, ambitions and regrets from the heart of the Italian kitchen.
Western Mediterranean
Food
Intergenerational relations
Labour
Changes
2010
30
'
Directed by
Afua Asare-Nyako
.
Kwabena wants to move back to Ghana, the country he left more than 30 years ago. This film shows one of the many journeys that he has to take in preparation for his return. It explores the motives
West Africa
Western Europe
Migration
Cinema Pedregal
1994
27
'
Directed by
Ricardo Leizaola
.
For forty years Alejandro Farfán has been making and showing films in El Pedregal. Now located in the heart of Caracas, this community was a small village when Alejandro first went to the cinema.
Central America
Popular Culture
Urban
Film / Photography / Mass media
Memory
A Clearing in the Jungle
1970
52
'
Directed by
Charlie Nairn
.
Like that of many other Indian groups in South America, the culture of the Panare Indians of Venezuela is threatened by their almost daily contact with neighbouring creoles, Spanish-speaking
South America
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Informant-researcher relationship
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Coming of Age - Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
1986
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
Central Television’s major documentary series looks at the first anthropologists to stop ‘armchair theorising’ and go out to live among the peoples who so interested them. The six part series
Various
History of Anthropology
Public Figure
The Condor and the Bull
1989
56
'
Directed by
Peter Getzels
Harriet Gordon
.
Villagers from remote hamlets high in the Andes join together with people from the roadside village of Ocongate for the Peruvian Independence Day celebration. Festivities require that a wild condor
South America
Animals
Festivals / Carnival
Ritual
Counterpoint Botswana
2011
45
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Seeing 'Holy Hustler', the 2009 film made in Botswana, local viewers respond and discuss it with the filmmaker Richard Werbner in 2011. 'Counterpoint Botswana' captures the reception by home
British-Irish Isles
Reflexivity
Counterpoint One
2011
37
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
The first in the Forum Follies series, 'Counterpoint One' pitches the ethnographic filmmaker Richard Werbner into debate with audiences for his film 'Holy Hustlers' (2009), from a rough to a final
British-Irish Isles
Reflexivity
Counterpoint Two
2011
45
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
The second in the 'Forum Follies' series, 'Counterpoint Two' pitches the ethnographic filmmaker Richard Werbner into debate with audiences for his film 'Encountering Eloyi' (2008), from a rough to a
British-Irish Isles
Reflexivity
Cultivating Death
2003
23
'
Directed by
Martin Gruber
.
Cemeteries are not only places for the dead. They are also spaces in which the living interact with each other – and with the dead. “Cultivating Death” depicts the different ways in which
British-Irish Isles
Death
Ritual
Cuyagua - Devil Dancers
1987
52
'
Directed by
Paul Henley
.
The men of the Afro-Caribbean population of Cuyagua enact a ritual that occurs 60 days after Easter. The film is a portrait of two men who direct the devil dancing. They tell the history of the
South America
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Cuyagua - the Saint With Two Faces
1987
56
'
Student
Directed by
Paul Henley
.
The film centres on the predominantly female celebration of the feast of Saint John. The women sing the songs associated with the Feast, describe their beliefs and how they organise the feast.
South America
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Festivals / Carnival
The Dancer and the Dance
1988
44
'
Directed by
Felicia Hughes-Freeland
.
This film is an invitation to see Javanese palace dancing as performed in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and to go beyond appearances to discover what the dance means to those who continue the tradition. In
South-East Asia
Dance / Theatre / Performance
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
The Day I Will Never Forget
2002
92
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
The documentary explores the local dimensions of the female circumcision debate in Kenyan societies. In a region of Kenya that is home to Muslims, Massai and Somali and crosscut by Christian
East Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Ritual
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Political Activists
Dervishes of Kurdistan
1973
52
'
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
A community of Kurds resident in Iran on the border with Iraq forms the subject of this film. Many of the inhabitants of the community are refugees from Kurdish areas of Iraq and the villagers are
Middle and Near East
Refugees / Displaced populations
Religion / Belief / Faith
Divorce Iranian Style
1989
80
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
This film is set in the Family Law Courts in central Tehran. The three main characters are Jamileh who punishes her husband for beating her, Ziba, a 16 year old girl who is trying to get a divorce
Middle and Near East
Marriage
Gender Role and Identity
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Family / Kinship
Doctors of Two Worlds
1989
55
'
Directed by
Natasha Solomons
.
In the Bolivian highlands an English doctor is setting up a network of health care for remote mountain villages. While teaching the inhabitants the essentials of Western medicine the doctor is
South America
Health / Health care / Healing
Informant-researcher relationship
Development projects
Domov
2000
28
'
Directed by
Rosie Read
.
This film looks at the meaning of 'home' in the Czech Republic through the eyes of two women - one an old woman trying to assert her right to return home from an old person's residence, and the
Central Europe
Prison
Elderly people
A Donation to the Museum
2015
25
'
Directed by
Teri F. Brewer
.
Human remains from the California Channel Islands were donated to an English city museum nearly a century ago. More recently research began into how they came to be there, and whose remains they
North America
Western Europe
Archaeology
Archival material / Museum displays
Dream Girls
1993
50
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Jano Williams
.
This award-winning film opens a door into the amazing world of the Takarazuka Revue, the all-female theatre troupe in Japan. Thousands of young women aspire to perform in the Revue’s glitzy musical
Central Asia and Far East
Public Figure
Popular Culture
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Gender Role and Identity
The Dream of Maelen
2003
25
'
Directed by
Eirik Sandberg
.
Arne Bakke Mælen lives alone on the small family farm he inherited on the edge of a fjord. The farm is no longer viable economically and, like many small farmers in Norway, he has not found a woman
Scandinavia
Art / Artists / Artisans
Rural
Agriculture / Farming
Dreamcatcher
2015
98
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
A film set in Chicago about an inspirational woman who has defied her past and now rescues girls and young women from a life on the streets.
North America
Gender Role and Identity
Labour
Sex / Sexuality
Dreamland
2001
30
'
Directed by
Gema Juárez-Allen
.
This film explores the dreams and frustrations of camp squatters in Rio de Janeiro State, as, supported by the MST (Landless People's Movement), they wait for permission to settle on unused land close by.
South America
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Land Rights
Drive it, Crash it, Paint it
2002
26
'
Directed by
James Bolchover
.
Kelzo grew up in Hulme and has been writing on walls, wrecked cars and other urban surfaces since 1984. But now that he is a 'graffiti artist' whose work is sold in galleries, is he still in touch with his roots?
British-Irish Isles
Personal Narrative
Alternative culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
Duminea: A Festival for the Water Spirits
1966
20
'
Directed by
Frank Speed
Robin Horton
.
The communal rituals of most villages of the Eastern Niger Delta focus on two great classes of spirits - the heroes and the water people. The heroes once lived with the men, founded their
West Africa
Ritual
Possession
Earning a Crust
2009
28
'
Directed by
Elisa Contreras
.
Through their experiences, Uncle Isidro (a horse dealer) and Jeremo (a scrap collector) illustrate traditional gypsy occupations in the south of Spain, as well as the obstacles facing their
Western Mediterranean
Travellers / Roma
Labour
Easy Life
1996
30
'
Directed by
Amelia Hann
.
This film is about a Breton woman and her family, their vision of life, and their clash with the French state which marked them as 'terrorists'.
Western Europe
Political Activists
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Eat the Kimono
1989
60
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Claire Hunt
.
A compelling biography of Hanayagi Genshu, a feminist and dancer who spent her lifetime defying the conservative traditions of Japanese society with her radical politics and unconventional
Central Asia and Far East
Public Figure
Gender Role and Identity
Art / Artists / Artisans
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Alternative culture
Eco trip
1997
30
'
Directed by
Rachel Robertson
.
A group of eco-activists travel around Britain attending festivals and other events aimed at raising awareness of ecological issues and of new, alternative ways of living. But sometimes relationships
British-Irish Isles
Alternative culture
Environment
Embera — the End of the Road
1971
52
'
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
The way of life of the 10,000 Embera Indians who live in the Choco region of Colombia, South American, is threatened by the encroachments of Negro Libres (descendants of freed slaves) and by the
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Encountering Eloyi
2008
56
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Of all the faith-healing churches in Botswana, Eloyi is the most controversial. Sensational stories in newspapers and on television have made Eloyi notorious for so-called witch-busting and for
Southern Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Reproduction (biology)
Endgames
2008
32
'
Directed by
Ilinca Calugareanu
.
The film follows a day in the life of Cluj-Napoca, a city in Transylvania, focusing on the way the lives of the three main characters - Valer, an 85 year old retired colonel, Daria, an 89 year old
South-East Europe
Post-communism
Elderly people
Memory
The Eskimos of Pond Inlet
1977
52
'
Directed by
Michael Grigsby
.
For the Eskimos of Pond Inlet - a new village in North Baffin Island in which they have been settled by the Canadian Government – the life of the semi-nomadic hunter has given way to that of
North America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Collective / Community identity
Social Conflict
Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears
2007
63
'
Directed by
Simon Chambers
.
East London Muslim girl Shahanara is changing form pink hot pants into a sari to meet her husband at the airport. She has only met him once before, when she was married in a union arranged by her
London
Family / Kinship
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Intergenerational relations
Social Norms
Everything is Relatives - William Rivers (1864-1922)
1986
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
Central Television’s major documentary series looks at the first anthropologists to stop ‘armchair theorising’ and go out to live among the peoples who so interested them. The six part series
Various
History of Anthropology
Public Figure
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
Faith
2010
30
'
Directed by
Insa Langhorst
.
Together with a Pentecostal youth group, teenagers Colin and Salo are on a mission trip to East Germany preaching the word of God. On the streets of Wismar they experience the highs and lows of what
Western Europe
Children / Young people
Religion / Belief / Faith
Fatmawati's Wedding: the Weddings of two Sisters, the Preparations
1998
50
'
Directed by
Fiona Kerlogue
.
This film records the preparations for the wedding of two sisters in eastern Sumatra in December 1996. There is an emphasis on the importance of the role of women in the village. Ritual exchanges
South-East Asia
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Ritual
Material Culture
Fieldwork - Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer (1860-1929)
1986
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
Central Television’s major documentary series looks at the first anthropologists to stop ‘armchair theorising’ and go out to live among the peoples who so interested them. The six part series
Various
History of Anthropology
Fighting for Control
1998
30
'
Directed by
Alexia Coppe
.
An unconventional household of two women and five children in South London, attempting to leave a difficult past behind, and build a happy future.
British-Irish Isles
Family / Kinship
Firth on Firth
1993
49
'
Directed by
Rolf Husmann
Peter Loizos
Werner Sperscheinder
.
In a series of interviews in his London home and the London School of Economics, Sir Raymond Firth talks about his life and some of his personal views. The film focuses thus on his Maori studies,
British-Irish Isles
History of Anthropology
Public Figure
Fish Have Feelings Too
2001
23
'
Directed by
Tom Rice
.
For Jack and Stan, two men from Manchester, koi carp have become something more than an obsession. Not only have their pets become a source of fame and distinction, but of affection and mutually
British-Irish Isles
Animals
For The Love of the Game
2010
24
'
Directed by
Birgitta H. Anttila
.
Hurling is a game combining skill, speed and strength. Players - even at the highest levels - are amateurs, but still spend hours on training. Through the encounter with hurler Shane Dooley, we learn
British-Irish Isles
Sport
Forms of Care
2022
7
'
Animation
Directed by
Charlotte Kühlbrandt
Maayan L. Matz
.
A stop-motion animation following the story of a mundane death, and the forms of care that accompany it. The script is taken verbatim from an interview conducted as part of an ethnographic research
Fragments from the Past
2006
27
'
Directed by
Vedide Kaymak
Hakan Demiralay
.
In the days before DVD and satellite television, the cinema was important to London’s Turkish speaking population as a place to meet and as a link with home. Eight individuals recount their
British-Irish Isles
Popular Culture
Migration
Film / Photography / Mass media
Fresh Fields
1995
31
'
Directed by
Alistair Cook
.
From conflict to construction — this is the story of two disabled ex-fighters rebuilding their lives. What does the future hold for them in Eritrea, the homeland to which they are committed?
North and Northeast Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Development projects
Gaea Girls
2000
106
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Jano Williams
.
A film about courage, transformation and dreams in the extraordinary world of Japanese women's wrestling. Gaea Girls focuses on the hopes and fears of the beleaguered Gaea Japan squad, whose
Central Asia and Far East
Gender Role and Identity
Sport
The Gaijin
2008
24
'
Directed by
Chris Christodoulou
.
‘The Gaijin’ tells the story of an individual negotiating his identity in a foreign country. It follows Luke Jonathan Driscoll, an American who has been residing in Japan for nearly 3 years and
Central Asia and Far East
Migration
Garden Days: Village in Papua New Guinea
1988
25
'
Directed by
Ariane Lewis
Jon Jerstad
.
A detailed account of domestic life in the Sepik area of Papua New Guinea, mainly from the women’s point of view. It describes their everyday activities in the ‘gardens’ in order to produce
Melanesia
Agriculture / Farming
Children / Young people
Ritual
Gelede: A Yoruba Masquerade
1970
30
'
Directed by
Frank Speed
Peggy Harper
.
Among the Yoruba of Western Nigeria and Dahomey the Gelede cult honours the earth spirits, the ancestors and especially the Great Mother. The festival filmed here emphasises the status of women and
West Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Ritual
Festivals / Carnival
Social Conflict
Going Back Home
1992
35
'
Directed by
Catarina Alves-Costa
.
For those who live in the city, each and every summer is about going back to Arga, the village in Northern Portugal, which they left to find work. For the few who have stayed, their return brings
Western Mediterranean
Migration
Memory
The Good Wife of Tokyo
1992
52
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Clare Hunt
.
Kazuko Hohki goes back to Tokyo with her band, the ‘Frank Chickens’, after living in England for 15 years. This wry and delightful film records her re-experiencing of Japan after a long absence,
Central Asia and Far East
Music / Ethnomusicology
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Social Change
Growing Pains
2006
41
'
Directed by
Cecilie Øien
.
Júlia is a young Angolan woman who lives in a poor neighborhood of Lisbon, together with her daughter Magui. The story of how she arrived in Portugal and what happen to her afterwards is dramatic,
Western Mediterranean
Family / Kinship
Intergenerational relations
Migration
The Guest
2012
20
'
Student
Directed by
Kira de Hemmer Jeppesen
.
Following the personal story of a Danish first-time surrogate mother, 'The Guest' explores issues of maternal bonding, modern families, relatedness, and desired control over body and mind. We follow
Scandinavia
LGBTQI*
Sex / Sexuality
Reproduction (biology)
Family / Kinship
The Guga Hunters of Ness
2010
59
'
Directed by
Mike Day
.
This film follows a vanishing community’s beloved and unique tradition. The Gaelic speakers of Lewis and Scotland are the only people in the EU exempt from a ban on hunting gannets, but they are
Western Europe
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Animals
Ritual
Guiyang Beautiful Flavour Barbecue
2000
30
'
Directed by
Richard Hughes
.
In the teeming cities of the most populated country on earth, 20 years of economic reform have brought new opportunity, new energy, and new dangers. This film follows one family's efforts to navigate
South-East Asia
Food
Social Change
Labour
Gula - Music for a sacred time
2020
15
'
Directed by
Remigiusz Sowa
.
Introduces the rich and varied Hindu-Buddhist religious and ritual musical heritage of the ancient royal city of Bhaktapur (Nepal).
South Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Gule Wamkulu: The Great Dance
1991
37
'
Directed by
Charles Namondwe
.
Performed by the Chewa secret societies, Gule Wamkulu is a form of masked dance which takes place at male initiation ceremonies, funerals, and other major celebrations. Acting as a medium between the
Southern Africa
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Ritual
HARMONI: HEALING TOGETHER
2021
98
'
Directed by
Erminia Colucci
.
As a nation of 270 million, Indonesia is facing the grave task of caring for millions of people living with mental illness. Many have experienced human rights abuses in their lifetime. In communities
South-East Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Harpoons and Heartache
1998
28
'
Directed by
Bessie Morris
.
Bessie Morris, a Greek-American, portrays the romantic relationships between Greek men and women tourists. She explores the story of Vassilis, a young male bartender in the tourist town of Hania, Crete.
South-East Europe
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Gender Role and Identity
Love
The Head Cornerstone
1992
37
'
Directed by
Ruth Hammill
.
Griffiths takes his responsibilities seriously and works very hard as a taxi driver in Negril, Jamaica, to support his family. His sense of obligation extends to his siblings, his ageing father and
Caribbean Islands
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Socioeconomic conditions
Head Hunting
1999
60
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
The history of human decapitation, featuring the story of two British engineers beheaded by rebels in modern Russia and the psychological and religious implications of contemporary headhunting in
Various
Ritual
History of Anthropology
Heal the Whole Man
1974
50
'
Directed by
Paul Robinson
.
The ‘Barolong boo Ratshidi’ are one of the group of Tswana peoples, who together form a culturally homogeneous population of over two million. The Barolong themselves number about 75’000 and
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Health / Health care / Healing
Healer on the Street
2003
28
'
Directed by
Joceny Pinhheiro
.
During the day, Isnar is a community paramedic who works in the local clinic and runs an arts and drugs rehabilitation centre for young people in Fortaleza on the coast of Northeast Brazil. But by
South America
Health / Health care / Healing
Ritual
Heart of the Village
1985
52
'
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
The second film of the Caught in the Web trilogy, which compares and contrast aspects of life in a Dorset community in the Bride Valley and a French village in Provence, Villes-sur-Auzon,
Western Europe
British-Irish Isles
Rural
Socioeconomic conditions
Herat Films: The City of Herat
1983
21
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
These videos were edited from seven hours of Super 8 film shot by John Baily during two years of ethnomusicological fieldwork carried out in the Herat region of western Afghanistan between 1973 and
Middle and Near East
Urban
Trade
Herat Films: The Annual Cycle of Music in Herat
1983
54
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
These videos were edited from seven hours of Super 8 film shot by John Baily during two years of ethnomusicological fieldwork carried out in the Herat region of western Afghanistan between 1973 and
Middle and Near East
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Music / Ethnomusicology
Herat Films: The Shrines of Herat
1983
30
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
These videos were edited from seven hours of Super 8 film shot by John Baily during two years of ethnomusicological fieldwork carried out in the Herat region of western Afghanistan between 1973 and
Middle and Near East
Religion / Belief / Faith
Urban
The Herders of Mongun-Taiga
1989
52
'
Directed by
John Sheppard
.
The Tuvinians live deep inside the Soviet Union, at the very centre of Asia. Tuva is geographically closer to Peking than to Moscow. It only entered the USSR in 1944 and was closed to foreigners
Central Asia and Far East
Herding
Nomads and Nomadism
Shamans and Shamanism
Gender Role and Identity
Social Change
Hidden Faces
1990
52
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
This film reveals contradictions in the lives of Egyptian women in Muslim society. Living abroad, Safaa Fathy returns to Egypt to interview the internationally renowned feminist writer Nawal El
North and Northeast Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Development projects
Hillside Beauties
2008
25
'
Directed by
Julia Kurc
.
In a violent, marginalized and discriminated environment such as the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, women create a time and a space to construct their identities and their beauty. Marcella, Thuany and
South America
Gender Role and Identity
Socioeconomic conditions
Hold Me Tight Let Me Go
2007
99
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
*The main reason I wanted to shoot is that when the kids misbehave, the teachers don’t punish them but try to find out why they are acting in such a way. The driving idea behind the school is to
British-Irish Isles
Children / Young people
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Health / Health care / Healing
Holding the Tradition
1998
28
'
Directed by
Matthew Fassnidge
.
The annual regatta on the island of Malta has been passionately contested for over 200 years by a number of local rowing clubs. Marsamxett has been dismissed by the others as being a club for 'old
Western Mediterranean
Sport
Holy Hustlers
2009
53
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Charismatic, street-wise young men, living in Botswana’s capital, command the prophetic domain in Eloyi, their Apostolic faith-healing church, at a time of escalating crisis. Bitter, sinful
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Urban
Possession
Holy Men and Fools
2005
61
'
Directed by
Michael Yorke
.
The film narrates the story of Uma Giri, a Swedish woman who has become a Hindu nun, called Uma Giri. She is one of the few western women to be accepted into the most radical order of wandering
South Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Inter-religious relations
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Home from the Hill
1984
60
'
Directed by
Molly Dineen
.
Anthropology’s relationship with colonialism has been discussed widely. Yet the ethnography of the colonial service remains largely unexplored on film. This entertaining documentary shows, not
British-Irish Isles
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Hope, Despair and Laughter: A circus project in Palestine
2007
27
'
Directed by
Ester Hertog
.
Filmed in Dheisheh refugee camp in the West bank, this film is about a circus summer-camp dedicated to bring laughter and hope for Palestinian children. Children are taught all sorts of activities
Middle and Near East
Development projects
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Children / Young people
Hulme Homes for Hulme People
1992
23
'
Directed by
Aunund Austena
.
Summer '92 and Hulme, a densely populated and culturally diverse area of inner city Manchester, is being demolished for the second time in 30 years, this time in consultation with local residents and
British-Irish Isles
Urban
Human Sacrifice
1999
60
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
The documentary gives insight into the ancient rituals and religious practices involved in human sacrifice. The Forbidden Rites trilogy explores cannibalism, head hunting and human sacrifice. This
Various
Ritual
History of Anthropology
I Am the World
2022
9
'
Shorts
Directed by
Che Applewhaite
.
A speculative documentary that explores how an archive of networked moving images, featuring famed ballroom hosts Selvin “MC Debra” Mizrahi and Kelly Gorgeous Gucci, enables worldly ways of seeing.
Ian Gleadell: A Falkland Farmer
1987
34
'
Directed by
Bob Edwards
Alastair Kenneil
.
The 1982 war between Britain and Argentina brought the Falkland or Malwinas Islands into the news headlines. This film is less spectacular: It shows the way of life of one inhabitant of this
South America
Animals
Agriculture / Farming
Imbalu: Ritual of Manhood of the Gisu of Uganda
1988
69
'
Directed by
Richard Hawkins
.
An insightful documentary, constructed with visual restraint, about the male circumcision ritual among the Gisu of Uganda. The narrative follows one male participant through the ritual and contrasts
East Africa
Ritual
Gender Role and Identity
In the Light of Memory
2010
40
'
Directed by
Alyssa Grossman
.
'In the Light of Memory' explores evocations of memory in contemporary post-socialist Bucharest, nearly twenty years after the fall of Romanian communism. The film is shot in Cismigiu Gardens, one of
South-East Europe
Memory
Post-communism
In Our Blood
2003
26
'
Directed by
Steve Vella
.
In Malta, devotion to the Virgin Mary is very fervent, particularly in the village of Naxxar, where the most important annual feast, taking place over several days, is dedicated to her honour. But
Western Mediterranean
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
In Pursuit of Happiness
2009
31
'
Directed by
Ray Ono
.
Tokyo life as rarely seen on mainstream media. This short film takes you to the lives of men who live on the outskirts of the city and of Japanese society.
Central Asia and Far East
Alternative culture
Urban
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
In Search of Cool Ground: The Mursi Trilogy
1987
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
This is a trilogy about aspects of the culture of two groups of people, the Kwegu and the Mursi, in Ethiopia. The titles are: THE MURSI , THE KWEGU, THE MIGRANTS *What made this trilogy special
North America
Social Change
Socioeconomic conditions
Health / Health care / Healing
In Search of Home
2000
30
'
Directed by
Julie Moggan
.
The Shabani family have been living in Manchester as refugees and are homesick for Kosovo. Feeling increasingly unwelcome in Britain, they return home to confront the nightmares of their recent past,
South-East Europe
Refugees / Displaced populations
Children / Young people
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
In a State of Dress
2010
21
'
Directed by
Madelief de Heer
.
Filmed in Walcheren, a region in the south-west of the Netherlands, this film tells of the lived experience of wearing regional dress. Once worn by the whole community, today this complex attire is
Western Europe
Material Culture
Elderly people
Intergenerational relations
The Internet Bride
2004
29
'
Directed by
Ellie Ford
.
Cali in Colombia is celebrated for salsa music and beautiful women and is also the base of the Internet Bride agency, 'Latin Best' with 900 women on its files. Accompanying the British and American
South America
Marriage
Internet
Into the Field
2005
28
'
Directed by
Alyssa Grossman
.
'Into the Field' follows the everyday “secular” lives of nuns in a Orthodox nunnery in Romania. Documenting the nuns’ activities, relationships and roles within their community, the film also
South-East Europe
Religion / Belief / Faith
Animation
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
John the Eel Trapper
1982
28
'
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
The fens of East Anglia provide the scenery for this documentary. At the centre of the film is John, a solitary character, who makes his living by trapping eels in the numerous canals of the area.
British-Irish Isles
Animals
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Join Me in Shambala
2001
30
'
Directed by
Anya Bernstein
.
Once brutally persecuted under the Soviet regime, Buddhism is re-emerging in Siberia. But with a past where Lamas were killed in prisons and temples burnt to the ground, there are few masters left to
Central Asia and Far East
Religion / Belief / Faith
Post-communism
Jungle Cat
2000
29
'
Directed by
Natalie Schädler
.
In search of the righteous way of living, the Liberian rapper CyLover, aka as 'Jungle Cat' wants to make music for his people. Now based in Ghana, the big chance to finish his first album approaches
West Africa
Music / Ethnomusicology
A Kabul Music Diary
2003
52
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
Ethnomusicologist John Baily returns to Kabul to see what is happening in the world of music one year after the defeat of the Taliban. The film documents a variety of musical activities, including
Middle and Near East
Music / Ethnomusicology
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Kafi's Story
1979
53
'
Directed by
Arthur Howes
Amy Hardie
.
Shot in 1989, Kafi's Story captures Nuba life at the moment before it was engulfed in the Sudanese civil war. Kafi narrates his own story into a portable tape record as he travels from his village,
North and Northeast Africa
Film / Photography / Mass media
Marriage
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Kalanda - the Knowledge of the Bush
2014
62
'
Directed by
Lorenzo Ferrarini
.
In some parts of West Africa, hunting is much more than killing animals. A donso is no common hunter, but a healer, a diviner, a ritual specialist and amulet maker. Kalanda is a unique initiatory
West Africa
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Ritual
The Kalasha: Rites of Spring
1990
60
'
Directed by
John Sheppard
.
The Kalasha are a tribal people, 3,000 strong, who live in the high valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The Kalasha are unique as a pagan people in
South Asia
Festivals / Carnival
Land Rights
Agriculture / Farming
Social Conflict
Kataragama: A God for All Seasons
1973
52
'
Directed by
Charlie Nairn
.
In ever-increasing numbers Sinhalese of all religions (Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) are turning to Kataragama, an ancient Hindu God, at times of trouble and desperation. Once a year pilgrims
South Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
Possession
The Kawelka: Ongka’s Big Moka
1974
52
'
Directed by
Charlie Nairn
.
Ongka is a charismatic big-man of the Kawelka tribe who live scattered in the Western highlands, north of Mount Hagen, in Papua New Guinea. The film focuses on the motivations and efforts involved
Melanesia
Ritual
Festivals / Carnival
Social Conflict
The Kayapo
1987
52
'
Directed by
Michael Beckham
.
This film focuses on the conflicts and determination of a group of people trying to survive and maintain their ethnic identity in the face of almost overpowering odds. The film contrasts the
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Political Activists
Resistance
Social Conflict
The Kayapo: Out of the Forest
1989
52
'
Directed by
Michael Beckham
.
Early in 1989 the Kayapo rallied other Brazilian Indians to attend a reunification of the tribes at Altamira«the proposed site of a massive hydro-electric dam, that will flood large parts of the
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Resistance
Film / Photography / Mass media
Political Activists
Social Conflict
The Kazakhs of China
1983
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
The Kazakhs of Xinjiang (Sinkiang) are one of the fifty-five national minorities that now live within the borders of the People's Republic of China. The policy of the Chinese Communist Party toward
Central Asia and Far East
Social Change
Nomads and Nomadism
Collective / Community identity
Keepers of the Faith: The Buddhist Nuns of Sagaing Hills
1996
51
'
Directed by
Hiroko Kawanami
.
In the Sagaing Hills, 12 miles from the ancient capital of Mandalay are hundreds of pagodas, stupas, monasteries and nunneries which form a focal point of worship for Buddhism in Burma. In 1986 the
South-East Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Gender Role and Identity
Khyber
1979
49
'
Directed by
André Singer
Andy Harries
.
For more than a century Britain was engaged in war with the Pashtun tribesmen of India's North West frontier. It began with the bloodiest massacre in the history of the British Empire when, in
South Asia
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
History
The Kirghiz of Afghanistan
1975
51
'
Directed by
Charlie Nairn
André Singer
.
The Kirghiz of Afghanistan are a group of some 2,000 pastoralists living on a bleak mountain plateau in a narrow isthmus of land between the borders of the Soviet Union and China. For nine months of
Middle and Near East
Herding
Nomads and Nomadism
Social Organisation
Kwagh Hir
1975
30
'
Directed by
Frank Speed
Peggy Harper
.
Four million Tiv people form the major culture of the Benue state of southern Nigeria. They are popularly known as the greatest democrats in Africa as their society is based on fraternal cooperation
West Africa
Festivals / Carnival
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Ritual
The Kwegu
1979
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
Andy Harries
.
*'The Kwegu' is an entirely tasteful and dignified presentation of the harsh realities of subsistence living, and it may help us understand how, even in stateless societies, dominated groups come to
North and Northeast Africa
Collective / Community identity
Agriculture / Farming
Social Organisation
Marriage
Trade
The Land on which We Stand
2007
31
'
Directed by
Becky Payne
.
This film is a glimpse into the life of the Landmatters Co-operative, a community of 11 adults and 4 children living in benders and yurts in rural Devon as they develop a permaculture project. The 42
British-Irish Isles
Rural
Alternative culture
The Last Navigator
1989
50
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
This is the story of two cultures and two technologies. An American navigator is taught the skills of navigation by a traditional Micronesian navigator on Satawal island. The American tries to
Micronesia
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Infrastructure / Transport
Education / Knowledge Transmission
The Last of the Cuiva
1971
52
'
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
The film focuses on recent changes in the culture and society of the Cuiva, hunters and gatherers in a remote forest region of south-eastern Colombia, brought about through contact with Colombian
South America
Social Change
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Land Rights
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
The Lau of Malaita
1982
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
*Pierre Miranda and a team from Granada Television have made a fine film exploring the trouble realities of the people of the lagoon in the 1980s.* (B. Shore) This film focuses on the people of
Melanesia
Social Change
Social Conflict
Ritual
Death
Religion / Belief / Faith
Law and War in Rural Kenya
2010
64
'
Directed by
Suzette Heald
.
In 1998, a new movement swept through Kuria, in south western Kenya with dramatic effect. Cattle raiding fuelled by the increasing presence of guns had led to a situation of total insecurity, with
East Africa
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
The Legacy of Antonio Lorenzano
2000
46
'
Directed by
Paul Henley
.
Antonio Lorenzano was an acclaimed musician, shamanic healer and craftsman, and the leader of the Warao community of Morichito on the Winikina River, in the lower Orinoco Delta, Venezuela. The film
South America
Death
Public Figure
Informant-researcher relationship
Social Change
Memory
Lessons from Gulam
1986
52
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
A detailed study of musical enculturation within the Asian community of Bradford in northern England. Gulam Musa is the principal character and he is shown as a teacher and as a musician. The film
British-Irish Isles
Music / Ethnomusicology
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Lessons from the Tiger
2010
22
'
Directed by
Ife Olatunji
.
A brief glimpse into the Foundation Fior Di Loto girls' school, this film explores the competing ideas of traditional and contemporary womanhood in Rajasthan, India. Four girls introduce us to the
South Asia
Gender Role and Identity
Children / Young people
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Letters from Palestine
2011
35
'
Directed by
Ludovica Fales
.
What if in your great-grandfather's letters there is a mystery your family doesn't want to talk about? In 1920 Angelo Levi Bianchini set out to Palestine on an Italian diplomatic mission and never
Western Mediterranean
Middle and Near East
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Memory
History
Leyssart
2007
30
'
Directed by
Alexander Hirl
.
Living among 8,000 animals in the South of France, Thérèse and Dominique live their passion as herders and breeders. Their philosophy of life makes us reflect on the nature of relationships between
Western Europe
Animals
Herding
Family / Kinship
Life Chances: Four Families in a Greek Cypriot Village
1974
43
'
Directed by
Peter Loizos
.
A careful account of social change in a prosperous Greek Cypriot village, which follows four closely related families before the Turkish made them all refugees. Their lives reflect the possibilities
South-East Europe
Social Change
Life Story / Life History
Rural
Family / Kinship
Life as We Know it
1995
25
'
Directed by
Alex Reed
.
"It was Star Trek that brought us together". John and Pauline are to be wed beyond the Final Frontier at a Star Trek convention in Manchester. Among the guests are Klingons and Hollywood stars.
British-Irish Isles
Popular Culture
Marriage
Lifelibrary
2007
22
'
Directed by
Amanda Hill
.
Library spacescape. quiet, history, dreams, wisdom, structure, anomaly, affection, preservation, creation, galaxies, distraction and contemplation. An exploration of a changing world withinwithout
British-Irish Isles
Education / Knowledge transmission
Archival material / Museum displays
A Little Bit of Freedom
1998
34
'
Directed by
Laura Kirk
.
This film is set in a traditional household in Nepal and documents a servant girl, Nani; a married woman, Sarita; and a mother-in-law, Ama. In interesting mixture of entrapment, duty and tradition unfold.
South Asia
Gender Role and Identity
Intergenerational relations
Marriage
Living Through Things
2005
32
'
Directed by
Anna Waddell
.
Kristin, Mark and Bob collect things. The film explores attachment, possession and the way that objects inhabit their lives.
British-Irish Isles
Material Culture
Living with the Revolution
1983
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
Claire Lasko
.
*These three films ('Inside China: Living with the Revolution'; 'The Newest Revolution'; 'The Kazakhs of China') present a valuable record of aspects of most recent developments in China.* (A.
Central Asia and Far East
Social Change
History
Family / Kinship
The Longest Struggle: The Karen of Burma
1993
52
'
Directed by
John Sheppard
.
In the forested hills of eastern Burma, a war has been going on for more than 50 years. A war that is rarely reported and is often apparently at a stalemate. For the Karen people of this part of
South-East Asia
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Memory
Looking for the Man Of Aran
1999
25
'
Directed by
Sebastian Eschenbach
.
It is 60 years since Robert Flaherty made Man of Aran. How do the people of the Aran Islands remember the experience and what do they feel about the image the films gives of their land?
British-Irish Isles
Film / Photography / Mass media
History of Anthropology
Lorang's Way
1977
69
'
Directed by
David MacDougall
Judith MacDougall
.
The Turkana are a group of semi-nomadic pastoralists who inhabit a harsh environment of dry thorn country in northwestern Kenya. Lorang’s Way focuses upon a Turkana elder. Having spent time away
East Africa
Herding
Social Change
Nomads and Nomadism
Made in Trenchtown
2010
33
'
Directed by
Ester Maagdenberg
.
'Made in Trenchtown' is the product of a collaboration with three teenagers from Trenchtown - a ghetto in Kingston, Jamaica, controlled by drug lords. As Philomena, Diamond and Stephan hold the
Caribbean Islands
Children / Young people
Reflexivity
Making it Big in Berlin
2009
24
'
Directed by
Claudia Goldberg
.
In Berlin, where low rents and space for creative ideas are still available, self-employed workers live the alternative to a nine-to-five-job. A sewing café owner, a freelance journalist and two
Western Europe
Alternative culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
Mangrove Music
2006
49
'
Directed by
Carlo A. Cubero
.
The Caribbean island of Culebra is located between Spanish speaking Puerto Rico and English speaking Virgin Islands. Musicians from the island are inspired from a variety of regional, national and
Central America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Masai Manhood
1975
52
'
Directed by
Chris Curling
.
This film was made after 'Masai Women' and in the same area. Together the two films provide a vivid view of Masai men and women and their place in Masai society. The Masai are pastoral nomads in
East Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Social Change
Ritual
Social Organisation
Nomads and Nomadism
Herding
Masai Women
1974
52
'
Directed by
Chris Curling
.
The Masai are cattle herders living in the East African rift valley: they grow no crops and are proud of being a non-agricultural people. Cattle are the all-important source of wealth and social
East Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Social Change
Ritual
Social Organisation
Nomads and Nomadism
Herding
Masks of Mer
2010
37
'
Directed by
Michael Eaton
.
The film Alfred Haddon made in 1898 in the Torres Straits, lasting for less than a minute, is the world's first example of anthropological cinema. 'The Masks of Mer' tells the extraordinary story of
Australia
History of Anthropology
Film / Photography / Mass media
Archival material / Museum displays
Ritual
Matai Samoa
1989
65
'
Directed by
George Milner
.
The film is a valuable treatment of archival footage that George Milner shot while conducting fieldwork in 1955 and 1959. The footage (18 minutes of the total film) focuses on the traditional Samoan
New Zealand and Polynesia
History of Anthropology
Film / Photography / Mass media
Social Organisation
Archival material / Museum displays
Ritual
The Mehinacu
1974
52
'
Directed by
Carlos Pasini
.
The Mehinacu live near the head-waters of the River Xingu in Central Brazil, in a single village within the protective confines of the Xingu National Park. Although the film concentrates upon the
South America
Social Organisation
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Collective / Community identity
Ritual
Men at Work
2010
32
'
Directed by
Christine Moderbacher
.
"Men at Work" depicts the daily working life of one of the few remaining institutions in Austria that still employs only men. They are responsible for a 39 km stretch of Austria's biggest
Central Europe
Gender Role and Identity
Labour
Men of Words
2009
22
'
Directed by
Johanne Haaber Ihle
.
The film explores how ancient traditions of poetry are still used in contemporary Yemen to discuss social and political problems.
Middle and Near East
Art / Artists / Artisans
Socioeconomic conditions
The Mende
1990
52
'
Directed by
Bruce MacDonald
.
This is a portrait of Kpuawala, Sierra Leone, a village of some 260 Mende people living in a clearing in the forest in houses of mud brick and tin. Like any village portrait it gossips, happy
West Africa
Everyday Life
Social Organisation
Rural
The Meo
1972
52
'
Directed by
Brian Moser
Chris Curling
.
Over the last three thousand years the Meo (Miao or Hmong) have migrated south from north and central China to avoid oppression and protect their way of life. Today they live in scattered mountain
South-East Asia
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Shamans and Shamanism
Ritual
Social Organisation
Rural
Message from a Saint
2003
27
'
Directed by
Andrew Tucker
.
During the celebration of the Feast of San Juan Bautista in the village of Chuao, on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, an image of Jesus appeared on a drinks tray. The community is trying to find out
South America
Religion / Belief / Faith
The Migrants
1985
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
David Wason
.
The Migrants is the third film in the trilogy 'In Search of Cool Ground' for Granada Television's Disappearing World series. It is about a drought-induced migration of Mursi from their traditional
North and Northeast Africa
Social Change
Collective / Community identity
Refugees / Displaced populations
Milking the Desert
2004
25
'
Directed by
Yasmin Fedda
.
This film follows the lives and choices of two monks living at Mar Musa, the Abyssinian Monastery in the desert of Syria. Through their daily lives, the issue of dialogue with Islam emerges.
Middle and Near East
Inter-religious relations
Religion / Belief / Faith
Mirror Mirror
2006
58
'
Directed by
Zemirah Moffat
.
Mirror Mirror is based on an audio-visual ethnography of London’s queer Club Wotever. Begun in the autumn of 2003, it promoted itself as a club that welcomed all genders and sexualities – a
British-Irish Isles
LGBTQI*
Sex / Sexuality
Gender Role and Identity
Mongolia, part 1: On the Edge of the Gobi
1975
52
'
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
Mongolia is a country the size of Western Europe with under 1.5 million people but over 23 million head of livestock. This film concentrates on life in the great plains of Mongolia, at the foot of
Central Asia and Far East
Herding
Social Change
Rural
Everyday Life
Mongolia part 2: The City on the Steppes
1975
52
'
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
The second of two films on Mongolia made by Granada Television in 1974–75 looks at life in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia and home of a quarter of the population. The city celebrates the 53rd
Central Asia and Far East
Festivals / Carnival
Urban
Everyday Life
The Most Admired Man
2002
29
'
Directed by
Julia Berg
.
'Wise'? 'Serene'? 'A Sage'? Mythologized as the Daoist physician from the Jade Dragon Mountain of Lijiang Province in southwest China , Dr Ho receives hundreds of visitors in search of the 'Real
South-East Asia
Public Figure
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
The Most Wasted of All Days
2003
24
'
Directed by
Nick Kirkwood
.
A day without laughter is the most wasted of all days, according to veteran circus performer Jan Erik, a.k.a 'Fips the Clown'. So when his back goes in the middle of the summer tour round Scotland,
British-Irish Isles
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Muktuk
1983
40
'
Directed by
Graham Johnston
.
Shot on the mosquito-ridden shores of the Mackenzie Delta in Canada’s North-West territories, the film deals with the annual Beluga (white whale) hunt. Three families are followed who have
North America
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Animals
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Education / Knowledge transmission
The Mursi
1974
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
The Mursi are a cattle-keeping and agricultural group without chiefs or leaders from south-west Ethiopia. This film, made under extremely difficult conditions, focuses on the way decisions are made
North and Northeast Africa
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Social Organisation
Mursi: The Land is Bad
1991
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
A further visit to the Mursi of Southern Ethiopia with whom contact was established 17 years ago, for an important coming of age ceremony which has had to be postponed many times. An elder of the
North and Northeast Africa
Ritual
Social Conflict
Health / Health care / Healing
Mursi: Nitha
1991
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
The proper time for a man to go through the Age Set Ceremony, the nitha, is just as he reaches physical maturity. But many years may elapse from one nitha to the next, so it is inevitable that some
North and Northeast Africa
Ritual
Social Conflict
Gender Role and Identity
Native
2002
29
'
Directed by
Rachel Greenwood
.
Through his clothing, a young South African fashion designer of mixed race urges freedom and unity in post-apartheid South Africa. His message is reaching not only his fellow South Africans, but also
Southern Africa
Collective / Community identity
Material Culture
New Images
1964
27
'
Directed by
Ulli Beier
Frank Speed
.
The film is a brief description of life in a busy commercial centre that still depends upon and retains its ancient traditions. These are based on the history of the town which was founded on the
West Africa
Art / Artists / Artisans
Religion / Belief / Faith
Archival material / Museum displays
A New Kind of Life
1997
28
'
Directed by
Emma Farrell
.
How is someone’s life affected when faced with cancer? This film is a portrait of three people from Manchester, England, who have chosen to include complementary therapies as part of their daily coping strategies.
British-Irish Isles
Health / Health care / Healing
Alternative culture
The Newest Revolution
1983
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
Claire Lasko
.
This film is a continuation of 'Living with the Revolution', set in the same communes near Wuxi and focusing on the same families. This film concentrates, however, on the new social and economic
Central Asia and Far East
Family / Kinship
Social Change
Nkabom: A little medicine A little prayer
2021
79
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Erminia Colucci
.
A mother is caring for her son at a healing shrine on the edge of a village in the central belt of Ghana. In another village, a father has taken his son to several Christian and traditional healers
West Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Nuba Conversation
1989
53
'
Directed by
Arthur Howes
.
Ten years after he made 'Kafi's Story', director Arthur Howes returns to the Sudan to find the members of the Nuba who featured in his earlier documentary film. Soon after he had left the Sudan, the
North and Northeast Africa
Children / Young people
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Refugees / Displaced populations
Off the Verandah - Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942)
1986
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
Central Television’s major documentary series looks at the first anthropologists to stop ‘armchair theorising’ and go out to live among the peoples who so interested them. The six part series
Various
History of Anthropology
Public Figure
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
Only Thinking
2009
27
'
Directed by
Gabriel Merrun
.
On the North African coast in Ceuta, illegal migrants wait and hope to eventually continue onto the Spanish peninsula where they can attain asylum. Whilst waiting there, they are caught bewteen the borders.
North and Northeast Africa
Migration
Orphans of Passage: The Uduk
1993
52
'
Directed by
Bruce MacDonald
.
In 1987 Sudanese government forces attacked the Uduk of Southern Sudan, and 20-25000 Uduk fled. Since then they have criss-crossed the Sudanese/Ethiopian border 5 times. In the spring of 1992, 13000
North and Northeast Africa
Refugees / Displaced populations
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Religion / Belief / Faith
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Out of Place
1993
38
'
Directed by
Peter Lutz
.
The war in Bosnia in the early 1990s drove Nerma and Mavis from their homes. Having found refuge in Sweden, they learn to cope with a new situation.
Scandinavia
Refugees / Displaced populations
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Part of Us
2009
27
'
Directed by
Maria Meriwether
.
For the Ngarrindjeri people, the living and the dead are connected through shared land and heritage. The preservation of this connection is at the heart of the community’s effort to repatriate the
Australia
Death
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
The Pathans
1980
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
Andy Harries
.
There are twelve million Pathans. Bound by a common language, a common heritage and the unifying force of Islam, these proud and independent people do not acknowledge the geographical boundary which
South Asia
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Social Organisation
Gender Role and Identity
Pepe
2004
23
'
Directed by
Juana Schlenker
.
Pepe is a Spanish immigrant who came to England more than forty years ago to work as a waiter. After working in several restaurants and hotels, he retired two years ago and now he fills his days with
British-Irish Isles
Migration
Elderly people
Pepsi War
1992
30
'
Directed by
Charlie Clay
.
The post-colonial period in Papua New Guinea has seen resurgence in tribal warfare. Pepsi War follows the story of a fight between two clans, which developed from a dispute over cola bottles.
Melanesia
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Photo Wallahs
1991
60
'
Directed by
David MacDougall
Judith MacDougall
.
This film is an exploration of the cultural and personal meanings of photographs in a hill station in northern India. The ‘photo wallahs’ are the local photographers of Mussoorie, a town which
South Asia
Film / Photography / Mass media
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Pink Saris
2010
100
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
Pink saris are worn by the Gulabi Gang, a group of women vigilantes in Northern India. From the untouchable caste, they resist being condescended to as the lowest social class. They have a champion
South Asia
Gender Role and Identity
Resistance
Socioeconomic conditions
Pushy Women
2001
23
'
Directed by
Caro MacDonald
.
The modern Japanese woman has the world at her feet: she can pursue any career, wear whatever she likes, and spend her leisure time however she likes - even playing sumo. This film follows five young
Central Asia and Far East
Gender Role and Identity
Sport
The Quechua
1974
52
'
Directed by
Carlos Pasini
David Ash
.
This film is set in a community of peasant agriculturalists 2 1/4 miles above sea level in the southern Peruvian Andes. Concentrating on a single family, the film explores aspects of religious and
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Religion / Belief / Faith
Social Change
The Ragged Ones
2002
30
'
Directed by
David Griggs
.
The Basotho live in Lesotho, a kingdom of high mountains surrounded by South Africa. Afflicted by famine, poverty and AIDS, they carry on making a science out of their witchcraft beliefs.
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Socioeconomic conditions
Raised by Humans
2010
25
'
Directed by
Karlia Campbell
.
'Raised by Humans' follows two dogs with difficult life histories as volunteers from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals try to find families to adopt them in Stockport,
British-Irish Isles
Animals
Development projects
Raju and His Friends
1988
40
'
Directed by
Marcus Banks
.
This film is set in the city of Jamnagar, western India. The film focuses on the emotions, quality of life, and on duty. Raju’s friendship with different people, including the director, provide a
South Asia
Urban
Informant-researcher relationship
Life Story / Life History
Ravi and Bhajay
2002
26
'
Directed by
Rachel Webster
.
Street boys Ravi and Bhajay lead a tough life on the pavements of Mumbai in India. To get away from it, they visit the nearby holy city of Ujjain with the film-maker. But the call of life on the streets is still strong.
South Asia
Children / Young people
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Urban
Read Me
2008
29
'
Directed by
Janina Kriszio
.
Reading traditionally played an important role for German (self-)identification. In 2000 an international survey revealed that German pupils are lacking basic reading skills, giving rise to
Western Europe
Education / Knowledge transmission
Reclaiming the Forest
1987
39
'
Directed by
Paul Henley
Georges Drion
.
National governments, itinerant gold-miners, and indigenous inhabitants compete for control of an area of the South American rainforest. The film shows the potential conflict between the interests
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Change
Social Conflict
The Red Bowmen
1981
50
'
Directed by
Chris Owen
.
In a remote part of the West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea, the Umeda people eke out a difficult living from the sago swamps and primary rain forest that surround them. Until recently, these
Melanesia
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
History of Anthropology
The Rendille
1977
52
'
Directed by
Chris Curling
.
The Rendille are camel herders who live in villages and camps dotted over 10,000 square miles of desert and scrub bush in Northern Kenya. As the terrain they occupy is so dry, the Rendille grow no
East Africa
Herding
Animals
Social Organisation
Everyday Life
Return of the Nightingales
2013
33
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
In 2010 Afghan musicologist Dr. Ahmad Sarmast opened the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), a coeducational vocational music school in Kabul that teaches Afghan, Indian and Western
South Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Children / Young people
Returning Home: Revival of a Bosnian Village
2001
48
'
Directed by
Tone Bringa
Peter Loizos
.
The film is the sequel to 'We are all Neighbours', the 1993 Granada Disappearing World film, about the breakdown of relations between Muslims and Croats as war overtakes their ethnically mixed
South-East Europe
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Collective / Community identity
Refugees / Displaced populations
Rock ‘n’ Pray
2001
24
'
Directed by
Fotini Stefani
.
The monks from the monastery of Saints Augustine and Serapheim Sarow on mainland Greece have found modern ways to appeal to young people. The film explores how their traditional life co-exists with
South-East Europe
Religion / Belief / Faith
Intergenerational relations
Rough Aunties
2008
103
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
Jackie, Mildred, Eureka and Thuli are the women behind Bobbi Bear, a nonprofit organization based in Durban, South Africa, that counsels sexually abused children and works to bring their abusers to
Southern Africa
Socioeconomic conditions
Children / Young people
Development projects
Round Trip
1999
36
'
Directed by
Angela Torresan
.
Portrait of a Brazilian woman and her friends, now living in Lisbon, exploring the basis of their sense of identity in the context of a transnational way of life.
Western Mediterranean
Collective / Community identity
Migration
Rub’el Kurus
1997
45
'
Directed by
Carlos Flores
.
During the 1980s the Guatemalan army launched ruthless counter-insurgency campaigns against indigenous communities, killing or displacing thousands. This film documents the struggle of a group of
Central America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Runaway
2001
87
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Ziba Mir-Hosseini
.
This film is set in a refuge for girls in Tehran and follows the stories of five girls who come here. These girls, in leaving a situation that has become intolerable, show incredible courage and
Middle and Near East
Children / Young people
Social Change
Gender Role and Identity
Sacred Harp Singers
1984
85
'
Directed by
Mark Brice
.
A moving portrait of harp singers Leonard and Mazine Lacy. Sacred harp music is a kind of harmonised plainsong practised in rural America. This film was shot in Sand Mountain, Alabama, and is
North America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Rural
Sahar’s Wedding
1991
46
'
Directed by
Hanna Musleh
.
The chronicle of a wedding in a village in Palestine under Israeli occupation at the time of the first Intifada, this film looks at the lives of the bride and groom, and their families. Attitudes
Middle and Near East
Marriage
Social Change
A Saint from New York
1995
30
'
Directed by
Line Hatland
.
Dorothy Day, ex-communist, anarchist, single mother and co-founder of the widespread ‘Catholic Worker’ movement — died in New York in 1980. Soon after the Claretian Fathers started a campaign
North America
Alternative culture
Religion / Belief / Faith
The Sakuddei
1974
52
'
Directed by
John Sheppard
.
The Sakuddei are a small and ethnically separate community living on the island of Siberut off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Their distinctive way of life and elaborate religious
South-East Asia
Collective / Community identity
Social Change
Land Rights
Saliendo Adelante
2011
28
'
Directed by
Ben Cheetham
.
Growing up on the streets of Bogotá, where drugs and violence dominate, it seemed as though José might never escape this cycle. It is the job of Orlando and those at the Institution for the
South America
Children / Young people
Socioeconomic conditions
Development projects
Salma
2013
90
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
.
When Salma, a young Muslim girl in a south Indian village, was 13 years old, her family locked her up for 25 years, forbidding her to study and forcing her into marriage. During that time, words were
South Asia
Gender Role and Identity
Social Norms
Marriage
Art / Artists / Artisans
Scenes of Afghan Music: London, Kabul, Hamburg, Dublin
2007
97
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
Scenes of Afghan Music is Part IV of 'A Quartet of Afghan Music Films', made in the author’s personal “fieldwork movie” style. It reveals the diversity of music and dance practices in the
Middle and Near East
Music / Ethnomusicology
Migration
Collective / Community identity
Scenes of Resistance
2000
30
'
Directed by
Alejandra Navarro Smith
.
A series of portraits of life in a Zapatista indigenous community in Chiapas, Southern Mexico. This film invites us into the people's everyday lives, and presents their own views of the fight against
Central America
Resistance
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
The Second Red Line
2004
25
'
Directed by
Veera Lehto
.
In HIV testing, the second red line is the indication of a positive result. This film follows two volunteers working with HIV & Aids sufferers in the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana. In the
South-East Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Development projects
Self Defence
2002
28
'
Directed by
María Elena Planas
.
With the Shining Path guerilla movement in decline, the government in Peru set up a Commission for Peace and Reconciliation to hear the testimonies of those who had suffered in the war. Framed by the
South America
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Memory
Shade Seekers and The Mixer
2006
60
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Set in Moremi village within Botswana’s awesome Tswapong hills, the film makes village elders self-consciously reflexive. The elders, including a controversial healer, view and discuss an earlier
Southern Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Informant-researcher relationship
Sherpas of Nepal
1977
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
Pattie Winter
.
Thami is a village 12,000 feet up in the Himalayas in the Kingdom of Nepal. As the film's opening shots illustrate, in a type of filmic short-hand, Thami is composed of a patchwork of individual
South Asia
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Labour
Marriage
Social Change
The Shilluk of Southern Sudan
1976
52
'
Directed by
Chris Curling
.
This film presents a compelling visual and aural analysis of Shilluk kingship in 1975, and provides a very useful complement to Evans-Pritchard's 1948 text, The Divine Kingship of the Shilluk.
North and Northeast Africa
Collective / Community identity
Social Organisation
Shinjuku Boys
1997
54
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Jano Williams
.
A film about love and gender. This film is set in the New Marilyn night club in Tokyo where all the hosts are women who have decided to live as men. They make their living by working in a club with
Central Asia and Far East
Gender Role and Identity
Sex / Sexuality
Love
Shonar Bangla
2009
28
'
Directed by
Sara Asadullah
.
Four scenes from a Bangladeshi community in London. Each scene is an encounter with a different generation (children, teenagers and adults) until the final scene where all generations are brought together in a wedding.
British-Irish Isles
Intergenerational relations
Marriage
Shooting Freetown
2011
29
'
Directed by
Kieran Hanson
.
A decade since Sierra Leone's devastating civil war, from the ashes rises a new dawn of creativity in audio-visual media. Inspired by Jean Rouch's ‘shared anthropology’ and ‘ethno-fiction’,
West Africa
Film / Photography / Mass media
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Reflexivity
The Shrimpers
2008
30
'
Directed by
Austin Paterek
.
For the past 10 years the shrimping industry in United States has been on a steady decline. Estimates show that only 15 percent of the original fleet is still in operation, due to overseas
North America
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Trade
Sin tierra, no somos Shuar
2009
23
'
Directed by
Stacey Williams
.
Shuar traditions and land are intimately tied to another. This film explores how the traditions and relationships change when foreign mining companies enter their territory.
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Conflict
Sisters in Law
2005
104
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Florence Ayisi
.
Six year old Manka has run away from home, fleeing her abusive aunt. Sonita has daringly accused her neighbor of rape. Amina has decided to end her brutal marriage by taking her husband to court. Set
West Africa
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Gender Role and Identity
Children / Young people
A Small Light
2004
32
'
Directed by
Julia Yezbick
.
Through following the daily life of a home for the elderly in Kathmandhu, Nepal, run by Catholic nuns but situated beside the cremation ghats of Pashupathinath Hindu temple, this film explores
South Asia
Death
Inter-religious relations
Religion / Belief / Faith
Elderly people
Small Man of the Forest
2004
37
'
Directed by
Hugh Hartford
.
Murray Collins leaves his city life in search of a bipedal ape. On his journey to highland Sumatra, he meets an academic, three farmers, two conservationists and a shaman, all of whom advise him on
South-East Asia
Animals
Smell the Roses
2003
28
'
Directed by
Julie Milling
.
Christiania is a self-governing community in the heart of Copenhagen set up by squatters at the height of 1970s idealism. Faced with extinction or urban redevelopment, residents struggle to redefine a fading ideology.
Scandinavia
Alternative culture
Urban
Smoke
1991
28
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Maarten Rens
.
The film deals with fish smoking in Monnickendam, a small town twelve miles north of Amsterdam. Using archival footage, interviewing old fishermen, and contrasting the traditional and the modern
Western Europe
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Food
Archival material / Museum displays
Some Women of Marrakech
1977
52
'
Directed by
Melissa Llewelyn-Davies
.
In Marrakech, traditional attitudes to women prevail perhaps more strongly than in other Moroccan cities. This is especially true for those women who live by the standards of traditional ideals in
North and Northeast Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Labour
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Social Norms
Sons of the Moon
1984
25
'
Directed by
Frank Speed
Deirdre LaPin
.
In isolated mountain hamlets in Nigeria’s Jos Plateau the Ngas have traditionally observed the movements of the moon in the night sky. The moon is a key symbol in Ngas cosmology, believed to
West Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Music / Ethnomusicology
Everyday Life
Ritual
Sophia and Her People
1985
35
'
Directed by
Peter Loïzos
.
Sofia and her family lost their village home in 1975 when Turkey invaded Cyprus. The film, mainly set in Nicosia in 1983, shows the pressures of refugee economic recovery through shift work in a
South-East Europe
Refugees / Displaced populations
Social Change
Family / Kinship
Southeast London Ethnography - Three Student Films: Anglesea Road; The Good Ol' Days; Talk of Trade
2007
13
'
Directed by
Elhum Shakerifar
Ed Owles
Jamie Taylor
.
These 3 films on Southeast London were made by GCC college students who took a course in anthropology & film. ANGLESEA ROAD: Situated in Woolwich, South East London, Anglesea Road is a small
British-Irish Isles
Urban
A Spark in Him
2008
28
'
Directed by
Claudia Engels
.
‘A Spark in Him’ is a film about the life story of Sajay Kumar, a young man without arms who lives in a home for disabled children in Kerala, India, and studies at the College of Fine Arts. By
South Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Children / Young people
Education / Knowledge Transmission
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
Staging a Return
1994
30
'
Directed by
Jakob Hogel
.
The Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic are a Danish dependency and for generations, young people have gone to Denmark to complete their studies. When they return for the summer, there is a tradition
Scandinavia
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Standing Places
2007
31
'
Directed by
Ana Tovey
.
A model of Stonehenge has been built in rural New Zealand, functioning like the original not only in its astronomical alignment but also in its role as a ceremonial site. The film explores what
New Zealand and Polynesia
Alternative culture
Ritual
Steel Lives
2005
45
'
Directed by
Massimiliano Mollona
.
The anthropologist spent several months working as unskilled labourer alongside Sheffield steelworkers at Morris for his PhD. This film is a look into the working lives of men who earn a living in
British-Irish Isles
Labour
Socioeconomic conditions
Collective / Community identity
Still Life
2009
26
'
Directed by
Siobhan McGuirk
.
“I am here because I can’t go home.” Subject to strict controls in the UK, three women asylum seekers wait for claims to be processed and decisions made. Here they find the lives which they
British-Irish Isles
Refugees / Displaced populations
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
The Storyteller
1990
50
'
Student
Directed by
John Paul Davidson
.
Unaware of the written word until the 1950s, the Waura tribe who live in the headwaters of the Xingu river in Brazil still practise the art of storytelling. Tribal storyteller Aruta recounts one of
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Religion / Belief / Faith
Strange Beliefs - Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard (1902-1973)
1986
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
Central Television’s major documentary series looks at the first anthropologists to stop ‘armchair theorising’ and go out to live among the peoples who so interested them. The six part series
Various
History of Anthropology
Public Figure
Street Fiction
2002
32
'
Directed by
Dominic Elliot
.
Through combining their own dramatic reconstructions and real life observation, this film tells the story of children who run away from their homes in search of a better life on the streets of Blantyre, Malawi.
Southern Africa
Urban
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Children / Young people
Ethnofiction
Sundanese Culture Alive
1988
46
'
Directed by
Jean Hellwig
.
Jaipongan is a new style of music and dancing which was ‘invented’ about a decade ago on Western Java, Indonesia. Drawing on more classical Javanese music and taking elements from Japanese and
South-East Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Suspend your Beliefs
2004
29
'
Directed by
Simone Clifford-Jaeger
.
Suspension of the living body from hooks has been practiced in various cultural contexts and places in the past, but today forms part of a growing global interest in body modification. This film
British-Irish Isles
Alternative culture
The Sweet Life and All That Goes With It
2002
29
'
Directed by
Anne Schiltz
.
Although the Saxons arrived in Transylvania, Romania over 800 years ago, they have retained a strong sense of their distinctive identity and still speak German. After the Revolution of 1989, most
South-East Europe
Collective / Community identity
Travellers / Roma
Swings and Roundabouts
1994
30
'
Directed by
Helen Pratt
.
Five years after the downfall of Ceausescu and Romania still receives an influx of Western European aid workers to help with rural orphanage projects. Temporary and full-time volunteers at an
South-East Europe
Children / Young people
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Development projects
Séance Reflections with Richard Werbner
2004
45
'
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Njebe and Martha are a childless couple living in Botswana’s capital. Seeking to recover their well-being, they consult a charismatic diviner and healer, in Njebe’s old village, Moremi. They
Southern Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Ritual
Reproduction (biology)
Tablas and Drum Machines: Afghan Music in California
2001
58
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
Ethnomusicologist John Baily visits Fremont, California, the new home of the large community of exiled Afghans. He is joined by Kabuli master-musician, Ustad Asif Mahmoud, who plans to open a small
North America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Education / Knowledge transmission
Refugees / Displaced populations
Talking to Each Other
1985
52
'
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
The third film of the **Caught in the Web** trilogy, which compares and contrast aspects of life in a Dorset community in the Bride Valley and a French village in Provence, Villes-sur-Auzon,
Western Europe
British-Irish Isles
Rural
Socioeconomic conditions
Tayuban: Dancing the Spirit in Java
1996
30
'
Directed by
Felicia Hughes-Freeland
.
Once a year a ritual is held in a Javanese village. After a distribution of food, men dance with professional female dancers. Their allegedly sexual ethos makes these ‘tayuban’ unacceptable as
South-East Asia
Ritual
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Sex / Sexuality
Gender Role and Identity
The Temple in the Sea
2008
26
'
Directed by
Theo Youngstein
.
‘The Temple in the Sea’ looks at ritual and religious practice at a well-known Hindu shrine and its associated cremation grounds in Central Trinidad. Documenting the daily life of the Temple, and
Caribbean Islands
Ritual
Ten by Ten
2021
29
'
Student
Directed by
Jami L. Bennett
.
There is no denying the evocative power of food to remind us of who we are and where we come from. After living in Asia for over fifteen years, Jessica was longing for the burgers and barbecue of her
Tenonde’i - a Beautiful Future
2008
30
'
Directed by
Nadja Marin
.
In a village inside the world’s fifth largest and tough city, São Paulo, a young Guaraní created a children’s choir to raise money for his community. Filled with beautiful sounds, the film is a
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Children / Young people
Thanks Be to God
2008
31
'
Directed by
Patrícia Pedrosa
.
Four Christian women work and live in a Muslim and patriarchic world. The ‘Sisters of the Consolata Missionaries’ are building a new library in Empada, a small village in the south of
West Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Theatre Girls
1979
57
'
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Claire Pollack
.
The “Theatre Girls Club” is a hostel for homeless, destitute and alcoholic women in Soho, London. It is run by six paid workers and it is the only hostel in London which takes any women at any
British-Irish Isles
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Socioeconomic conditions
Gender Role and Identity
There is Nothing Wrong with my Uncle
2012
78
'
Directed by
Sylvie Bringas
Dul Johnson
.
Nigerian writer Dul Johnson returns to Tarok land to observe the local death rituals and the record of the Tarok ways of dealing with grief and honoring departed. This film provides a rare and
West Africa
Death
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
They Say We’re All Winners
2002
32
'
Directed by
Mari Finnestad
.
The Zimbabwean girls' team comes to Norway to take part in the world's largest kids' football tournament. The film questions the outcome of this well-intentioned cultural exchange because some of the
Scandinavia
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Sport
Collective / Community identity
The Thompsons
1996
29
'
Directed by
Andy Lawrence
.
In 1996 the troubles in Northern Ireland continued to the sound of beating drums and marching feet. This is the story of a Protestant family in rural Ulster and their fight to remain British and free from Irish rule.
British-Irish Isles
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Those Who Don’t Work Don’t Make Love
1998
30
'
Directed by
Cristina Grasseni
.
An observational documentary about dairy farmers in the Italian Alps. Caught between pride for tradition and the pressure for modernisation, the story of one family is told through the eyes of
Western Mediterranean
Agriculture / Farming
Social Change
Those who Care: Faith and Freedom in a Ladakhi Village
2001
31
'
Directed by
Henriette Levaulx-Vrecourt
.
In Tia village, in an isolated area of Ladakh - North West India - lives an amchi (a local herbal doctor) and his wife. It is summer - a short season in the Indian Himalayas and the only period of
South Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
A Tibetan New Year
1987
45
'
Directed by
Jon Jerstad
.
This outstanding documentary is placed in Northern India among a group of Tibetan refugees. They celebrate the New Year, following a ritual of their religion, Bonpo, which is older than Buddhism.
South Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
Tiempo de Vals
2006
22
'
Directed by
Rebecca Savage
.
The ‘Quinceañera’ celebration is a lived illusion. A daydream shared by the whole community of Tetlanohcan, a rapidly urbanising agricultural town in Tlaxcala, Central Mexico. The dream is
Central America
Festivals / Carnival
Social Change
A Town in Sicily
2015
120
'
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
Castellammare is a 'high-density Mafia' seaside town. Local government is infiltrated, its economy is stagnant and there is no future for its youth. A group of angry young Sicilians now wish to
South-East Europe
Political Activists
Transfiction
2007
58
'
Directed by
Johannes Sjøberg
.
Transfiction explores 'ethnofiction' - an experimental ethnographic documentary film style in which the participants collaborate with the filmmaker to act out their own and others' life experiences
South America
Reflexivity
Film / Photography / Mass media
Gender Role and Identity
Sex / Sexuality
LGBTQI*
Ethnofiction
Trobriand Cricket: An Ingenious Response to Colonialism
1974
50
'
Directed by
Gary Kildea
Jerry Leach
.
The film documents the transformation by the Trobriand Islanders of the game of cricket, first introduced by British missionaries into a highly distinctive political ritual. Shot in 1973-1974,
Melanesia
Sport
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Political Activists
The Trobriand Islanders
1952
58
'
Directed by
Harry Powell
.
During his field work in the region of Omarakana, H.A.Powell filmed various sequences from which the film is assembled. In spite of the technical handicaps under which he was operating — shooting
Melanesia
Everyday Life
The Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea
1990
52
'
Directed by
David Wason
.
The Trobriand Islands lie off the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. The island society has a complex balance of male authority and female wealth. Magic spells and sorcery pervade everyday life.
Melanesia
Gender Role and Identity
Festivals / Carnival
Ritual
The Tuareg
1972
52
'
Directed by
Charlie Nairn
.
This film is about a group of nomadic Tuareg living high up in the Hoggar Mountains near Tamanrasset in Algeria. The main focus of the film is the collapse of the former economic basis of their
North and Northeast Africa
Social Organisation
Social Change
Socioeconomic conditions
Nomads and Nomadism
Tuktu
1985
47
'
Directed by
Graham Johnston
.
Tuktu is the Kuvanmiit Eskimo word for caribou. The film traces the early evolution of Ambler, founded almost 30 years ago on the Kobuk River in Alaska. Change and development mark life now in this
North America
Animals
Social Change
Two Ears, One Mouth
1999
25
'
Directed by
Andy Benfield
.
Duncan Williamson is of Traveller descent and lives in Scotland, Amy Douglas is fifty years younger and lives in Cheshire. But they share a love for telling stories and both manage to make a living
British-Irish Isles
Travellers / Roma
Art / Artists / Artisans
Umbanda
1977
52
'
Directed by
Stephen Cross
.
Umbanda is a syncretic religious movement, combining elements from orthodox Catholicism with submerged African and indigenous Indian spiritual beliefs. In spite of past attempts to suppress it,
South America
Possession
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
Uncanny Strangers
2009
46
'
Directed by
David Picard
.
Uncanny Strangers has been filmed in a fishing village in the South-West of Madagascar. Through a series of everyday life episodes the film provides insight into the relationships between the
East Africa
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Development projects
Environment
Uncle Poison
1998
60
'
Directed by
Ricardo Leizaola
.
Filmed in the city of Caracas, capital of Venezuela, Uncle Poison is an intimate portrait of a traditional faith healer, set against the backdrop of his community’s Easter celebrations. Every day,
South America
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
Unravel
2012
14
'
Directed by
Meghna Gupta
.
'Unravel' follows the Western worlds least wanted clothes, on a journey across Northern India, from sea to industrial interior. They get sent to Panipat, a sleepy town and the only place in the world
South Asia
Labour
Material Culture
Collective / Community identity
Untouched Rock
2008
28
'
Directed by
James Vybiral
.
‘Untouched Rock’ follows a British climbing expedition to Greenland where six young men hope to establish new routes on the mountains of 'the un-named valley'.
North America
Children / Young people
Sport
Usch in the Bush
2001
32
'
Directed by
Michaela Schäuble
.
In the 1980s Ursula Heimer leaves behind her husband and children in Germany and goes to live in the African bush. We meet her seventeen years later in a tiny village in Togo, where she has been
West Africa
Personal Narrative
Alternative culture
Ustad Rahim
2008
55
'
Directed by
John Baily
.
Shot in the city of Heart, western Afghanistan 1994, in the period between the fall of the last leftist government and the coming of the Taliban, this is a portrait film of an outstanding musician,
South Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Personal Narrative
Vaud and the Villains
2010
30
'
Directed by
Lukas Belkind
.
Three members of an 18-piece, 1930s style, American folk big band explore their personal relationships with Los Angeles, performing, the music they love, and the band that binds them all together.
North America
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Music / Ethnomusicology
Vendemos Recuerdos
2009
25
'
Directed by
Carolina Corral Paredes
.
Carlos is an enthusiastic tour guide and Doña Rosa is an indigenous old woman that sells crafts in the market. Both of their life’s works are an effort to provide what inquisitive tourists might
Central America
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Trade
Views from Heavenly Lake
2010
26
'
Directed by
Polly Vinken
.
Since the beginning of the Mao era in 1949, populations that were once nomadic, isolated by miles of desert and mountains across the Tian Shan ranges, are now becoming highly sought after objects of
Central Asia and Far East
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Social Change
A Village Heritage
1985
52
'
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
The first of the **Caught in the Web** trilogy, which compares and contrast aspects of life in a Dorset community in the Bride Valley and a French village in Provence, Villes-sur-Auzon, Vauclause.
Western Europe
British-Irish Isles
Socioeconomic conditions
Rural
A Village with a View
2022
20
'
Shorts
Directed by
Joseph Inman
.
In wartime Britain, a Lord permitted unused land on Cornwall’s Rame Peninsula to be built on. Tiny chalets appeared, each as individual as its owner, and the community of Freathy came to life. In
The Villagers of Sierra de Gredos
1989
52
'
Directed by
Peter Carr
.
The 130 villagers of Navalguijo in the Sierra de Gredos of Central Spain live in a village perched high in the mountains and they face an extreme climate with very cold winters and hot summers. The
Western Mediterranean
Herding
Rural
Collective / Community identity
Vivir la Chicha
2003
28
'
Directed by
Sharis Coppens
.
Chicha music evokes the experiences of the many Peruvians who migrate from the high Andes down to the cities. This film tells the story of Aurora Ramos, a cobbler and market saleswoman, and the role
South America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Trade
Migration
War of the Gods
1971
52
'
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
While relying on a polemical stance directed against the cultural genocide wrought by missionaries, 'War of the Gods' also contains a wealth of information and detail about Amazonian Indian
South America
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Agriculture / Farming
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
The Water Goddess and the Computer
1989
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
Steven Lansing
.
The film demonstrates how in Bali, development projects can threaten a carefully balanced ecological irrigation system that is maintained by temple priests. A biologist and an anthropologist look at
South-East Asia
Infrastructure / Transport
Development projects
Environment
The Water Holds Me / The Water Binds Us
2021
2
'
Animation
Directed by
Lily Mae Kroes
.
Based on the stories of women who dip, dive and swim in rivers, lakes and seas, this animated film evokes many different experiences in one swim, from the anticipation of getting in cold water to the
We Are All Neighbours
1993
52
'
Directed by
Debbie Christie
.
The film shows the effect of war on families in a racially mixed village outside Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Moslems lived peacefully together. Norwegian anthropologist Tone
South-East Europe
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Collective / Community identity
Inter-religious relations
We Are Born to Survive
1995
30
'
Directed by
Paul Henley
Paul Okojie
.
A political biography of the activist Kath Locke, from Manchester's Moss Side, based on an interview conducted by her political comrade Paul Okojie shortly before her death in 1992, aged 64.
British-Irish Isles
Political Activists
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Public Figure
The Whale Hunters of Lamalera
1988
52
'
Directed by
John Blake
David Wason
.
The Whale Hunters of Lamalera was filmed over a period of four weeks during June 1987. Lamalera is a village which is perched on the rocky slopes of an active volcano on the southern coast of the
South-East Asia
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Animals
Everyday Life
Witchcraft Among the Azande
1982
52
'
Directed by
André Singer
.
*Witchcraft among the Azande' is suitable for showing in undergraduate and graduate classes on topics of religion, philosophy, and African ethnography. It could also be stimulating to discussions of
North and Northeast Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Health / Health care / Healing
Social Change
The Wodaabe
1988
52
'
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
David Wason
.
*Is the Wodaabe world disappearing? How are we to place the painted male faces? The very considerable success of this film is the ways it answers these questions.* J. Picto The Wodaabe follow
Central Africa
Herding
Animals
Everyday Life
Ritual
Women of a Divided Land
1997
22
'
Directed by
Joanna Hill
.
This film follows the activities of Israeli and Palestinian women peace activists in Jerusalem and the West Bank, portraying both the collective and individual experiences of resistance.
Middle and Near East
Resistance
Political Activists
Religion / Belief / Faith
Worldwide, Streetwise
2003
32
'
Directed by
Naomi Richards
.
A film that explores issues of faith and activism at a radical church in an ethnically and religiously diverse area of Leeds.
British-Irish Isles
Religion / Belief / Faith
Urban
Political Activists
Writing Panare - Portrait of a Linguist on Fieldwork
1996
30
'
Directed by
Paul Henley
.
Marie-Claude Muller is a linguist who has worked for many years with the Panare, an Amerindian people of Venezuelan Amazonia. She has now been commissioned by the government literacy programme to
South America
Linguistics / Language
Education / Knowledge Transmission
You Can’t Live With Your Mouth Shut
1999
29
'
Directed by
João Nicolau
.
Cape Verde is an archipelago situated 500km off the West Coast of Africa. On the island of Santiago lives Mano Mendi, the last player of cimboa, a one-string violin used to accompany the traditional
West Africa
Music / Ethnomusicology
Yukaghir Stories
1997
30
'
Directed by
Rane Willerslev
.
The Yukhagirs are one of the small indigenous peoples of Northern Siberia. This film, shot in the village of Nelemnoye, explores what it means to be a Yukhagir.
Central Asia and Far East
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Collective / Community identity
[S+P2]
2010
30
'
Directed by
Yasmin Samir-Shakir
.
Following various members of The Forest Collective in the run-up to the 'DIY' arts space's Tenth Birthday celebrations, we observe some of the internal and external struggles faced by this
British-Irish Isles
Alternative culture
Collective / Community identity