RAI Film Admin

Sacred Harp Singers 1984 85'

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

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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

Scratches on Celluloid 2018 53'

Directed by Vindhya Buthpitiya Timothy Cooper .

In the rapidly changing urban landscapes of Jaffna and Lahore, the social and public space of cinema halls are recognisable for their longevity and resilience amid insurgency, war, and

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

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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

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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

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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

Specialised Technique 2018 6'

Directed by Onyeka Igwe .

William Sellers and the Colonial Film Unit developed a framework for colonial cinema, this included slow edits, no camera tricks and minimal camera movement. Hundreds of films were created in

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

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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

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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

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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)

[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

Film list