RAI Film Admin

Sailing a Sinking Sea 2015 65'

Sailing A Sinking Sea explores the culture of the Moken people of Myanmar and Thailand. The Moken are a nomadic seafaring community and one of the smallest ethnic groups in Asia. Spending eight

The Secret of the Stone 2009 39'

Directed by Zhifang Song Gary Seaman Steven Rousso-Schindler .

Located on the North China Plain about 200 miles south of Beijing, 'Song Family Village' is home to about 1,300 people. Some 80% of all villagers are members of a single lineage of the Song surname.

Central Asia and Far East Family / Kinship Collective / Community identity Ritual Festivals / Carnival

Seed and Earth 1989 36'

Directed by Lina Fruzzetti Alfred Guzzetti Ned Johnston Ákos Östör .

Seed on Earth is a film about everyday life in rural Bangladesh (village of Janta, near Bishnupur town). It follows the daily schedule of two families and observes the complementary and difference of

South Asia Rural Family / Kinship Gender Role and Identity

A Sheepherder's Homecoming 1996 40'

Directed by Allen Moore Louis Werner .

This film documents a migrant worker’s experiences as a herder on a Nevada sheep ranch who then returns to his family in Mexico after a long absence to renew ties and find a job at home. It

North America Central America Migration Labour

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Singing "Bird": Carrying on the Kumeyaay Tradition 2018 30'

Directed by Teri Brewer .

The Kumeyaay, an indigenous people of Southern California and Northern Mexico still perform more than a dozen ancient song cycles kept alive through a process of apprenticeship and study which can

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Singing Pictures - Women Painters of Naya 2005 45'

Directed by Lina Fruzzetti Ákos Östör .

For generations the Patua (Chitrakara) communities of West Bengal have been painters and singers of stories depicted in scrolls. The film follows the daily lives of Muslim Patua women from Naya

South Asia Material Culture Art / Artists / Artisans Music / Ethnomusicology

Slow Return 2021 80'

Main Competition Directed by Philip Cartelli .

A river flows out to sea through a network of wetlands, salt marshes, and petrochemical plants. A melting glacier, its surface covered in protective cloth, still attracts tourists. Slow Return

The Song Collector 2016 54'

Directed by Erik Koto .

In the 1960s Morup Namgyal sparked a social movement to preserve the traditional Himalayan culture of his homeland. What Morup could not imagine at that time was that he would ultimately embrace

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Song Family Village Takes a Bride 2009 27'

Directed by Zhifang Song Gary Seaman Steven Rousso-Schindler .

Most weddings in the village still reflect traditional patterns of patrilineal descent and patrilocal residence. The bride leaves her natal home to marry into her husband’s village, where she is a

Central Asia and Far East Marriage Family / Kinship Gender Role and Identity Social Change

Sons of Haji Omar 1978 58'

Directed by Timothy Asch Asen Balikci David Newman Richard Sorensen .

Haji Omar and his three sons belong to the Lakenkhel, a Pashtun tribal group in northeastern Afghanistan. Concentrating within one family, the film draw sharp, colourful portraits of the protagonists

Middle and Near East Everyday Life Nomads and Nomadism Herding

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Spring in Dickinson’s Reach 2013 83'

Directed by Anna Grimshaw .

"Spring in Dickinson’s Reach" provides an introduction to the unique environment that Bill Coperthwaite has crafted in the Maine forest. Beginning in early spring, the film follows

North America Alternative culture Rural Everyday Life Art / Artists / Artisans

Stockman's Strategy 1984 52'

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

A film which explores the philosophy of teaching and learning of Sunny Bancroft, manager of an Aboriginal-run cattle station in northern New South Wales. It also tells the story of Shane Gordon, a

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Animals Education / Knowledge transmission

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Stories about Mlimani Park Orchestra 2022 110'

Ethnomusicology Directed by Frank Gunderson .

Tanzanian rhumba band, Mlimani Park Orchestra (aka Sikinde), performs in the music genre musiki wa dansi (literally, “music for dancing”), a variation of the Cuban-based rumba idiom that has been

A Summer Task 2013 47'

Directed by Anna Grimshaw .

"A Summer Task" examines the rhythm and tempo of work in the forest. The film follows Bill Coperthwaite and his cousin, Steve, as they fell and haul trees to build a bridge and begin

North America Alternative culture Everyday Life Rural Art / Artists / Artisans

The season 2020 63'

Directed by Anna Grimshaw .

This is part 4 of a 7-part series. Lobsters slowly migrate north, moving into the Machias Bay from warmer, southern waters. George works quickly to finish setting his full quota of traps.

Hunting/Gathering/Fishing Trade

The smokehouse 81'

Directed by Anna Grimshaw .

George has been smoking fish for as long as he can remember. The smokehouse has a place of pride in his dooryard, and he lovingly tends the racks to ensure perfection. The end of fishing is in

North America Hunting/Gathering/Fishing Trade

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