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15
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17
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12
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8
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16
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22
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1
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1
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9
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4
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not set
4
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Agriculture / Farming
9
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1
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6
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16
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2
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4
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4
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7
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26
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9
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5
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23
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15
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12
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1
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28
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23
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11
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7
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1
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23
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7
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7
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2
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5
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4
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1
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10
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12
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6
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18
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20
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1
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10
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2
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6
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8
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4
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12
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35
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36
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8
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11
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15
Directors
Aaltonen, Jouko
1
Ahmed, Akbar
1
Akin, Dorcas
1
Al Akash, Ruba
1
Arcé, Adrian
1
Arif-Bashir, Abeera
1
Arnott, Susi
1
Asadi Faezi, Daniel
1
Ash, David
1
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1
Atieno, Lavine
1
Awino, Effie
1
Baily, John
10
Balikci, Anna
1
Balikci, Asen
1
Balikci-Denjongpa, Anna
1
Banks, Marcus
1
Basu, Helene
1
Beckham, Michael
2
Beier, Ulli
1
Bhattachary, Nilanjan
1
Blake, John
2
Bonifacio, Valentina
1
Boonzajer-Flaes, Robert
2
Boswall, Karen
1
Bradbury, Ray
1
Brass, Anna
1
Brewer, Teri F.
1
Brice, Mark
1
Bringa, Tone
1
Bringas, Sylvie
1
Brown, David
1
Cabezas Pino, Angélica
1
Cai, Hua
2
Cao, Umberto
1
Carr, Peter
1
Chabamier, Gabriel
1
Chabanier, Gabriel
1
Chambers, Simon
1
Choi, Hyewon
1
Christie, Debbie
1
Colucci, Erminia
3
Contreras, Isis
1
Cooper, Timothy
1
Cross, Stephen
1
Curling, Chris
5
Danusiri, Aryo
1
Davidson, John Paul
1
Day, Mike
1
Demiralay, Hakan
1
Dettmann, Christine
1
Diengdoh, Wanphrang
1
Dietrich, Martha-Cecilia
2
Dineen, Molly
1
Dontchev, Antonii
1
Dreiss, Meredith
1
Drion, Georges
1
Dumont, Dirk
1
Dunne, Bryony
1
Dyson, Jane
1
Eaton, Michael
1
Edwards, Bob
1
Elixhauser, Sophie
1
Entell, Peter
1
Fales, Ludovica
1
Folly, Anne Laure
1
Fossgard-Moser, Titus
1
Francois, Alexandre
1
Gao, Ang
1
Garland, Christy
1
Geißler, Wenzel
1
Getzels, Peter
1
Golovnev, Ivan
1
Gordon, Harriet
1
Grieco, Anthony
1
Grigsby, Michael
1
Grimshaw, Anna
13
Grootheest, Sjoerd van
1
Grossenbacher, Ulrich
1
Grossman, Alyssa
1
Gruber, Martin
1
Gupta, Meghna
1
Haensch, Valerie
1
Hajee, Amin
1
Hardie, Amy
1
Harper, Peggy
2
Harries, Andy
3
Harrison, Ross
1
Hawkins, Richard
1
Hawkins, Russel
1
Heald, Suzette
1
Hellwig, Jean
1
Henley, Paul
3
Heusch, Luc de
1
Hinckley, Priscilla
1
Holtedahl, Lisbet
1
Hopkins, Ben
1
Horat, Thomas
1
Horton, Robin
1
Howes, Arthur
3
Hughes-Freeland, Felicia
1
Husmann, Rolf
1
Hörmann, André
1
Iteanu, Andre
1
Jaquerod, Muriel
1
Jeppesen, Kira de Hemmer
1
Jerstad, Jon
2
Johnson, Dul
1
Johnston, Graham
2
Journet, Martine
2
Kapon, Eytan
1
Kaserci, Zeynep
1
Kawanami, Hiroko
1
Kawase, Itsushi
1
Kaymak, Vedide
1
Kenneil, Alastair
1
Kerlogue, Fiona
1
Kharel, Dipesh
2
Kuentz, Gaspard
1
Kurutuac, Judith
1
LaPin, Deirdre
1
Lancker, Laurent Van
1
Lane, Bruce Pacho
1
Langer, Vanessa
1
Lansing, Steven
1
Lappalainen, Heimo
3
Lasko, Claire
2
Lawrence, Andy
1
Lepcha, Dawa
1
Lepcha, Dawa T
1
Levie, Francoise
1
Lewis, Ariane
1
Lindner, Tobias
1
Llewelyn-Davies, Melissa
1
Lloyd, Ravi Hart
1
Loizos, Peter
2
Loïzos, Peter
1
Lu, Wanwan
1
Luethi, Damaris
1
MacDonald, Bruce
3
Magaña, Jaime
1
Magnússon, Jón Bjarki
1
Mai, Nick
2
Marrero-Guillamon, Isaac
1
Meliqo’ziev, Iqbol
1
Meyknecht, Steef
1
Milne, Claudia
1
Milner, George
1
Moffat, Zemirah
1
Mollona, Massimiliano
1
Monahan, Trent
1
Moore, Allen
1
Mora, Alba
1
Mora, Yves
1
Moser, Brian
7
Mukhopadhayay, Kanchan
1
Munro, Neil G.
1
Mura, Andrea
1
Møhl, Perle
1
Nairn, Charlie
5
Ndinya, June
1
Nguyen, M. Trinh
1
Niglas, Liivo
1
Nitzky, William
1
Njoki, Ruth
1
Nougarol, Gérard
2
Opipari, Carmen
1
Owles, Ed
1
Owles, Edward
1
Pakaslahti, Antti
1
Pakleppa, Richard
1
Palmer, Lisa
1
Pasini, Carlos
2
Picard, David
1
Powell, Harry
1
Prince, Raymond
1
Prince, Ruth
1
Prothero, Sarah
1
Rasmussen, Ulla
1
Rens, Maarten
1
Rivero Uicab, Carlos R.
1
Robinson, Paul
1
Rosell, Ulises
1
Ross, Nina
1
Rousso-Schindler, Steven
4
Saito, Asami
1
Saltman, Carlyn
1
Sanmartí, Anna
1
Sarabi, Abtin
1
Saraiva Pereira, Eduardo
1
Schillaci, Rosella
1
Schillaci, Rossella
2
Schlenker, Juana
1
Seaman, Gary
4
Seitz, Anni
1
Shakerifar, Elhum
1
Shalygin, Cliff Orloff and Olga
1
Sheahan, Tom
1
Sheppard, John
4
Shuffield, Robin
1
Sincich, Francesco
1
Singer, André
17
Sjøberg, Johannes
1
Smith, Sophia Hersi
1
Solomons, Natasha
1
Sonderegger, Ramona
1
Song, Zhifang
4
Sowa, Remigiusz
1
Sowa, Remigiusz (aka Remi)
1
Speed, Frank
7
Sperschneider, Werner
1
Strasse, Cornelia
1
Straube, Anna
1
Sturtevant, Chuck
1
Tamura (aka John Wells), Can
1
Tanlaka, Kilian Lamtur
1
Tari, János
2
Taylor, Jamie
1
Tender, Priit
1
Teo, Qi Yu
1
Timbert, Sylvie
1
Torson, Jennifer
1
Tsai, Futuru C.L.
1
Tuchtenhagen, Ruth
1
Visser, Mara Lin
1
Vohra, Paromita
1
Vávrová, Daniela
1
Wason, David
5
Werbner, Richard
1
Werner, Louis
1
Wessels, Joshka
1
Wester, Hasse
1
Whitby-Coles, Charlotte
1
Wildenauer, Nora
1
Winter, Pattie
1
Wittersheim, Eric
1
Woodhead, Leslie
12
Xu, Beina
1
Yorke, Michael
1
Zirión, Antonio
1
de Bromhead, Toni
1
not set
1
Șalaru, Maria
1
Series
Ambulante Beyond
3
Disappearing World Series
54
Forbidden Rites
3
George's Place
2
George's Place: A seven part film series
5
In Search of Cool Ground: The Mursi Trilogy
3
Mr Coperthwaite: a life in the Maine Woods
4
National Film and Television School
10
Shorts Collection 1
1
Shorts Collection 2
11
Shorts collection 2
5
Song Family Village
4
Strangers Abroad
6
Sudan Trilogy
3
Taiga Nomads
3
The Well-Being Quest in Botswana
1
Western Outposts - Faroese Cinematic Narratives
1
not set
161
Country of production
Argentina
1
Australia
3
Belgium
5
Bolivia
1
Brazil
1
Bulgaria
1
Canada
2
Chile
1
China
7
Denmark
3
Egypt
1
Estonia
1
Finland
4
France
10
Germany
10
Hungary
2
Iceland
1
India
7
Indonesia
4
Italy
7
Japan
5
Jordan
1
Kenya
2
Mexico
5
Nepal
1
Netherlands
6
Nigeria
7
Norway
4
Pakistan
2
Peru
1
Portugal
1
Romania
1
Russia
1
Senegal
2
Singapore
1
Slovenia
1
South Africa
1
South Korea
1
Spain
1
Sweden
2
Switzerland
7
Taiwan
1
Tanzania
1
Turkey
1
United Kingdom
151
United States
32
Uzbekistan
1
not set
3
Year of production
not set
1
1931
1
1952
1
1963
2
1964
1
1966
1
1970
2
1971
3
1972
2
1973
2
1974
8
1975
5
1976
1
1977
5
1979
3
1980
2
1982
4
1983
8
1984
3
1985
3
1986
8
1987
9
1988
10
1989
9
1990
6
1991
6
1992
3
1993
3
1994
1
1995
1
1996
3
1997
2
1998
3
1999
6
2000
2
2001
4
2002
4
2003
4
2004
2
2005
5
2006
8
2007
5
2008
8
2009
11
2010
5
2011
5
2012
11
2013
12
2014
8
2015
11
2016
12
2017
1
2018
7
2019
9
2020
13
2021
2
Film Festival Year
not set
225
0
1
2013
1
2015
10
2017
19
2019
7
2021
13
2023
1
Event type
not set
277
x
Festival Prize Category
not set
162
Intangible Culture
1
Material Culture
2
RAI Basil Wright
2
Special Interest
5
Student
16
Werbner Award
1
not set
88
Review Status
Accepted
19
Film library
4
not set
254
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1
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215
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19
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35
4
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Film list
1700 Metres from the Future
1990
86
'
Directed by
Ulla Rasmussen
.
Ulla Boje Rasmussen portrays with humour and empathy life in the small Faroese village of Gásadalur, inhabited by just 16 adults and a 9-year old boy. The film gives a unique insight into the
Scandinavia
Land Rights
Infrastructure / Transport
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
The Absence of Apricots
2018
49
'
Student
Directed by
Daniel Asadi Faezi
.
In the Hunza Valley in the northern Pakistan there is a magnificent turquoise lake. But the lake hasn’t been always there: it is the result of a massive landslide that blocked a river, causing
South Asia
Environment
Memory
Development projects
Resettlement
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
Adhiambo - Born in the Evening
2001
66
'
Directed by
Ruth Prince
Wenzel Geißler
Ruth Tuchtenhagen
.
‘Adhiambo’ means ‘the one born in the evening’ in the language of the Luo of western Kenya. The film follows NyaSeme, a married mother and grandmother in her late 30s, during the last month
East Africa
Children / Young people
Health / Health care / Healing
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
Agave is Life
2014
59
'
Directed by
Meredith Dreiss
David Brown
.
Agave is Life is a documentary film about mankind’s 10,000 year-long symbiotic alliance with the marvelous agave plant, from which tequila, Mexico’s iconic distilled spirit, is derived. The
Central America
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
Food
History
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
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
At Low Tide
2016
63
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
Every day, carrying the simplest of tools, diggers across coastal Maine set out at low tide to dig for clams on the wide mud flats that stretch far into the bay. It is backbreaking work. But it has
North America
Material Culture
Labour
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Atieno
2018
64
'
Directed by
June Ndinya
Effie Awino
Ruth Njoki
Lavine Atieno
Dorcas Akin
.
Atieno is a collaborative fiction film scripted, acted and directed by DreamGirls, a group of adolescent girls and young women from Nairobi and Kisumu. The film tells of Atieno, a 16 year old girl
East Africa
Health / Healthcare / Healing
Children / Young people
Gender Role and Identity
Ethnofiction
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Participatory / Collaborative methods
Sex / Sexuality
Autumn’s Work
2013
47
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
"Autumn’s Work" follows Bill Coperthwaite as he prepares for winter. Wrestling with a large felled tree amidst its vast tangle of branches, Bill slowly and methodically breaks it down
North America
Alternative culture
Rural
Everyday Life
Art / Artists / Artisans
Bang the Drum
2020
28
'
Directed by
William Nitzky
.
For the Yao minority in rural southwest China, the bronze drum is a sacred heritage. Its sound aids the souls of deceased elders in reaching the ancestral land. When the Chinese government steps in
Central Asia and Far East
Music/ Ethnomusicology
Tourism/ Travel/ Pilgrimage
Rural
Shamans and Shamanism
Barbara and Her Friends in Candombleland
1997
52
'
Directed by
Sylvie Timbert
Carmen Opipari
.
In the divine Afro Brazilian cult Candomble is an initiation religion centred around possession. The filmmakers concentrate on children who introduce and guide us to this world. The children play
South America
Children / Young people
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Possession
Ritual
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
The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song
2012
71
'
Directed by
Christy Garland
.
'The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song', using direct cinema style, introduces us to the Smith family in Georgetown, Guyana, where both Muscle, and his mother Mary, each struggle to fight the family
South America
Elderly people
Family / Kinship
Intergenerational relations
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
Between two Villages
2003
94
'
Directed by
Muriel Jaquerod
Eduardo Saraiva Pereira
.
Between two Villages tells the story of Aldeia da Luz, population of 330, bound to disappear with the construction of the Alqueva dam in the south of Portugal. A new village is being built a few
Western Mediterranean
Resettlement
Development projects
Infrastructure / Transport
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
The Block
2016
60
'
Student
Directed by
Maria Șalaru
.
From neighbourly disputes over garlic-heavy cooking to memories of Ceaușescu’s heatless winters, "The Block" explores the rich social and material universe of a Romanian apartment
Eastern Europe and Baltic States
Urban
Post-communism
Infrastructure / Transport
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
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
Breaking the Chains
2015
64
'
Student
Directed by
Erminia Colucci
.
The practice of using shackles and chains to physically restrain people with mental illness (known as pasung) is widespread in Indonesia (as in many other developing/low middle income countries) and
South-East Asia
Prison
Health / Health care / Healing
Political Activists
Development projects
Breeding Cells
2009
39
'
Directed by
Anna Straube
.
Breeding Cells is a film about a reproductive laboratory. A fertility clinic is a place where human reproduction is separated from sex and anatomized into bio/technological components. There
Western Europe
Reproduction (biology)
Science / Technology
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
Calcutta Calling
2006
16
'
Directed by
André Hörmann
.
“Business Process Outsourcing” is the fastest growing industry in the world. In India, approximately 350,000 people are currently working in call centres to maintain the contact between western
South Asia
Labour
Campo 9
2013
25
'
Directed by
Carlos R. Rivero Uicab
.
Carlos, the director of the documentary, worked for four years with Abraham and his family of Mennonites who have lived in the Campeche region for over a decade. Abraham mainly worked cutting down
Central America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Conflict
Inter-religious relations
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
The Cellar
2018
84
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
George Sprague lives and works in Buck's Harbor, Maine. He is widely known for his "cellar" (affectionately called the whine cellar), where people gather to talk, make lobster traps, share
North America
Hunting/Gathering/Fishing
Trade
A Chair: in six parts
2013
42
'
Student
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
A poem about a chair. In 1960, Bill Coperthwaite bought 300 acres of wilderness in Machiasport, Maine. Influenced by the poetry of Emily Dickinson and by the back to the land movement of Scott and
North America
Material Culture
Alternative culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
Chantal's Choice
1990
30
'
Directed by
Priscilla Hinckley
Carlyn Saltman
.
Adolescents in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, create a play for their peers in Europe and the USA. They enact an African folktale about a girl who faces a painful dilemma because she is determined to stay in school.
West Africa
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Children / Young people
Reproduction (biology)
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
Confluences - Emerillon of French Guiana
2007
78
'
Directed by
Perle Møhl
.
Like self-fulfilling prophecies, scientific reports have hitherto depicted the Emerillon of French Guiana as cultureless and doomed to disappear. With this film, an anthropologist proposes to defy
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Everyday Life
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
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
Daba - Portrait of a Na Shaman
1999
40
'
Directed by
Hua Cai
.
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early
South-East Asia
Education / Knowledge transmission
Religion / Belief / Faith
Shamans and Shamanism
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
Democracía Indígena
2000
39
'
Directed by
Bruce Pacho Lane
.
This film examines the indigenous rights revolution sweeping Mexico through the municipal elections in Huehuetla, Puebla. In 1989, the Huehuetla Totonacs formed the Organización Independiente
Central America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Political Activists
Depending on Heaven
1988
56
'
Directed by
Peter Entell
.
The film is in two parts and focuses on the Mongols living in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. Part One (28 minutes) follows the life of a nomadic Mongol family on their yearly journey
Central Asia and Far East
Environment
Nomads and Nomadism
Herding
Everyday Life
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
The Devil’s Mills. Roundabouts don't Build Houses any more
2006
56
'
Directed by
János Tari
.
The everyday life of migrant fun fair operators is the filter through which we view the social and economic factors of the 20th and early 21st century that define the life and work of this social
Central Europe
Labour
Social Change
Trade
Festivals / Carnival
Distant Temple
2002
90
'
Directed by
János Tari
.
The last orthodox synagogue in Makó was renewed and inaugurated in 2002. The little temple, as they call it, is more than hundred years old and represents the link between the Jews who emigrated
Middle and Near East
Migration
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
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
Dor, Low is Better
1988
47
'
Directed by
Robert Boonzajer-Flaes
.
The film offers an experimental approach to the comparative study of cultures: the monks of a Tibetan monastery compare their own flutes with the Swiss alphorn and the Dutch windhorn introduced to
South Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Ritual
Drugs & Prayers
2009
55
'
Directed by
Helene Basu
.
The Sufi shrine of Mira Datar in North Gujarat is a large pilgrimage centre specialising in healing possession and mental illness. It has become a site of experimenting with new forms of community
South Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
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
Enet Yapai - an Ambonwari Girl
2008
25
'
Directed by
Daniela Vávrová
.
Enet Yapai was six years old when Vavrova met her for the first time in 2005 in Ambonwari village, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. Between November 2007 and April 2008 she followed Enet and
Melanesia
Children / Young people
Rural
Everyday Life
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
The Ethnographer
2012
86
'
Directed by
Ulises Rosell
.
John Palmer arrived in a Wichí community, located in Argentina, thirty years ago as an anthropologist - today he has married a Wichí woman with whom he has five sons in the last 5 years, who babble
South America
History of Anthropology
Everyday Life
Informant-researcher relationship
Even Asteroids Are Not Alone
2018
17
'
Directed by
Jón Bjarki Magnússon
.
Eve Online is a computer game in which players mine, trade and fight their way through computer-generated galaxies. Whilst computer game aficionados are often depicted as isolated, this game is
Internet
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
Extended Family
2016
31
'
Student
Directed by
Ramona Sonderegger
.
This films offers an intimate insight into the lives of two same-sex families who found a way to create themselves within a legal grey area in Switzerland. Swiss law bans adoption and access to
Western Europe
LGBTQI*
Family / Kinship
Sex / Sexuality
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
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
Fatuma and Asya. Two Afar Girls in Ethiopia
2014
59
'
Directed by
Francesco Sincich
.
Two young Afar girls, Fatuma (10) and Asya (13), show us their daily life in two different contexts of the Afar Region in Ethiopia. Both of them face hard challenges: finding an alternative way to
West Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Children / Young people
Rural
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 Nothing to Happen
2015
48
'
Student
Directed by
Nora Wildenauer
.
After the volcanic eruption of Mount Rokatenda, the people of the island of Pulau Palue in east Indonesia are to be relocated. But are the planned relocation and the "new" life at the
South-East Asia
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Refugees / Displaced populations
Development projects
Disasters
Finn Beach
2020
63
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
The summer draws to a close, but the season is not yet over. Work continues -- baiting and hauling traps, sorting and shipping lobsters. There are always tasks to be done. But within the daily
North America
Hunting/Gathering/Fishing
Trade
The Float
2020
75
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
The peak of the lobster season has arrived. George works closely with his son and grandson to repair their float ravaged by high tides, strong winds and the constant erosion of salt water. Towing
North America
Hunting/Gathering/Fishing
Trade
Forget Alberto For Now
2020
19
'
Directed by
Beina Xu
.
A refugee known only as Alberto flies from Athens to Brussels on a fake passport. Three years later, a small crew from Berlin tries to make a film by shooting the landscape of his transit. Things
Western Europe
Western Mediterranean
Reflexivity
Migration
Resettlement
Refugees/ Displaced populations
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
From There to Here
2019
30
'
Directed by
Qi Yu Teo
.
In 1949, the author’s young grandfather migrated from An Xi, China, to Singapore. Spending almost 70 years in Singapore, he has only been back home four times. As an immigrant from China,
Central Asia and Far East
Migration
Intergenerational relations
Life Story / Life History
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
Ghetto PSA
2016
15
'
Special Interest
Directed by
Rossella Schillaci
.
Jacob arrived in Italy alone from French Guinea when he was 11 years old. Today he is 27, and hip hop music is his whole world: it is his way to express dreams, hopes and frustrations, and to not
Western Europe
Music / Ethnomusicology
Migration
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Gods and Satans
2005
87
'
Directed by
Martine Journet
Gérard Nougarol
Gabriel Chabanier
.
Among the Wana people, semi nomads from the Indonesian (Sulawesi) forest, Indo Pino is a shaman recognized by everybody. Her nephew, who is also a shaman’s son, converted to Christianity some
South-East Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Shamans and Shamanism
Inter-religious relations
The Golden Beach
2008
58
'
Directed by
Hasse Wester
.
A small group of farmers belonging to the Halakki Gowda tribe live near a small beach in a valley in southern India. When the Swedish film maker Hasse Wester was first there twenty years ago the
South Asia
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Rural
Social Change
The Guardian of the Forces
1991
52
'
Directed by
Anne Laure Folly
.
'The Guardian of the Forces' introduces the viewer to the world of Sikavi, a ‘fetish priest’ in Lome, Togo. He controls the spirits of several voodoos or gods. The film explores the significance
West Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Possession
Ritual
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
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
Guli Armug'on
2019
23
'
Directed by
Iqbol Meliqo’ziev
.
Uzbek and Tajik women in eastern Uzbekistan celebrate the arrival of spring by gathering at the grave of an Islamic saint. The Afghan redbud trees growing on the site are in full bloom. The magical
Central Asia and Far East
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
Habilito - Debt for Life
2010
52
'
Directed by
Chuck Sturtevant
.
This documentary explores many of the conflicts and tensions that arise at the point of contact between highland migrants and lowland indigenous peoples, focusing particularly on the system of debt
South America
Socioeconomic conditions
Migration
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Labour
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
The Heavenly Court in Song Family Village
2009
30
'
Directed by
Zhifang Song
Gary Seaman
Steven Rousso-Schindler
.
Religious life in the village is highly gendered, with female shamans dominating most religious activities. These shamanesses and their gods are organised as a “court”, which expresses a
Central Asia and Far East
Gender Role and Identity
Shamans and Shamanism
Ritual
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
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
Horror in the Andes
2019
33
'
Special Interest
Directed by
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
.
Horror in the Andes is a behind-the-scenes documentary that follows the process of making a horror movie in Ayacucho, Peru. Directed by audio-visual anthropologist Martha-Cecilia Dietrich, it
South America
Art / Artists / Artisans
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Ethnofiction
Film / Photography / Mass media
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
A Hospice in Amsterdam
2005
62
'
Directed by
Steef Meyknecht
.
At the end of Van Goghstraat in Amsterdam is the Veerhuis. A normal residential house in a normal urban area, where children play outside in front of the door. But people come to the Veerhuis to die.
Western Europe
Health / Health care / Healing
Elderly people
House No. 15
2018
7
'
Directed by
Aryo Danusiri
.
Jakarta, Indonesia. Monsoon season. Children are at play in their flooded house, located in the riverside area of Ciliwung, known for its informal housing settlements. What unfolds before the camera
South-East Asia
Everyday Life
Children/ Young people
Sensory Ethnography
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
Hundreds of Homes
1992
50
'
Directed by
Heimo Lappalainen
.
Taiga Nomads is a film series about the Evenki (previously the Tungus), a nomadic people scattered all over eastern Siberia, and living under harsh conditions in the taiga, an area predominated by
Central Asia and Far East
Nomads and Nomadism
Animals
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
Ignacio's Legacy
2016
52
'
Special Interest
Directed by
Titus Fossgard-Moser
.
Between 1960 and 1992, the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Brian Moser made four films concerning indigenous peoples of northwest Amazonia: "Piraparana" (1960), "War of the Gods"
South America
Film / Photography / Mass media
Social Change
Reflexivity
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
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 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 the dooryard
2020
71
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
Spring in Buck’s Harbor is about preparing for the fishing season ahead. Work on lobster traps and on halibut hooks begins in earnest. But it is rarely a solitary activity. Every day people
North America
Hunting/Gathering/Fishing
Trade
Indo Pino
2002
84
'
Directed by
Martine Journet
Gérard Nougarol
Gabriel Chabamier
.
The small ethnic group of the Wana Wewaju live in Indonesia in the eastern part of Sulawesi (Celebes Island) among the dense equatorial rain forest of the Tokkala Mountains. The film documents the
South-East Asia
Shamans and Shamanism
Health / Health care / Healing
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
Je ne suis pas moi-même
2009
50
'
Directed by
Alba Mora
Anna Sanmartí
.
Shot in Cameroon and Brussels, 'Je ne suis pas moi-même' examines the complex network surrounding the international market of African antiquities, and the contradictions in a European art market
Central Africa
Western Europe
Art / Artists / Artisans
Trade
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
Journey into Europe
2015
122
'
Directed by
Akbar Ahmed
.
In Journey into Europe, Akbar Ahmed, a world-renowned anthropologist, Islamic scholar, and filmmaker who the BBC has called “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam,” explores Islam
Central Europe
Western Europe
South-East Europe
History
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Journey of the Maggot Feeder
2015
68
'
Directed by
Liivo Niglas
Priit Tender
.
This film tries to solve the mystery of a bizarre Arctic fairy tale. Priit Tender, an Estonian animator, makes a film about an old Chukchi legend – The Maggot Feeder. The unconventional narrative
Central Asia and Far East
Animation
Film / Photography / Mass media
Myths / Fairy tales
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
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
Kanraxël: the Confluence of Agnack
2015
52
'
Student
Directed by
Remigiusz (aka Remi) Sowa
.
**DVD copies are available for secondary teaching and home use at the following prices: £35 (plus VAT) schools and colleges; £20 (plus VAT) individual / home use licence** Agnack is a
West Africa
Linguistics / Language
Social Change
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
Kusum
2000
69
'
Directed by
Jouko Aaltonen
Antti Pakaslahti
.
Kusum is a 14-year-old Indian girl. She lives and attends school in Delhi. Kaushal, her father, drives a motorised rickshaw and works his fingers to the bone to support his family. Sumitra, Kusum’s
South Asia
Children / Young people
Health / Health care / Healing
Possession
Kutääy
2014
20
'
Directed by
Isis Contreras
.
Fili, a 22-year-old Mixe, makes ornamental paper hot air balloons. Since this is an important tradition in his community, Fili —an expert in the art— is recognized and accepted. Yet, he is
Central America
Material Culture
Social Change
Intergenerational relations
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
Land Lot S7
2020
28
'
Directed by
Abtin Sarabi
.
Following sugar cane field workers in Senegal as they chop and burn their way through seemingly endless fields, this poetic film takes an unconventional approach to understanding the gruelling work
West Africa
Labour
Agriculture / Farming
Land of Udehe
2015
26
'
Student
Directed by
Ivan Golovnev
.
This film takes us into the world of Udehe – indigenous people of the Far East of Russia. According to the census of 2010, their population dropped to 1,490 souls…
Central Asia and Far East
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Change
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
Leaving Greece
2013
79
'
Directed by
Anna Brass
.
When entering the EU for the first time, a refugee must submit an application for asylum. So much is clear. Less well known, however is the fact that for 90% of all refugees, the Aegean is the
Western Mediterranean
Children / Young people
Migration
Love
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
Letter to the Dead
2002
62
'
Directed by
Andre Iteanu
Eytan Kapon
.
The film is about the encounter between tradition and modernity. In a small village of Papua New Guinea three exceptional men rival with each other in the field of rituals and artistic creation in
Melanesia
Social Change
Art / Artists / Artisans
Death
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
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
A Life with Slate
2006
59
'
Directed by
Dipesh Kharel
.
Alampu is a beautiful and exceedingly remote village in Nepal. The majority of the settlers there are Thami people, one of the indigenous groups of Nepal. More than 90 percent of them have been
South Asia
Labour
Socioeconomic conditions
Little Waterfall
2002
52
'
Directed by
Joshka Wessels
.
Shallalah Saghirah ('Little Waterfall') is a small village of about 20 households located in the Khanasser valley, in north Syria. The village has no electricity and still uses an ancient ganat
Middle and Near East
Infrastructure / Transport
Material Culture
Development projects
Lives and Deaths between Ebbs and Flows
2019
14
'
Directed by
Futuru C.L. Tsai
.
Futuru Tsai explores the relationship between Amis people and the sea in this playful portrait of maritime culture in coastal Taiwan. The film focuses on various social and practical activities in
Central Asia and Far East
Animals
Indigenous peoples / First Nation peoples
Living with the Invisibles
2003
52
'
Directed by
Dirk Dumont
.
When they emigrated to Europe in the 60’s and 70’s, Moroccans brought with them their culture and their “diseases” ( caused by the the jinn that inhabit some of them). In Europe, most North
North and Northeast Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Possession
Migration
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 Log Rafters of Lake Aegeri
2016
29
'
Material Culture
Directed by
Thomas Horat
.
Aegeri, in a remote part of Switzerland, is one of the few lakes in Central Europe where professional log rafters can still be found. This film is based on the gentle observation of the work of a
Western Europe
Material Culture
Labour
Rural
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
Los Guardianes del Mayab
2012
34
'
Directed by
Jaime Magaña
.
Luis Puc is a Yucatecan Mayan jmen (shaman). He dies and travels to the dimension of the seven heavens where he meets the báalam (guardians). Through them, he receives healing powers and wisdom,
Central America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Shamans and Shamanism
Marriage, Maoism and Modernity
2009
30
'
Directed by
Zhifang Song
Gary Seaman
Steven Rousso-Schindler
.
This film outlines the types of marriage exchange practiced in a Chinese village over the last fifty years. Dowry, brideprice and exchange marriages have dominated the marriage market in turn as
Central Asia and Far East
Marriage
History
Social Change
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
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
Messages by Music - Senegal in Transition
2013
76
'
Directed by
Cornelia Strasse
.
The traditional musicians in Senegal were in charge of retaining the history of their ethnic group, along with ways of thinking and behaving. Their aim was to conserve the society. Nowadays the
East Africa
Music / Ethnomusicology
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Social Change
Political Activists
Resistance
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
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
A Month in the Life of Ephtim D.
1999
56
'
Directed by
Antonii Dontchev
.
Ephtim D., 73 years old, is a retired postman. He lives in Sofia with his wife Ghinka in a three room suburban apartment. As a socialist he feels confused by the ‘crazy’ democracy and the
South-East Europe
Health / Health care / Healing
Post-communism
Socioeconomic conditions
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
The Mystery of the Frozen Tombs: A Young Lady Emerges From the Ice
1994
44
'
Directed by
Francoise Levie
.
The film unfolds the archaeological discovery of the frozen tombs of Altai, part of the Scythian culture in the Siberian steppe.
Central Asia and Far East
Archaeology
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
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
Nodas. Launeddas at the time of crisis.
2015
29
'
Intangible Culture
Directed by
Umberto Cao
Andrea Mura
.
Dating back 3000 years to the Nuragic civilisation on Sardinia, 'launeddas' are wind instruments that testify to contacts from across the Mediterranean. Although they nearly vanished in the 1960s, in
Western Mediterranean
Music / Ethnomusicology
Festivals / Carnival
Intergenerational relations
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
Nuba Wrestling
1991
42
'
Directed by
Rolf Husmann
Werner Sperschneider
.
The weekly wrestling tournaments of the Sudanese Nuba migrants in Khartoum usually take place between Northern and Southern Nuba men. The sport helps them strengthen their ethnic identity in a
North and Northeast Africa
Collective / Community identity
Gender Role and Identity
Urban
Sport
Ocak
2020
28
'
Directed by
Zeynep Kaserci
.
The story of a family who earns their livelihood as hazelnut cultivators in rural north-eastern Turkey. Filmed in an observational style, it offers glimpses into the local social life of the village
Middle and Near East
Collective / Community identity
Agriculture / Farming
Rural
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
Okinami
2019
24
'
Directed by
Can Tamura (aka John Wells)
.
This film features a Japanese seaside ritual performed in honour of a marine deity, who is considered to hold the power to determine a safe and successful year of local fishing. This two-day event
Central Asia and Far East
Festivals/ Carnival
Urban
Folklore
Myths/ Fairy tales
On the water
2020
67
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
During April, George and Mark, his son and sternman, begin setting traps for the season ahead. It’s cold and rough on the ocean, and lobsters are scarce. Halibut fishing, permitted for only
North America
Hunting/Gathering/Fishing
Trade
Orania
2012
94
'
Directed by
Tobias Lindner
.
Orania is situated in South Africa's barren Northern Cape province. All of its 800 inhabitants are white Afrikaners. They live here on private property which was bought in 1991. People of other
Southern Africa
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Collective / Community identity
Social Conflict
The Orchard Keepers
2014
24
'
Directed by
Bryony Dunne
.
Against the backdrop of political upheaval, an ancient network of orchards thrives in the mountains of the Sinai desert. Filmmaker Bryony Dunne shadows two Bedouins as they nurture their gardens and
North and Northeast Africa
Environment
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
Rural
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
The Ospreys and the Old Man
2020
9
'
Directed by
Ang Gao
.
A 76-year-old man living in a village in the middle of China continues the traditional practice of using ospreys (鱼鹰. 鱼鹰 usually referred to as great cormorant in English) to fish while most
Central Asia and Far East
Hunting/Gathering/Fishing
Animals
Elderly People
Other Europe
2011
75
'
Directed by
Rossella Schillaci
.
What happens to African migrants once granted political refugee status? In Turin, a northern Italian city, an abandoned clinic has been squatted by more than 200 refugees since December 2008. Khaled,
Western Mediterranean
Migration
Urban
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Out of Focus
2013
37
'
Directed by
Adrian Arcé
Antonio Zirión
.
This is a collaborative documentary about arts, culture and everyday life inside a prison for minors. It was shot during a photography and video workshop with young inmates at the Juvenile Community
Central America
Children / Young people
Prison
Art / Artists / Artisans
Reflexivity
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
The People Next to Coal Power Plant
2019
22
'
Directed by
Hyewon Choi
.
Vegetable crops are contaminated, fish have disappeared, illness is rife. Life in the shadow of a Korean coal power plant is difficult, but the locals have no choice but to struggle on nonetheless.
Central Asia and Far East
Infrastructure/transport
Environment
Disasters
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
Playing with Nan
2012
88
'
Directed by
Dipesh Kharel
Asami Saito
.
Playing with Nan is the story of a Nepali young man who migrated to work in a Nepali restaurant in northern Japan. The film explores his daily life at work and his family at home, which reflects
South Asia
Central Asia and Far East
Labour
Migration
Socioeconomic conditions
The Poet's Salary
2008
59
'
Directed by
Eric Wittersheim
Alexandre Francois
.
For the first time in many years, on the little island of Motalava in Vanuatu, a new song will be composed in the island's ancestors’ language, the language of god Quat, and become part of the
Melanesia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Linguistics / Language
Informant-researcher relationship
Polka
1986
50
'
Directed by
Robert Boonzajer-Flaes
.
The film confronts the accordion music of Chicano immigrants in southern Texas with the traditional music of accordion players in Austria. Without making any final judgements on the ‘roots’ of
North America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Collective / Community identity
Q2P
2006
55
'
Directed by
Paromita Vohra
.
Q2P is a film about toilets and the city. It sifts through the dream of Mumbai as a future Shanghai and searches for public toilets, watching who has to queue to pee. As the film observes who has
South Asia
Gender Role and Identity
Urban
Socioeconomic conditions
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
Rain in the Mirror
2012
48
'
Directed by
Nilanjan Bhattachary
Kanchan Mukhopadhayay
.
Dorji Bhutia, a Buddhist monk and a reputed mask-maker with supernatural powers of bringing or stopping rain chose a self-determined death at the age of eighty-six. Dorji leaves his mystic image
South Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Children / Young people
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Intergenerational relations
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
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 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
Ritual Journeys
2011
75
'
Directed by
Dawa Lepcha
Anna Balikci
.
The film is an intimate portrait of Merayk, an 80 years old Lepcha shaman or Padim. Merayk lives with his family in Dzongu, a Lepcha reserve in North Sikkim. He performs healing rituals for
South Asia
Ritual
Shamans and Shamanism
Health / Health care / Healing
Rockerill: Rekindling the Fire
2011
53
'
Directed by
Yves Mora
.
Five years ago, one of the oldest industrial buildings of Charleroi- ‘les Forges de la Providence’- was saved from demolition being brought by two citizens: Thierry Camuy and Mika Hell. Together
Western Europe
Alternative culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
Room 11, Ethiopia Hotel
2006
23
'
Directed by
Itsushi Kawase
.
The film recounts the life of children living on the street in Gondar, Ethiopia, by witnessing the interaction between two children and the filmmaker. The entire film was shot in the room of Ethiopia
North and Northeast Africa
Children / Young people
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Informant-researcher relationship
Reflexivity
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
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
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
The School and the Village
1992
50
'
Directed by
Heimo Lappalainen
.
Taiga Nomads is a film series about the Evenki (previously the Tungus), a nomadic people scattered all over eastern Siberia, and living under harsh conditions in the taiga ± an area predominated by
Central Asia and Far East
Nomads and Nomadism
Everyday Life
Sea Boundary
2012
55
'
Directed by
Rosella Schillaci
.
The film depicts the daily struggle of fishermen to earn a living in a harsh physical environment that brings out the social and economic tensions of modern society. Manning the Priamo are Cola, the
Western Mediterranean
Labour
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Socioeconomic conditions
Migration
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
Sermiligaag 65°54'N, 36°22'W
2008
64
'
Directed by
Anni Seitz
Sophie Elixhauser
.
The people of East Greenland inhabit a small string of coastal land at the edge of the biggest island of the world. Long winters have always shaped daily life here, a life that has gone within a few
North America
Rural
Social Change
Environment
The Shackles of Tradition - Franz Boas (1858-1942)
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
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
Shepherds in the Cave
2016
87
'
Material Culture
Directed by
Anthony Grieco
.
An international team of art restorers, archaeologists and volunteers begin work on the restoration of religious frescoes inside a network of ancient caves. Faced with local bureaucratic challenges
Western Mediterranean
Archaeology
Herding
Art / Artists / Artisans
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
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
Sifinja - The Iron Bride
2009
70
'
Directed by
Valerie Haensch
.
A film about mobility, human creativity, and technology in a Sudanese truck community. The English Bedford-Lorry was introduced to Sudan in the late 1960s. Since then, local craftsmen technically
North and Northeast Africa
Infrastructure / Transport
Material Culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
Silk, Muthappar and VHS: Portraits from South India
1997
63
'
Directed by
Ulrich Grossenbacher
Damaris Luethi
.
The documentary, filmed during ethnographic field research, shows three portraits of ‘ordinary’ personalities — Mala, a young weaver sharing a one-bedroom house with nine siblings; Santa Cruz,
South Asia
Labour
Everyday Life
Film / Photography / Mass media
Since the Company Came
2001
52
'
Directed by
Russel Hawkins
.
Set in the South Pacific, in a remote Solomon Islands village, 'Since the Company Came' is the story of a community coming to terms with social, cultural and ecological disintegration. When village
Melanesia
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Conflict
Socioeconomic conditions
The Skills You Passed On
1992
50
'
Directed by
Heimo Lappalainen
.
The second of three films about the Evenki people of eastern Siberia. Focuses on Nikolaj Pavlovich Archemku, who experienced the very beginning of Soviet power, two World Wars, and the
Central Asia and Far East
Nomads and Nomadism
Everyday Life
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
This Is A Majlis - A Sound Essay
2020
17
'
Directed by
Timothy Cooper
Abeera Arif-Bashir
.
This short film is a multi-platform sound essay. It is primarily illustrated with still images, that conjure an atmosphere of intimacy and intensity of the majlis-e-aza, a mourning gathering central
South Asia
Music/Ethnomusicology
Urban
Art/ Aritists/ Artisans
Social Change
This is My Face
2018
57
'
Student
Directed by
Angélica Cabezas Pino
.
In Chile, people living with HIV fear stigma, and often conceal their condition and remain silent about what they are going through. This is My Face explores what happens when a range of men living
South America
LGBTQI*
Participatory / Collaborative methods
Health / Health care / Healing
Gender Role and Identity
Film / Photography / Mass media
Memory
Life Story / Life History
Art / Artists / Artisans
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
Tigers Apprentice
1998
57
'
Directed by
M. Trinh Nguyen
.
Tiger's Apprentice is the story of M. Trinh Nguyen's journey to her native Vietnam. She observes and documents her great-uncle's folk medicine practices treating many patients and making his
South-East Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
Tindaya Variations
2018
40
'
Special Interest
Directed by
Isaac Marrero-Guillamon
.
The mountain of Tindaya (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands) is more than a mountain. It was a sacred site for the indigenous people of Fuerteventura; later, its rock was quarried and sold for ornamental
Western Mediterranean
Archival material / Museum displays
Art / Artists / Artisans
Environment
Material Culture
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Archaeology
Tingvong: A Lepcha Village in Sikkim
2005
60
'
Directed by
Dawa T Lepcha
Anna Balikci-Denjongpa
Asen Balikci
.
The film illustrates the changes the Lepcha of the Dzongu reserve, North Sikkim, have been through in the last 60 years. From the 1940s, the Lepcha of Tingvong village gradually abandoned hunting,
South Asia
Social Change
Religion / Belief / Faith
Agriculture / Farming
Together as One
2013
39
'
Directed by
Kilian Lamtur Tanlaka
.
Nso' is the biggest kingdom of the Western Grassfields and an ethnic group in the northeast corner of Cameroon’s northwest region. Its capital Kumbo is where the ruler (Fon) lives. The Nso'
Central Africa
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
Collective / Community identity
Inter-religious relations
Tracking the Pale Fox: Studies on the Dogon
1983
48
'
Directed by
Luc de Heusch
.
This film tells with verve and a touch of self-irony the history of research on the Dogon since the famous 1931 expedition of Marcel Griaule. The film establishes the original expedition in the
West Africa
History of Anthropology
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
Travel
2016
63
'
Special Interest
Directed by
Nick Mai
.
(This version of the film is edited using a single screen. For the split screen version see 'Travel - double screen version'). Joy left Nigeria to help her family after her father’s death. She
Western Europe
Sex / Sexuality
Labour
Migration
Ethnofiction
Informant-researcher relationship
Reflexivity
Travel (double screen)
2016
63
'
Directed by
Nick Mai
.
(This version of the film uses a split-screen device throughout. For the single screen version see 'Travel'). Joy left Nigeria to help her family after her father’s death. She knew that she was
Western Europe
Sex / Sexuality
Labour
Migration
Ethnofiction
Reflexivity
Treasured Moments
2016
33
'
Student
Directed by
Ravi Hart Lloyd
.
This is the personal story of a boy who grew up mixed in every aspect of his life, his parents, where he was from, his race. The black kid who thought that he was white. The white kid who thought
Caribbean Islands
North America
Family / Kinship
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Collective / Community identity
Film / Photography / Mass media
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
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
Unity: Dress-scapes of Accra
2016
37
'
Directed by
Mara Lin Visser
.
This is a film about African fashion in the capital of Ghana. African printed fabrics seem to making a comeback in the fashion system of Accra. While following Allan, a fashion designer and his wife
West Africa
Trade
Material Culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
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
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
Uzu
2015
27
'
Directed by
Gaspard Kuentz
.
Held every October in the city of Matsuyama, the Dogo Autumn Festival is one of the most violent religious festivals celebrated in Japan. Eight teams of men carrying massive portable wood shrines
Central Asia and Far East
Ritual
Gender Role and Identity
Vasile Nedea
2009
43
'
Directed by
Sjoerd van Grootheest
.
The film tells the story of Vasile Nedea, a Romanian gypsy musician an Amsterdam. Due to his former illegal status there have been times in which he was forced to show his skills whilst busking the
Western Europe
Travellers / Roma
Music / Ethnomusicology
The Veil Unveiled
2004
29
'
Directed by
Vanessa Langer
.
In Yemen, the land of Queen Saba, a wide variety of veils can be found. In the capital Sana’a, the women, although at first sight appearing to all be wearing but black, distinguish themselves one
Middle and Near East
Gender Role and Identity
Material Culture
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
Virtual me: Gender and Identity in World of Warcraft
2013
11
'
Directed by
Trent Monahan
Sarah Prothero
Jennifer Torson
.
'Virtual Me' examines the experiences of players of the online game World of Warcraft, focusing specifically on their experience and understanding of issues surrounding gender and identity within
North America
Gender Role and Identity
Animation
Internet
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 Way We Live Now
2016
32
'
Student
Directed by
Sophia Hersi Smith
.
'The Way We Live Now' is an intimate portrait of the daily routines and rituals of the Hadza; modern-day hunter-gatherers living in the acacia-baobab woodlands surrounding Lake Eyasi in North-Central
East Africa
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Everyday Life
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 Don't Need A Grave
2014
27
'
.
'We Don't Need a Grave' attempts to show how the people who choose Shizenso rather than the typical family grave try to accept one's death. Shizenso is a natural mortuary practice that has no
Central Asia and Far East
Religion / Belief / Faith
Death
Ritual
Were Ni! He is a Madman
1963
30
'
Directed by
Frank Speed
Raymond Prince
.
This ethnopsychiatric film shows the management of psychiatric disorders by the Yoruba of Nigeria. There are two basic types of institutions to deal with psychiatric disorders. First there are
West Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Ritual
Possession
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
Where the Clouds End
2014
52
'
Directed by
Wanphrang Diengdoh
.
“My late great grandfather was a Bengali who came to Shillong in the early 1900s - long before the present political border divided the lands.” After the creation of borders between India and
South Asia
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Collective / Community identity
Wild Honey: Caring for bees in a divided land
2019
30
'
Directed by
Lisa Palmer
.
For more than a century, the island of Timor has been divided by a colonial border. Timor’s migratory wild honey bees challenge this division. In community honey harvest rituals, queen bees are
South-East Asia
Animals
Food / Water
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Winter Days
2013
59
'
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
"Winter Days" evokes the stillness and quietness of the forest in winter. Life is lived close to the stove. It’s a time for small tasks and chores – making a wedge, sewing a pocket, the
North America
Alternative culture
Rural
Everyday Life
Art / Artists / Artisans
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
Without Fathers or Husbands
1995
26
'
Directed by
Hua Cai
.
The Na are an ethnic group in south-east China. Their particularity is that all the members of each household are consanguineous relatives; their social organisation is absolutely matrilineal and as
South-East Asia
Family / Kinship
Collective / Community identity
Gender Role and Identity
Sex / Sexuality
Wives
2017
85
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Lisbet Holtedahl
.
Alhajji Ibrahim is an Islamic scholar who has served as judge at the Sultanate of Ngaoundéré in Northern Cameroon for 46 years. The film follows Alhajji during the last years of his life, focusing
West Africa
Family / Kinship
Everyday Life
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Personal Narrative
Religion / Belief / Faith
Social Norms
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
Yanomami: From Machetes to Mobile Phones
2012
58
'
Directed by
Cliff Orloff and Olga Shalygin
.
The Yanomami Indians are one of the last large relatively unacculturated indigenous groups remaining in the world. In November 2000 filmmakers Orloff and Shalygin documented the lives of a small
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Material Culture
Social Change
Ymako
1998
52
'
Directed by
Laurent Van Lancker
Robin Shuffield
.
Ymako Teatri, a theatre company based in the Ivory Coast, uses street theatre to question some contemporary West African problems. Their originality consists in using the ‘invisible theatre’
West Africa
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Health / Health care / Healing
Social participation
Youth Group
2015
28
'
Student
Directed by
Wanwan Lu
.
Set in the predominantly Asian “ethnoburbs” of Los Angeles County, this film follows a vibrant Buddhist youth group in a Chinese-American temple. Youth group members, most raised by immigrant
North America
Collective / Community identity
Religion / Belief / Faith
Intergenerational relations
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