Film list

ABU 2017 80'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Arshad Khan .
Arshad always knew he was different. Soon after emigrating from Pakistan to Canada with his family, Arshad realized he was gay. With Abu, Arshad tells his own story self discovery at a cultural
AWAKE, A Dream from Standing Rock 2017 89'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Josh Fox James Spione Myron Dewey .
The native-led resistance to the construction of a pipeline across the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, North Dakota, captured the world’s attention. Awake tells the story of the defiant Water
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
After the Silence 2018 28'
    Material Culture Directed by Natalie Cubides-Brady .
An affecting portrait of a small town on the Magdalena River in Colombia during Day of the Dead, exploring the spiritual impact of the forced disappearances that became endemic during the nation’s
Ama-san 2016 113'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Cláudia Varejão .
A dive, the noon sunlight cuts through the water. The air in both lungs will have to be enough to rip the abalone from the rocks at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. With no aid from air tanks or any
Amazonimations 2018 7'
    Shorts Directed by Camilla Morelli Sophie Marsh .
A compilation of three animated films written, voiced and illustrated by the Matses people of the Amazon rainforest, on the Peru-Brazil frontier. Made in collaboration with an indigenous artist, a
The Archipelago 2015 41'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Benjamin Huguet .
The Faroe Islands: a remote group of islands, battered by the ever-changing weather patterns of the North Atlantic. For centuries, the Faroese have lived proudly off the natural resources that
Archival resources and Ethnographic Film '
Workshop
  Convened by Caterina Sartori .
This session brings together archivists and professionals who are involved in the preservation, cataloguing and digitisation of archival film and photographic material; and artists and ethnographers
Artists’ Films and Ethnography '
Workshop
  Convened by Marko Ray Wilkinson Al Cameron Barbara Knorpp .
Practitioners of ethnography and art have crossed paths multiple times in the 20th and 21st centuries - sometimes viewing each other with enthusiasm, sometimes suspicion. This programme consists
Authors at the Festival & Reception '
Gala event
  Convened by Paul Henley .
A number of authors attending the Festival will present their books in the course of a Drinks Reception to which all Festival pass holders are cordially invited. Copies of the books will also be
Awards Ceremony 120'
Gala event
  Convened by Royal Anthropological Institute .
Join us to close the 16th RAI Film Festival as we announce the winners of this year's prizes and awards.
Ballad on the Shore 2017 98'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Chi-hang Ma .
On the small isle of Tap Mun, Hong Kong, veteran fishermen sing ballads with pitches and tones that alternate and repeat themselves as if they were synchronising with the ocean waves. But as fewer
Hong Kong Hunting / Gathering / Fishing Music / Ethnomusicology
Bath People 2015 60'
    Special Interest Directed by Stefania Bona Francesca Scalisi .
A small red-brick building carrying a big neon sign: "bagni". This is the last public baths in a city where everybody can take a shower in their own home. It is a microcosm of people's
Bonfires 2017 6'
    Shorts Directed by Martin Bureau .
Huge bonfires are lit by Protestants in Northern Ireland on July 12 each year, as part of the celebrations of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne. They are made from wooden pallets, tires, and garbage. To
The Book of the Sea 2018 85'
    Material Culture Directed by Aleksei Vakhrushev .
An intimate look inside day-to-day life on the frozen fringe of the Bering Strait in Russia, home to the Inuit and Chukchi. We follow community leader Alexei, his wife Galya (a nurse) and their son
The Bride of the Nile 2015 63'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Edouard Mills-Affif .
A secluded village in the Nile Delta, a traditional Egyptian family. A drama of tragic proportions is being played out. Like millions of young girls throughout the world, Heba must marry a man that
Cantadoras: Musical Memories of Life and Death in Colombia 2017 70'
    Intangible Culture Directed by María Fernanda Carrillo Sánchez .
A portrait of life in rural Colombia, towards its Carribean coast, told through the words and songs of the resilient Afro-colombian singers that farm there. Through intimate interviews and the
Careers in Ethnographic Film '
Workshop
  Convened by Ed Owles .
What do people do with a degree in visual anthropology? A panel from a variety of roles across academia, TV and independent filmmaking discuss their career paths and how their training in
Carnival King of Europe '
Workshop
  Convened by Giovanni Kezich .
European winter festival masquerades possess a number of common elements - relating to character and content as well as structure - that are astonishingly similar across great geographical distances,
Centenary of Jean Rouch '
Gala event
  Convened by Paul Henley .
After a brief introduction to the work of Jean Rouch, there will be a screening of one of his major works, "Moi, un Noir". This will be followed by a Round Table discussion and Q&A,
Changa Revisited 2016 60'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Peter Biella Leonard Kamerling .
This is the story of Tanzania Maasai elder Toreto ole Koisenge and his passage through three decades of cultural and economic change. Seen from two points across a thirty year divide, the film uses
The Cinema Travellers 2016 96'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Shirley Abraham Amit Madheshiya .
An affectionate but melancholy ode to a vanishing phenomenon in rural India: the travelling cinema. The huge projector has been repaired countless times by its ingenious operator. The tent and screen
Closing Reception & Awards Ceremony '
Gala event
  Convened by Paul Henley .
Steven Hughes, chair of the panel of judges will invite his fellow judges to announce the 2017 film prizes and to give a brief explanation of the reasons for their decision. After each prize
Creative Mentorship - Session 1 105'
Forum
  Convened by Caterina Sartori .
This special event provides a chance to glimpse exciting new ethnographic film projects in the making. In these sessions, filmmakers will pitch their projects and share a short extract from their
Creative Mentorship - Session 2 105'
Forum
  Convened by RAI Film Festival .
A chance to glimpse exciting new ethnographic film projects in the making. In these sessions, filmmakers will pitch their projects and share a short extract from their works-in-progress. They will
Damiana Kryygi 2015 94'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Alejandro Fernández Mouján .
The year is 1896. In the Paraguayan forest, a three-year-old Aché girl survives the massacre of her family by white settlers. She is baptised 'Damiana' by her captors. At the age of 14, she is
The Day the Sun Fell 2015 78'
    Special Interest Directed by Aya Domenig .
Swiss-Japanese filmmaker Aya Domenig, the granddaughter of a doctor on duty for the Red Cross during the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, approaches the experience of her deceased grandfather by
South-East Asia History Memory Health / Health care / Healing War / Conflict / Reconciliation
A Delicate Weave 2017 61'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Anjali Monteiro KP Jayasankar .
A fascinating tapestry of four different musical journeys across Gujarat, India: we meet a group of young men in Bhujodi who meet every night to sing the verses of 15th-century Indian mystic and poet
Dust 2016 44'
    Material Culture Directed by Deepak Tolange .
Every winter, thousands of Nepalis and Indians migrate to various parts of Nepal to work in brick factories. Many of these labourers are children who drop out of school, engage in hard labour and
The Eagle Huntress 2016 87'
    Special Interest Directed by Otto Bell .
Aishol-pan, a 13-year-old girl, trains to become the first female in 12 generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down
Elder sister 2017 96'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Zheng Long .
From the 1970s, the "family planning" policies of the Chinese state limited its citizens to having one child. These policies are well-known. Lesser known are the smaller stories of how
Employment Office 2015 74'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Anne Schiltz Charlotte Grégoire .
An office interior, a row of desks, people facing each other. This is where unemployed people come to meet with their advisers. What is at stake are their benefit payments. Here everyone has to abide
Engaging/Empowering Image-Voices '
Conference
  Convened by Raminder Kaur Mariagiulia Grassilli .
How can anthropologists and filmmakers engage with and empower marginalised individuals and communities? Since the 1950s, ethnographic filmmakers and theorists have advocated for participatory
Eoha 2015 22'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Vladimir Perovic .
In a timeless rocky mountain landscape evoking the time of Creation, a shepherd communicates with his goats and sheep. Twenty or so different cries, screams, chirps, babbles, mumbles, whispers,
Ethnographic Film and Mental Health: Transformations and Impact '
Workshop
  Convened by Mike Poltorak .
This interactive workshop explores the challenges and possibilities that emerge when visual anthropologists engage with ideas and experiences associated with mental health – and, in particular,
Ethnographic Film in the Marketplace '
Forum
  Convened by André Singer .
This Forum will consider the distribution of films of an anthropological nature to broad general and international audiences as well as within the academic sphere. Chaired by André Singer, President
Even When I Fall 2017 95'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Kate McLarnon Sky Neal .
Sheetal and Saraswoti met as teenagers in a Kathmandu refuge, both survivors of child trafficking to Indian circuses. They had been rescued and brought back across the border to Nepal- but what does
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
The Face Behind the Mask 2015 54'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Nirmal Chander Dandriyal .
Weaving between past and present, performances and daily routine, this film focuses on the life and struggle of Shashadhar Acharya, a member of the fifth generation of a family of traditional Chhau
Fad'jal (Safi Faye Special Focus) 1979 112'
    Special Interest Directed by Safi Faye .
The work of pioneering Senegalese filmmaker and ethnologist Safi Faye is the subject of our Special Focus at the 16th RAI Film Festival. In Fad'jal, Faye tells the story of a Serer village in the
Father's Prescription 2017 11'
    Shorts Directed by Enke Huang .
A personal exploration of traditional Chinese medicine that considers the importance of its sensory qualities. Huang vividly recalls the extreme bitter taste and smell of the teas consumed by her
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
Film, Identity and Nation-Building '
Workshop
  Convened by Jeremy MacClancy .
This workshop will consist of two presentations that query the relations between film, identity, and nation-building. They will interrogate the connections between an ever-developing technology, a
Fire Mouth 2017 9'
    Shorts Directed by Luciano Pérez Fernández .
A film about a football match in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil, in which we see none of the action, or even a single player. We only catch glimpses of the fans as they bake, rather sluggishly,
The George Brandt Lecture - An Open Conversation with Hugh Brody '
Gala event
  Convened by Jacqueline Maingard Angela Piccini .
The RAI Life Achievement Award, which has been given at a number of RAI Film Festivals since 1990, has been awarded in 2017 to anthropologist, filmmaker and writer Hugh Brody. In collaboration with
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
Gringo Trails 2013 79'
    Special Interest Directed by Pegi Vail .
For many the tourist pathway across South America, Africa and Asia known as the “gringo trail” offers life-altering adventures. For host nations, it offers financial security. But this trail
Guardians of the Night 2018 17'
    Shorts Directed by Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier Eleonora Diamanti .
A survey of the happenings in Guantánamo, Cuba during nighttime. We see neighbourhood watchmen on lonely streets, bustling crowds of revellers in illuminated squares, families as they relax at home
Heartbound 2018 90'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Janus Metz Sine Plambech .
In a small, wind-swept fishing community on the Northern coast of Denmark live 926 Thai-women. 25 years ago there were none. Heartbound is a unique study of this unprecedented network of Thai/Danish
Honouring Professor Stephen Nugent '
Conference
  Convened by Renato Athias .
Professor Stephen Nugent, a major figure in the field of Visual Anthropology, passed away in November 2018. At Goldsmiths, Steve set up the pioneering MA in Visual Anthropology, and more recently
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
IT WAS TOMORROW 2018 53'
    Student Directed by Alexandra D'onofrio .
After living in Italy for almost ten years without documents, three Egyptian men - Ali, Mahmoud and Mohamed - are suddenly awarded legal residence. As a whole new world of opportunities opens up to
Western Mediterranean Animation Art / Artists / Artisans Dance / Theatre / Performance Film / Photography / Mass media Life Story / Life History Memory Migration Research methods Participatory / Collaborative methods
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
Interactive Documentary and Ethnographic Film '
Workshop
  Convened by Judith Aston Paolo Favero .
This workshop will aim to generate a constructive dialogue between innovative or emerging non-linear (or interactive) documentary practices and the terrain of ethnographic film. It will be structured
J. C. Abbey, Ghana's Puppeteer 2016 55'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Steven Feld .
This film presents an exceptional fifty-year artistic career, from Accra’s streets to Ghana’s villages to international TV. In fifteen delightful puppet shows, Mr. Abbey chronicles Ghana's music
John Baily Masterclass - Afghan Music '
Masterclass
  Convened by Barley Norton .
In this revelatory masterclass John Baily will trace his ‘career’ as an ethnomusicological film maker, starting with the films he made as a result of research in Herat, Afghanistan, in the 1970s:
Journey to the Maggot Feeder 2015 68'
    RAI Basil Wright 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
Kalès 2017 63'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Laurent van Lanker .
A film of wind and despair, of fire and solidarity, of hope and hell. An intimate and inside perspective of the ‘jungle’ of Calais, evoked through a polyphony of bodies, tales, and
Western Europe Migration Refugees / Displaced populations Squatter Settlements / Homelessness Participatory / Collaborative methods
Kim Longinotto 120'
Gala event
  Convened by Angela Piccini .
This year, the RAI Lifetime Achievement Award will be awarded in 2019 to multi award winning filmmaker Kim Longinotto. Marking this occasion, Longinotto will give the 2019 George Brandt Lecture at a
King On, Brasil! 2018 15'
    Special Interest Directed by Luiza Folegatti .
King On, Brasil! is a short documentary featuring six Brazilian Drag Kings and their use of social media to share their work, knowledge and performances which in turn strengthen their community. The
The King of the Cockroaches 2016 70'
    Student Directed by Timothy Cooper .
The degraded surfaces of mass-copied films - the glitches, scanlines, errors, and coding artifacts - rather than the filmmaker’s imprint, reveal the material culture and social life of film
Kivalina 2016 64'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Gina Abatemarco .
More than a hundred miles above the Arctic Circle, an Inupiaq Eskimo community is living on an island that is fast disappearing into the ocean. With no resources to move and only a precarious sea
Knots and Holes. An Essay Film on the Life of Nets. 2018 74'
    Special Interest Directed by Mattijs van de Port .
A singular anthropological essay film that observes the various nets we find across different contexts in Bahia (from fishing nets to delicate nets of lace), and the emotions and sensations
South America Essay film Reflexivity Love
Lampedusa in Winter 2015 93'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Jakob Brossmann .
The Italian "refugee island" of Lampedusa is in the firm grip of winter's tristesse. The tourists have left, the remaining refugees fight to be taken to the mainland. As a fire destroys the
The Land Beneath Our Feet 2016 60'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Sarita Siegel Gregg Mitman .
The Land Beneath Our Feet weaves together rare archival footage from a 1926 Harvard expedition to Liberia with the journey of a young Liberian man, uprooted by war, seeking to understand how the past
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
Legacies 2018 34'
    Student Directed by Clair Maleney .
The pioneering approach of Jubilee School in West Philadelphia seeks to empower its students (mainly black, and from low-income households), via a curriculum which highlights the arts, social
Living Here 2017 16'
    Shorts Directed by Sarah Baril Gaudet .
In Aupaluk, Northern Quebec, a small cluster of primary coloured buildings cluster amidst the blinding white tundra. We are introduced to the tiny town (population 200, mainly Inuit) by a thoughtful
Living with Boko Haram 2016 37'
    Special Interest Directed by Trond Waage .
January 2015. Boko Haram's violent insurgency is approaching Mogdé, on the Nigerian/Cameroonian border, where Antoniette lives. Just outside Oslo, Norway, lives her son Vakote, worried and afraid
West Africa Scandinavia Religion / Belief / Faith Social Conflict War / Conflict / Reconciliation Migration
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
MacDougall Masterclass - Turkana Conversations Revisited '
Masterclass
  Convened by Michael Stewart .
Marking 40 years since its original release as well as its more recent digital remastering, David MacDougall will present the classic trilogy he made with his wife Judith on the Turkana pastoralists
Masterclass: Laurent Van Lancker 105'
Masterclass
  Convened by Chris Wright .
This year's RAI Film Festival Masterclass will be delivered by award-winning filmmaker Laurent Van Lancker, in conversation with Chris Wright. Van Lancker won the Basil Wright Prize at the RAI
Mobail Goroka 2018 17'
    Shorts Directed by Jackie Kauli .
Glossy advertisements for telecommunications company Digicel abound in Goroka, a town in Papua New Guinea’s eastern highlands. This film takes a close look at the footsoldiers of this multinational
Mossane (Safi Faye Special Focus) 1996 105'
    Special Interest Directed by Safi Faye .
The work of pioneering Senegalese filmmaker and ethnologist Safi Faye is the subject of our Special Focus at the 16th RAI Film Festival. Mossane is one of her greatest achievements, and we present
My Name is Eeooow 2016 52'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Oinam Doren .
Imagine a village where you sing every time you call someone's name. In the village of Kongthong, everybody has a song tune as a name - the 'Jingrwai Iawbei'. The name comes from a mother as an
NHENHA 2018 26'
    Student Directed by Andre Bahule Karen Boswall .
“We work the land and we dance. That’s what we know how to do” explains Maria in this portrait of the lives of three generations of women in southern Mozambique. The dance they dance is the
Niishii | Night Worlds 2017 22'
    Student Directed by Saranya Nayak .
What happens to a town after sunset? What happens to life and light? Niishii is an evocative tour through the night time hours in the town of Dubrajpur (West Bengal, India). Here, amidst inky
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
Of Love & Law 2017 94'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Hikaru Toda .
Fumi and Kazu are partners in love and law; they run the first law firm in Japan set up by an openly gay couple. As lawyers driven by their own experience of being ​outsiders​, they attract a
Opening Night Screening: Edge of the Knife 2018 100'
    Special Interest Directed by Gwaai Edenshaw Helen Haig-Brown .
We are delighted to open the 16th RAI Film Festival with Edge of the Knife, the recipient of this year's President's Medal. Edge of the Knife is the first feature film in the endangered Haida
Our Freedom 2017 52'
    Material Culture Directed by Laura Kuen Yury Snigirev .
The inhabitants of the village of Pungino live mostly beyond the reach of the Russian state. Here, in this remote rural location, they create their own sphere of personal freedom. This film explores
Paani: of women and water 2018 22'
    Student Directed by Costanza Burstin .
Against the bleached sky of Rajasthan, we encounter the women of a small Muslim village as they engage in their work. Here, water binds their daily labour rituals: they collect and carry water in
South Asia Environment Food / Water Gender Role and Identity Rural Everyday Life
Panel 01: Indigenous Cinema: past, present and future 90'
Conference
  Convened by Renato Athias Rodrigo Lacerda .
Full title - Indigenous Cinema: past, present and future Indigenous cinema is a very diverse and global category with more than fifty years of history. The panel seeks submissions to analyze the
Panel 02: How to frame a poem in a film with others? 90'
Conference
  Convened by Roseline Lambert Rachel McCrum .
Full title - How to frame a poem in a film with others? Experiences of translation between different langages, poems, pictures and borders This panel aims to discuss the realisation of film-poems
Panel 03: Precarious landscapes (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Toma Peiu .
Full title: Precarious landscapes: forensics and decolonial futures This panel will be discussing the practicalities and ethics of producing images and sound in vulnerable landscapes. Work coming
Panel 03: Precarious landscapes (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Toma Peiu .
Full title- Precarious landscapes: forensics and decolonial futures This panel will be discussing the practicalities and ethics of producing images and sound in vulnerable landscapes. Work coming
Panel 04: Indigenous California 90'
Conference
  Convened by Teri Brewer Sue Giles Wendy Teeter .
Full title- Indigenous California: A Forum on Collaborative Archaeological and Ethnographic Visual Media Projects In recent years there have been an increasing number of productive visual media
Panel 05: Haptics and Visual Anthropology 90'
Conference
  Convened by Aparna Sharma Arine Kirstein Høgel .
Full title - Haptics and Visual Anthropology: Audio-Visual Dialogues and Non-Verbal Forms of Knowledge Construction In this workshop, filmmakers and researchers Sharma and Høgel explore how
Panel 06: Expanding Ethnographic Film: Multimodality? 90'
Conference
  Convened by Mark Westmoreland Janine Prins .
This panel seeks to investigate the expansion of ethnographic film practices in cases where a combination of different practice-based methodologies led to a multimodal approach. To what extent does
Panel 07: From the Field to the Screen (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Angélica Cabezas Pino Mattia Fumanti .
Full title - From the Field to the Screen: Reflexive Practices and Collaborative Methods in Ethnographic Film. This panel includes contributions from visual anthropologists and filmmakers of
Panel 07: From the Field to the Screen (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Angélica Cabezas Pino Mattia Fumanti .
Full title - From the Field to the Screen: Reflexive Practices and Collaborative Methods in Ethnographic Film This panel includes contributions from visual anthropologists and filmmakers of
Panel 08: Golden Wing, Silver Wings 90'
Conference
  Convened by Gary Seaman Zhuang Kongshao .
Full title - Golden Wing, Silver Wings: Filmic representations of the autobiographical ethnography of Lin Yueh-hwa This panel will focus on the legacy of the famous Chinese anthropologist Lin
Panel 09: We Three: Apparatus, Subject, Society (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Timothy P. A. Cooper Vindhya Buthpitiya .
Departing from the tripartite relationship between apparatus, subject, and society this panel invites reflection on issues of exclusion, consent, cinephobia, cinephilia, censorship, archival
Panel 09: We Three: Apparatus, Subject, Society (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Timothy P. A. Cooper Vindhya Buthpitiya .
Departing from the tripartite relationship between apparatus, subject, and society this panel invites reflection on issues of exclusion, consent, cinephobia, cinephilia, censorship, archival
Panel 10: Youth-centred frames (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Camilla Morelli Flavia Kremer .
Full title - Youth-centred frames: visual collaborations and participatory techniques in the research with young people This panel explores the use of participatory visual methods (film-making
Panel 10: Youth-centred frames (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Camilla Morelli Flavia Kremer .
Full title - Youth-centred frames: visual collaborations and participatory techniques in the research with young people This panel explores the use of participatory visual methods (film-making and
Panel 11: The material mediation of the ‘non-normative’ body 90'
Conference
  Convened by Cathy Greenhalgh Catalin Brylla .
This panel considers filmmakers who seek to work with and represent ‘non-normative’ bodies that are traditionally stereotyped and portrayed as “the other”. The aim is to explore innovative or
Panel 12: Transforming theory in and through film (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Mattijs van de Port Janine Prins .
This panel seeks to expand theoretical ambitions in visual anthropology. We explore audio-visual modes of report that speak about existential issues via the minutiae of life-as-lived. We invite
Panel 12: Transforming theory in and through film (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Mattijs van de Port Janine Prins .
This panel seeks to expand theoretical ambitions in visual anthropology. We explore audio-visual modes of report that speak about existential issues via the minutiae of life-as-lived. We invite
Pasajuego 2018 75'
    Material Culture Directed by Daniel Oliveras de Ita .
“Pasajuego” is the name of the court where Oaxacans play the ancient indigenous ball game of Pelota Mixteca. Today more than two million people from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca live in
Pedagogy & Public Anthropology: Legacies of Marshall's and Asch's Ethnographic Films 90'
Seminar
  Convened by Nancy Lutkehaus .
This panel reflects on the role of ethnographic film in pedagogy and public anthropology past, present, and future. It explores the introduction of ethnographic film into school curricula in the
Positive Youtubers – A Machinima Documentary 2017 15'
    Special Interest Directed by Leandro Goddinho .
An experimental documentary made with footage material recorded from the computer desktop screen, about four Brazilians who have created Youtube Channels to talk openly about their HIV status. They
Pulse 2015 26'
    Student Directed by Robin Petré .
This poetic, highly sensorial film takes place on one of Europe’s largest deer farms, which is home to 1,500 red deer and their caretakers. The animals are essentially still wild. They were first
The Raven and the Seagull 2018 70'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Lasse Lau .
Denmark and Greenland have been tied together by a complex colonial relationship for centuries. Today, Greenlanders fight for autonomy, whilst acutely aware of their economic dependence on the
Reclaiming Fiction '
Workshop
  Convened by Isaac Marrero-Guillamón .
This roundtable discussion will consider the politics and aesthetics of ethnofiction in relation to current debates in ethnographic film around collaboration and self-representation. Participating
Resonating Burra - The Story of Burrakatha 2018 42'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Arjun Chavah .
Burrakatha is a storytelling art form in the Telangana and Andhra regions of India. Emerging in the 1940s, amidst the struggle against feudal oppression and the Indian freedom movement, Burrakatha
Rituals on TV 90'
Seminar
  Convened by RAI / BBC / Swan Films .
Several recent television productions have embraced ritual - a classic topic for anthropologists! These shows have sought to document, explore, and interrogate ritual as both spectacle and concept
Sakhisona 2017 27'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Prantik Basu .
Near Mogulmari in West Bengal lies a mound known locally as Sakhisona. Stories about it are interwoven with myth and still sung by local musicians. A dig nearby recently uncovered the remains of a
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
Socotra, the Island of Djinns 2016 64'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Jordi Esteva .
The film is the story of a journey across the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Yemen. Socotra is isolated during the monsoon season, when it is impossible to land on it. This
Middle and Near East Myths / Fairy tales Nomads and Nomadism Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Trade
Sunday 2018 25'
    Special Interest Directed by Paulo Mendel Vitor Grunvald .
A colourful and noisy encounter with Família Stronger, a LGBTQIA+ collective in the neighbourhood of Jardim Nazaré, on São Paulo’s periphery. Across a split screen, Sunday portrays a single day
Tara's footprint 2018 70'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Georgina Barreiro .
Tara's Footprint skilfully conjures the atmosphere of Khechuperi, a village in the Himalayas in north eastern India. Eschewing standard exposition the film follows four young siblings as they go
South Asia Children / Young people Dance / Theatre / Performance Everyday Life Music / Ethnomusicology Religion / Belief / Faith Rural
Thank You For The Rain 2017 87'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Julia Dahr .
Over the last five years Kisilu, a smallholder farmer in Kenya, has used his camera to capture his family life, his village and the impacts of climate change. He has filmed floods, droughts and
Thinking like a Mountain 2018 91'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Alexander Hick .
The Arhuacos are the guardians of the forest and the ice of Colombia’s highest mountain - the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This indigenous community draw a sustained and singular spirituality from
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
Those Who Jump 2016 80'
    Special Interest Directed by Estephan Wagner Moritz Siebert Abou Bakar Sidibé .
In northern Morocco, lies the Spanish enclave of Melilla: Europe on African Land. On the mountain above, live over a thousand hopeful African migrants, watching the border fence. Abou from Mali is
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
Tracing Roots: A Weaver's Journey 2015 26'
    Material Culture Directed by Ellen Frankenstein .
This film follows master Haida weaver Delores Churchill on a journey to replicate the spruce root hat found with Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi, also known as the Long Ago Person Found. The remains of the
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
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
Trends in Ethnographic Film-making in China '
Workshop
  Convened by Gary Seaman Paul Henley .
This workshop will assess contemporary ethnographic filmmaking in academic contexts in China and will include presentations by the following scholars. (Further presentations may be added later). All
Trends in Ethnographic Film-making in Latin America (I) '
Workshop
  Convened by Carlos Flores Angela Torresan Antonio Zirion .
This workshop will offer a space for Latin American researchers to discuss methodological and theoretical issues around their own ethnographic film-making or works of other relevant film-makers. The
Trends in Ethnographic Film-making in Latin America (II) '
Workshop
  Convened by Carlos Flores Angela Torresan Antonio Zirion .
This workshop will be a continuation of the workshop offered at 9:00 am on Thursday 30 March (Cinema 2, Watershed). It will offer a space for Latin American researchers to discuss methodological
Twenty Two 2016 95'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Guo Ke .
The film focuses on Chinese ‘comfort women’ during World War II. At the time of filming, only 22 of the 200,000 Chinese victims forced into sexual slavery remained alive. Quietly humanistic, this
Undercover in Underwear 2016 19'
    Student Directed by Diane Agatha .
The Internet provides an infinite place of freedom where self, mind and body are dislocated. We are able to reinvent and present ourselves the way we want. It is in this world that Circle, my alter
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
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
Visual Anthropology Interventions and Climate Change '
Workshop
  Convened by Mike Poltorak .
**Interested participants are invited to submit proposals for presentations to M.S.Poltorak@kent.ac.uk** There is a recognised disconnect between publicly available scientific information on
Visual Worlds of Difference '
Workshop
  Convened by Raminder Kaur Paul Boyce .
This workshop will highlight the role of (audio-) visual and participatory arts works in the development of representations that move away from the fixity and/or Othering of identities. Our aim is to
Vivre Riche 2017 53'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Joël Akafou .
“Rolex the Portuguese” has returned to Abidjan with one mission: to make lots of money. He seeks to emulates the hedonistic lifestyle of a new generation of West African music stars. He and his
Walker's 2018 11'
    Student Directed by Kyle Myers-Haugh .
In this portrait of a historic black barbershop in Wilmington, North Carolina, we witness the everyday rituals that bind the men in this community together. Tight close ups illuminate intimate
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
Welcome Reception '
Gala event
  Convened by RAI FILM FESTIVAL .
Join us for a reception to welcome our guests and to celebrate the start of the festival. All welcome. Sponsored by Wiley.
Welcome Valentine 2017 2017 16'
    Student Directed by Dhruv Satija .
In a temple dedicated to Hanuman in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a priest flouts convention by marrying couples who are shunned elsewhere: mostly those who have eloped from families who disapprove of their
South Asia Marriage Love LGBTQI* Religion / Belief / Faith
What your eyes can’t see 2018 8'
    Shorts Directed by Julieta Pestarino .
An essay-documentary that explores the processes of archival research, and the limits of the kind of knowledge it can provide. Pestarino pursues photographer and traveller André Roosevelt into the
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 Women Weavers of Assam 2019 98'
    Special Interest Directed by Aparna Sharma .
The Women Weavers of Assam focuses on the craft, labour and the everyday lives of a group of women weavers in India’s northeastern state of Assam. The weavers belong to a non-profit collective
South Asia Art / Artists / Artisans Gender Role and identity Material Culture
Wási 2017 16'
    Shorts Directed by Sebastián Gómez Ruíz Amado Villafaña Chaparro .
As the sun rises on a village in northern Colombia, we glimpse its inhabitants as they begin their day. As the scene emerges from obscurity, a voiceover reflects on the nature of sight. It is the
South America Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Indigenous Filmmaking History of Anthropology Film / Photography / Mass media
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
Zahida 2018 28'
    Special Interest Directed by Seemab Gul .
Zahida is a unique woman in Pakistan: she is the nation's only female taxi driver. This sensitive film provides fascinating insight into the personal and professional trials faced by this strong
on-sea 2016 20'
    Student Directed by Hatty Bell .
on-sea is a portrait film about the small community that lives on the Bush Estate at Eccles-on-sea, Norfolk. It is a film about landscape, and how people interact with it through day-to-day minutiae
A very Dai Girl 2018 27'
    Student Directed by MengHua Zhang .
This film quietly observes her daily life of Xiao Yue, a bright 22-year-old young woman from Yunnan province in the South of China. We see Xiao Yue cook, care for her grandmother, sew, and farm - but
The world is round so that nobody can hide in the corners – Part I: Refuge 2017 10'
    Student Directed by Leandro Goddinho .
The first instalment in a series of shorts that explore LGBTQ+ experiences across the globe, envisioning a queer diasporic community. In Refuge, we hear the moving account of a young man forced to
The world is round so that nobody can hide in the corners – Part II: The Kiss 2017 5'
    Student Directed by Leandro Goddinho .
The second instalment in a series of shorts that explore LGBTQ+ experiences across the globe, envisioning a queer diasporic community. The Kiss stages an act of public sensuality at the Gay Holocaust
‘Making of’ Anthropology on TV '
Workshop
  Convened by Evie Wright .
Filmmakers working with the BBC Natural History Unit will describe the practicalities of all the various stages of production – from the development of an idea with which to approach commissioners,