RAI Film Admin

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Daba - Portrait of a Na Shaman 1999 40'

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 Dancer and the Dance 1988 44'

Directed by Felicia Hughes-Freeland .

This film is an invitation to see Javanese palace dancing as performed in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and to go beyond appearances to discover what the dance means to those who continue the tradition. In

South-East Asia Dance / Theatre / Performance

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Dancing Grass. Harvesting teff in the Tigrean highlands 2018 40'

Directed by Mitiku Gabrehiwot .

Dancing Grass is a film in the Guardians of Productive Landscapes series (editor Ivo Strecker). It captures the communal harvesting of teff among Tigreans of Northern Ethiopia. Teff, an ancient

North and Northeast Africa Agriculture / Farming Food / Water

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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

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The Day I Will Never Forget 2002 92'

Directed by Kim Longinotto .

The documentary explores the local dimensions of the female circumcision debate in Kenyan societies. In a region of Kenya that is home to Muslims, Massai and Somali and crosscut by Christian

East Africa Gender Role and Identity Ritual Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy Political Activists

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

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The Day of the Masks on the Karst 2017 14'

Directed by Michele Trentini .

A small village in the Slovenian Karst is entirely taken over by the local masks, the so called “Škoromati”. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 7 - THE PASTORAL LEGACY**. The

South-East Europe Folklore Festivals / Carnival

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The Day of the Pustje on Mt. Matajur 2015 11'

Directed by Michele Trentini .

Throughout western Slovenia, Pust or Pustje are the names given to the Carnival dummy and the same names are also used in the Italian side of the Julian Alps. This film is part of **Carnival King

South-East Europe Folklore Festivals / Carnival

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The Day of the Rams in Gljev 2012 17'

Directed by Michele Trentini .

The Didi of Gljev, in the Dalmatian hinterland, are fully-fledged rams and for the duration a day they act and behave as if they were a single magical flock. This film is part of **Carnival King

South-East Europe Festivals / Carnival Folklore

The Day of the Zanni 2016 17'

Directed by Michele Trentini .

The Zanni of central Italy, are the same as the Pulcinella of the South of Italy or the Lachè in the North. They are Carnival heralds, clad in white, with a pointed, ribboned, imposing headpiece.

South-East Europe Folklore Festivals / Carnival

Delhi at Eleven 2013 82'

Directed by Ravi Shivhare Anshu Singh Kumar Kashyap Shikha Kumar .

This film presents the work of four young filmmakers of New Delhi. From March to May 2012 they took part in a video workshop at the CIE Experimental Basic School, a government primary school. Each of

South Asia Film / Photography / Mass media Children / Young people Education / Knowledge Transmission

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

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

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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

Divorce Iranian Style 1989 80'

Directed by Kim Longinotto .

This film is set in the Family Law Courts in central Tehran. The three main characters are Jamileh who punishes her husband for beating her, Ziba, a 16 year old girl who is trying to get a divorce

Middle and Near East Marriage Gender Role and Identity Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy Family / Kinship

Diya 2001 55'

Directed by Judith MacDougall .

A diya is a small terra cotta oil lamp used throughout India in Hindu ceremonies. The film follows the life history of an object through the every day experience of people who make, sell and use it

South Asia Trade Material Culture Religion / Belief / Faith Art / Artists / Artisans

Doctors of Two Worlds 1989 55'

Directed by Natasha Solomons .

In the Bolivian highlands an English doctor is setting up a network of health care for remote mountain villages. While teaching the inhabitants the essentials of Western medicine the doctor is

South America Health / Health care / Healing Informant-researcher relationship Development projects

Domov 2000 28'

Directed by Rosie Read .

This film looks at the meaning of 'home' in the Czech Republic through the eyes of two women - one an old woman trying to assert her right to return home from an old person's residence, and the

Central Europe Prison Elderly people

A Donation to the Museum 2015 25'

Directed by Teri F. Brewer .

Human remains from the California Channel Islands were donated to an English city museum nearly a century ago. More recently research began into how they came to be there, and whose remains they

North America Western Europe Archaeology Archival material / Museum displays

Doon School Chronicles 2000 140'

Directed by David MacDougall .

David MacDougall's long term visual study completed. The Doon School, located in Dehra Dun in Uttaranchal, is perhaps the most famous boys’ boarding school in India. Although it has sometimes been

South Asia Education / Knowledge transmission Children / Young people

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

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The Double Walk of the Joaldunak 2011 10'

Directed by Michele Trentini .

Joaldunak are “those who resound”, the great bell ringers heralding the Carnival parade between the twin villages of Ituren and Zubieta in the Basque-speaking Spanish Naffaroa. This film is

Western Mediterranean Festivals / Carnival Folklore

Dream Girls 1993 50'

Directed by Kim Longinotto Jano Williams .

This award-winning film opens a door into the amazing world of the Takarazuka Revue, the all-female theatre troupe in Japan. Thousands of young women aspire to perform in the Revue’s glitzy musical

Central Asia and Far East Public Figure Popular Culture Dance / Theatre / Performance Gender Role and Identity

The Dream of Maelen 2003 25'

Directed by Eirik Sandberg .

Arne Bakke Mælen lives alone on the small family farm he inherited on the edge of a fjord. The farm is no longer viable economically and, like many small farmers in Norway, he has not found a woman

Scandinavia Art / Artists / Artisans Rural Agriculture / Farming

Dreamcatcher 2015 98'

Directed by Kim Longinotto .

A film set in Chicago about an inspirational woman who has defied her past and now rescues girls and young women from a life on the streets.

North America Gender Role and Identity Labour Sex / Sexuality

Dreamland 2001 30'

Directed by Gema Juárez-Allen .

This film explores the dreams and frustrations of camp squatters in Rio de Janeiro State, as, supported by the MST (Landless People's Movement), they wait for permission to settle on unused land close by.

South America Squatter Settlements / Homelessness Land Rights

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Drive it, Crash it, Paint it 2002 26'

Directed by James Bolchover .

Kelzo grew up in Hulme and has been writing on walls, wrecked cars and other urban surfaces since 1984. But now that he is a 'graffiti artist' whose work is sold in galleries, is he still in touch with his roots?

British-Irish Isles Personal Narrative Alternative culture Art / Artists / Artisans

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

Duka's Dilemma 2001 87'

Directed by Jean Lydall Kaira Strecker .

Filmmaker and anthropologist Jean Lydall has been making films with the Hamar community of southern Ethiopia since the 1970s. In 2001 she returned with her daughter and grandson to follow the

North and Northeast Africa Family / Kinship Marriage Gender Role and Identity

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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

Film list