Film list

[barbara-and-her-friends-in-candombleland--Film-image]
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-bastard-sings-the-sweetest-song--Film-image]
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
[between-memories--Film-image]
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
[body-games-capoeira-and-ancestry--Film-image]
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
[the-body-wont-close--Film-image]
The Body Won't Close 2020 74'
    Main Competition Directed by Mattijs van de Port .
Our bodies are semi-permeable. All over the world, stories are being told about heroes who magically “close” their bodies, so as to become invincible. This film follows one such story, as it is
South America Essay film Gender Role and Identity Folklore Reflexivity
[casados-legacy--Film-image]
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
[a-colombian-family--Film-image]
A Colombian Family 2020 80'
    Main Competition Directed by Tanja Wol Sørensen .
A powerful mother-daughter drama is at the centre of this film. Rooted in disagreement—both personal and political—the film follows the consequences of a war that leaves them with an impossible
South America War / Conflict / Reconciliation Family / Kinship Gender Role and Identity Intergenerational relations Memory Migration Personal Narrative Political Activists Refugees / Displaced populations Social Conflict
[confluences-emerillon-of-french-guiana--Film-image]
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
[cuyagua-devil-dancers--Film-image]
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--Film-image]
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
[doctors-of-two-worlds--Film-image]
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
[the-ethnographer--Film-image]
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
[habilito-debt-for-life--Film-image]
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
[horror-in-the-andes--Film-image]
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
[ignacios-legacy--Film-image]
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
[knots-and-holes-an-essay-film-on-the-life-of-nets--Film-image]
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
[the-possibility-of-spirits--Film-image]
The Possibility of Spirits 2016 72'
  Directed by Mattijs van de Port .
What is it that you film when you film a spirit? I was brought up to believe that spirits do not exist. Years of research on an afro-Brazilian spirit possession cult taught me the limits of such
South America Essay film Religion / Belief / Faith Reflexivity
[reclaiming-the-forest--Film-image]
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-storyteller--Film-image]
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
[suspension--Film-image]
Suspension 2019 73'
    Werbner Award Directed by Simón Uribe .
This film documents the building of a modern road through the imposing geography of southern Colombia. It brilliantly captures some of the absurdities and contradictions of a construction project
South America Development projects Infrastructure / Transport Material Culture Rural
[tabom-in-bahia--Film-image]
Tabom in Bahia 2017 52'
  Directed by Juan Diego Diaz Nilton Pereira .
There is a small community in Ghana who identify as Brazilians. Their name is the Tabom. They are the descendants of former enslaved Africans and creoles who resettled from Bahia to Ghana during the
South America West Africa Music / Ethnomusicology Collective / Community identity Memory Migration Popular Culture Race / Racism / Antiracism Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
[this-is-my-face--Film-image]
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
[transfiction--Film-image]
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
[uma-a-water-crisis-in-bolivia--Film-image]
Uma: a water crisis in Bolivia 2020 76'
  Directed by Ana 𝗟𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗿 .
Uma: a water crisis in Bolivia tells the story of three Andean indigenous communities in the highlands of Bolivia who are fighting to protect their water from diversion and contamination amid a
South America Environment Food / Water Gender Role and Identity Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Land Rights Political Activists Resistance Rural Social Conflict
[wasi--Film-image]
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
[yanomami-from-machetes-to-mobile-phones--Film-image]
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