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2023
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431 Films
Status
"A"
x
Country
"0"
x
films with a digital version
4
short films
218
films available on demand
1
Section
RAI FILM FESTIVAL 2017
46
RAI FILM FESTIVAL 2017 Film Library
69
RAI FILM FESTIVAL 2019
69
RAI FILM FESTIVAL 2019 Film Library
55
RAI FILM FESTIVAL 2021
92
RAI FILM FESTIVAL 2023
92
Sales
9
not set
1
Status
films with no status
0
show deleted films
0
show none-public films
0
show public and none-public films
431
show public films
431
x
Title initial
A
24
B
21
C
28
D
14
E
17
F
21
G
14
H
7
I
15
J
6
K
12
L
14
M
22
N
13
O
16
P
61
Q
1
R
12
S
41
T
26
U
2
V
10
W
26
Y
6
Z
2
Region
Central Europe
1
Hong Kong
1
South America
2
South-East Europe
1
Southern Africa
1
Western Europe
1
not set
426
Country
not set
431
x
Keywords
Agriculture / Farming
1
Animals
1
Dance / Theatre / Performance
1
Festivals / Carnival
1
Folklore
1
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
1
Hunting/Gathering/Fishing
1
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
1
Internet
1
Land Rights
1
Music / Ethnomusicology
1
Ritual
1
Social Change
1
Social Conflict
1
Trade
1
not set
424
Directors
(Chhara), Dakxinkumar Bajrange
1
Abatemarco, Gina
1
Abraham, Shirley
1
Adair, Chisako Yokoyama
1
Agatha, Diane
1
Aiano, Eluned Zoe
1
Akafou, Joël
1
Al Hafez, Maisa
1
Al-Khaled, Bassam
1
Al-Khatib, Abdallah
1
Ali, Abdel Malek Al
1
Alvarez, Juan Sebastián
1
Alvarez, Patricia
1
Anthropological Institute, Royal
1
Applewhaite, Che
1
Arcilla, Roel
1
Arif-Bashir, Abeera
1
Aston, Judith
1
Athias, Renato
2
Aubert, Baptiste
1
August, Ramona
1
Awad, Saja
1
Awoyinka, Siji
1
Aydin, Yunus Emre
1
Azoulay, Ariella Aïsha
1
BBC / Swan Films, RAI /
1
Badescu, Ramona
1
Bahule, Andre
1
Bahule, André
1
Bakar Sidibé, Abou
1
Balikci, Anna
1
Ballester, Julian
1
Barber, Maddi
1
Barber, Rachel Schaetzel
1
Baril Gaudet, Sarah
1
Barone, Enrico
1
Barrett, Meg
1
Basu, Prantik
1
Bell, Hatty
1
Bell, Otto
1
Bennett, Jami L.
1
Bensadon, Sofia
1
Berman, Alexandre
1
Bhagat, Simit
1
Biella, Peter
1
Blachnicka-Ciacek, Dominika
1
Bona, Stefania
1
Bonfim, Vanuzia
1
Bonifacio, Valentina
1
Borecký, Pavel
1
Boswall, Karen
2
Boudreault-Fournier, Alexandrine
2
Boyce, Paul
1
Bragard, Magali
1
Braz, Caamini
1
Brewer, Teri
2
Brečević, Geska Helena
1
Brečević, Robert
1
Bromhead, Toni de
1
Brossmann, Jakob
1
Brylla, Catalin
1
Bunescu, Dana
1
Burcak, Lidija
1
Bureau, Martin
1
Buthpitiya, Vindhya
3
Cabezas Pino, Angélica
2
Cameron, Al
1
Campus, Greca
1
Canals, Roger
1
Canguçu, Carolina
1
Carelli, Vincent
1
Carlyle, Angus
1
Carpenter, Sue
1
Carrillo Sánchez, María Fernanda
1
Cartelli, Philip
2
Carvalho, Ernesto de
1
Carver, Gavin
1
Chavah, Arjun
1
Chong, Zhang
1
Colson, Laurie
1
Cooper, Timothy
3
Costa, Vince
1
Couto, João Carlos
1
Cox, Rupert
1
Cremers, Dr. Lianne (A.L.)
1
Cubero, Carlo
1
Cubides-Brady, Natalie
1
Dabo, Ansomane
1
Dahr, Julia
1
Dam Bracia, Lillian
1
Dandriyal, Nirmal Chander
1
Dattatreyan, Ethiraj Gabriel
1
Delgado San Ginés, David
1
Devaraj, Rebecca
1
Dewey, Myron
1
Dhanraj, Deepa
1
Diamanti, Eleonora
1
Diamantis, Constantinos
1
Dienderen, An van
1
Dong, Xiuzhi
1
Doren, Oinam
1
Dost, Jainendra
1
Drion, Georges
1
Edenshaw, Gwaai
1
Edkins, Teboho
1
Edwards, Bob
1
Elias, Meni
1
Enjolras, Séverine
1
Erickson, LeAnn
1
Esteva, Jordi
1
FILM FESTIVAL, RAI
1
Fairbanks, Charles
1
Farooqui, Samreen
1
Farouky, Saeed Taji
1
Favero, Paolo
1
Faye, Safi
2
Fedde, R.A.
1
Feld, Steven
1
Fernández Mouján, Alejandro
1
Fernández, Luciano Pérez
1
Ferreira, Daniele
1
Ferreira, Patricia
1
Ferreira, Patrícia
1
Ferrini, Alessandra
1
Figueroa, David
1
Figueroa, Jose
1
Fijn, Natasha
1
Filak, Manca
1
Film Festival, RAI
1
Fleifel, Mahdi
1
Flores, Carlos
2
Foglio, Omar
1
Folegatti, Luiza
1
Fournier, Guillaume
1
Fox, Jason
1
Fox, Josh
1
Franco, Carlos Tobon
1
Frankenstein, Ellen
1
Fumanti, Mattia
2
Gama, Antonia
1
Giles, Sue
1
Gill, Harjant
1
Girmus, Dan
1
Goddinho, Leandro
3
Gomes, Márcio
1
Grabowska, Malwa
1
Grassilli, Mariagiulia
1
Greenhalgh, Cathy
1
Grimshaw, Anna
1
Gruber, Martin
1
Grunvald, Vitor
1
Grégoire, Charlotte
1
Gubner, Jennie
1
Guetsa, Alzira
1
Gul, Seemab
1
Gulati, Shilpi
1
Gumnit, Ruth
1
Gunderson, Frank
1
Guzman, Elena
1
HERROU, Adeline
1
Habibi, Elaheh
1
Haddad, Abeer Zeibak
1
Hahonou, Eric Komlavi
1
Haig-Brown, Helen
1
Hallak, Shawki Al
1
Hantson, Louise
1
Hassanwalia, Shabani
1
Hazineh, Nisreen
1
Henley, Paul
5
Henry, Rosita
1
Hesmondhalgh, Jacob
1
Hick, Alexander
1
Hikiji, Rose Satiko
1
Hillman, Rosie Reed
1
Hobson, Marie-Josephine
1
Hollerup Christensen, Louise
1
Holtedahl, Lisbet
1
Horn, Roger
1
Hoskins, Charlotte
1
Huang, Enke
1
Huguet, Benjamin
1
Hushing, Richa
1
Huyer, Bruno
1
Høgel, Arine Kirstein
1
Igwe, Onyeka
1
Ikpeng, Kamatxi
1
Ikpeng, Karané
1
Ikpeng, Kumaré
1
Indjai, Braima
1
Inman, Joseph
1
Irwin, Jessamine
1
Jan Gollob, Tino Glimmann
1
Jaoul, Nicolas
2
Jayasankar, KP
2
Jigüe, DJ
1
Jirmanus, Mary
1
Jourdain, Olivier
1
Kamerling, Leonard
1
Karimi, Keywan
1
Katz, Maude
1
Kauli, Jackie
1
Kaur, Raminder
2
Ke, Guo
1
Kenneil, Alastair
1
Kenyon, Sam
1
Kezich, Giovanni
2
Khaitan, Abhyuday
1
Khan, Arshad
1
Khan, Samar Minallah
1
Kim, Zuniel
1
Kisedje, Kamikia P.T.
1
Klaue, Léa
1
Knapp, Gina
1
Knorpp, Barbara
1
Kofti, Dimitra
1
Kongshao, Zhuang
1
Kordonets, Lesia
1
Koto, Erik
1
Kremer, Flavia
2
Kroes, Lily Mae
1
Kuen, Laura
1
Kuka, Hajooj
1
Kunuk, Zacharias
1
Kuzhur, Renjith
1
Kühlbrandt, Charlotte
1
LIU, Guangli
1
Lacerda, Rodrigo
1
Lai, Miasarah
1
Lakhera, Srishti
1
Lambert, Roseline
1
Lansing, J. Stephen
1
Lapper, Ellen
1
Lau, Lasse
1
Le Dauphin, Axelle
1
Lemelson, Robert
1
Li, He Zi Jian
1
Li, Wenfei
1
Liu, Xiangchen
1
Long, Zheng
1
Lopez, Lucia Barrenetxea
1
Lunch, Nick
1
Lutkehaus, Nancy
1
Luz, Ana Luísa
1
MAKEPEACE, ANNE
1
Ma, Chi-hang
1
MacClancy, Jeremy
1
Madheshiya, Amit
1
Magnússon, Jón Bjarki
2
Magoko, Beryl
1
Maingard, Jacqueline
1
Malara, Diego Maria
1
Maleney, Clair
1
Marchand, Trevor H. J.
2
Marinho de Sousa, Liliana
1
Marrero-Guillamón, Isaac
1
Marsh, Sophie
1
Matteau, Samuel
1
Matz, Maayan L.
1
Maulana, Rizky
1
Maxakali, Isael
1
Maxakali, Sueli
1
Mbakam, Rosine
1
McCrum, Rachel
1
McLarnon, Kate
1
McManus, Luke
1
McNamara, Robert
1
Mendel, Paulo
1
Mervin, Sabrina
1
Mestroni, Simone
1
Metz, Janus
1
Mills-Affif, Edouard
1
Minh-ha, Trinh T.
1
Mirabella, Rita
1
Mitjáns, Fernando
1
Mitman, Gregg
1
Mohammadi, Yasin
1
Monteiro, Anjali
2
Morelli, Camilla
3
Moriarty, Erin
1
Moura Fagundes, Guilherme
1
Muratsu, Ran
1
Murray, Christopher
1
Myers-Haugh, Kyle
1
Myhre, Knut Chr. Myhre
1
Naidin, Julia
1
Namondwe, Charles
1
Nayak, Saranya
1
Nayar, Anjali
1
Nayyar, Rajat
1
Ndisi-Herrmann, Philippa
1
Ndjom, Joseph Dégramon
1
Neal, Sky
1
Niglas, Liivo
1
Nolin, Yannick
1
Norris, Craig
1
Norton, Barley
1
Nørgaard Munk, Emil
1
Obomsawin, Alanis
10
Oliveras de Ita, Daniel
1
Orderson, Kurt
1
Orr Urtreger, Gil
1
Ortega, Ariel
1
Ortega, Ariel Duarte
2
Owles, Ed
2
P. A. Cooper, Timothy
2
Panay, Simon
1
Panizza, Tiziana
1
Parietti, Caroline
1
Peiu, Toma
2
Perovic, Vladimir
1
Pestarino, Julieta
1
Petré, Robin
1
Piasta, Piotr
1
Piccini, Angela
2
Pilvet, Kristiina
1
Piria, Elisa
1
Piyãko, Wewito
1
Plambech, Sine
1
Plouffe, Simon
1
Pollet, Olivier
1
Poltorak, Mike
3
Pomerance, Erica
1
Ponson, Cyprien
1
Ponte, Ines
1
Prins, Janine
3
Quintanilla, Daniel
1
Radhakrishnan, Shweta
1
Rappoport, Dana
1
Rashid, Azra
1
Rees, Lowri
1
Rijckaert, Jorn
1
Robert Morales, Matteo
1
Rodriguez, Paola
1
Romero, Carlos Maria
1
Romero, Roberto
1
Rosemont, Colin
1
Rosenlund Byriel, Maja
1
Ross, Nina
1
Rowlinson, Carl
1
Roy, Sumira
1
Saghari, Niyaz
1
Saltalippi, Matteo
1
Sarabi, Abtin
1
Saraiva, Chico
1
Sariyildiz, Özlem
1
Sarmiento, Alvaro
1
Sarmiento, Diego
1
Sartori, Caterina
2
Sautchuk, Carlos
1
Scalisi, Francesca
1
Schiltz, Anne
1
Seaman, Gary
2
Seidel, Frank
1
Sen, Priya
1
Shahmiri, Mehdi Imani
1
Sharim, Yehuda
1
Sharma, Aparna
1
Sharma, Shubham
1
Sheikh, Anas Al
1
Shrish, Asmita
1
Siebert, Moritz
1
Siegel, Sarita
1
Silva, Jeff
1
Singer, Andre
1
Singer, André
1
Snigirev, Yury
1
Solakiewicz, Zuzanna
1
Sousa, Joana
1
Speroni, Marco
1
Spinetti, Federico
1
Spione, James
1
Stasse, Sammy-Lena
1
Stehlikova, Tereza
1
Stewart, Michael
1
Stock, Emiko
1
Storaas, Frode
1
Su, Hung En
1
Su, Yan Chun
1
Syroechkovskaya, Marusya
1
Taylor, Jaime
1
Teeter, Wendy
1
Tender, Priit
1
Tesar, Catalina
1
Tibet, Eda Elif
1
Tilche, Alice
1
Time, Justin
1
Toda, Hikaru
1
Tolange, Deepak
1
Torresan, Angela
2
Trentini, Michele
1
Tserewahú, Divino
1
Tumino, Giuseppe
1
Turner, Shannon
1
Txicão, Natuyu Yuwipo
1
Vail, Pegi
1
Vakhrushev, Aleksei
1
Varejão, Cláudia
1
Vavrova, Daniela
1
Wagner, Estephan
1
Waldstein, Kaela
1
WeOwnTV,
1
Weijs, Robert
1
Wester, Knutte
1
Westmoreland, Mark
1
Wickwire, Maren
1
Wilkinson, Marko Ray
1
Wittmoser, Christian
1
Wolf, Richard K.
1
Wright, Chris
1
Wright, Evie
1
Wu, Qiao
1
Wu, Qihui
1
Wyatt, Olivia
1
Yaméogo, Eléonore
1
Yan, Yihao
1
Yildirim, S. Buse
1
Yin, Luojunnan
1
Yube, Zezinho
1
Yuchuan, Jia
1
Zaki, Iris
1
Zauad, Zaino
1
Zhang, MengHua
1
Zirion, Antonio
2
Ziwei, Meng
1
Zurné, Lise
1
de Bromhead, Toni
1
not set
76
van de Port, Mattijs
2
Ángel, Laura
1
Series
Carnival King of Europe
1
George's Place: A seven part film series
1
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
1
National Film and Television School
1
not set
427
Country of production
Algeria
1
Angola
1
Argentina
4
Australia
2
Austria
1
Belgium
7
Brazil
22
Burkina Faso
1
Cambodia
1
Cameroon
1
Canada
22
Chile
2
China
13
Colombia
5
Costa Rica
1
Cuba
2
Czech Republic
1
Denmark
7
Estonia
4
Ethiopia
1
Finland
1
France
16
Germany
14
Ghana
1
Guinea-Bissau
2
Hong Kong
1
Hungary
1
Iceland
2
India
23
Iran
5
Ireland
1
Islamic Republic of
2
Israel
2
Italy
12
Japan
3
Kenya
2
Kosovo
1
Lebanon
4
Mali
1
Mexico
6
Mongolia
2
Montenegro
1
Mozambique
2
Nepal
3
Netherlands
6
Niger
1
Nigeria
2
Norway
4
Pakistan
3
Papua New Guinea
2
Paraguay
1
Peru
3
Philippines
1
Poland
3
Portugal
4
Romania
2
Senegal
2
Serbia
1
Sierra Leone
1
Slovenia
1
South Africa
2
Spain
4
Sudan
1
Sweden
3
Switzerland
7
Taiwan
1
Tanzania
2
Thailand
1
Turkey
2
USA
1
Uganda
1
United Kingdom
46
United States
37
not set
134
Year of production
not set
118
1971
1
1975
1
1977
1
1979
1
1987
3
1988
1
1991
1
1993
1
1996
1
1999
1
2001
2
2006
1
2008
1
2009
1
2011
3
2012
1
2013
1
2014
1
2015
42
2016
52
2017
49
2018
50
2019
11
2020
15
2021
29
2022
34
2023
8
Film Festival Year
not set
6
2009
1
2017
115
2019
125
2021
92
2023
92
Event type
Conference
61
Forum
3
Gala event
7
Masterclass
3
Seminar
2
Shorts Programme
14
Special Programmes
8
Talks
13
Workshop
14
not set
306
Festival Prize Category
not set
50
Animation
6
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
10
Decolonising the Archive
1
Disability Futures
2
Ethnomusicology
8
Focus on: Ariella Aïsha Azoulay
1
Global Racialisations
2
Intangible Culture
9
Lifetime Achievement
2
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
10
Main Competition
18
Material Culture
6
Music Docs
5
President's Award - Trinh T. Minh-ha
1
RAI Basil Wright
29
Shorts
41
Special Interest
11
Student
22
Werbner Award
13
not set
184
Review Status
Accepted
115
Film library
124
not set
192
videoScreenRatio
Price code - 1,2,3 or 4
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DVD and ASP Stream price depends on this.
not set
422
1
7
2
2
Film list
#deaftravel: Deaf Tourism in Bali
2021
110
'
Disability Futures
Directed by
Erin Moriarty
Jorn Rijckaert
.
An ethnographic film that explores the experiences of deaf tourists who visited Bali in the summer of 2018. The tourists from Europe, the USA, and India joined tours guided by two deaf tour guides,
18 Feet
2015
77
'
Directed by
Renjith Kuzhur
.
Karinthalakoottam is an indigenous band that propagates the music of soul to connect people with a sense of historic resolution. 18 feet symbolizes the holy distance dalits, the downtrodden, were to
The 18-Year-Old Assembly Line
2016
30
'
Directed by
Luojunnan Yin
.
We happened to make friends with this group of factory workers in the "post-90s" generation while we were working on another projects. We were quite fascinated by many things that we
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
About Love on a Small Island
2018
26
'
Directed by
Elaheh Habibi
.
The film About Love on a Small Island is a participatory and reflexive ethnographic film exploring the meaning of love among a Sunni Muslim community in an Iranian village on Qeshm Island. Following
After Prayers
2018
61
'
Directed by
Simone Mestroni
.
The story of Kashmir's conflict narrated through various life stories.
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
All Eyez on Me!
2021
30
'
Shorts
Directed by
Robert Weijs
.
Over a period of 15 years, the filmmaker visits the Loita Maasai in Kenya, becoming close friends with brothers Lenaai and Matinkoi. Lenaai, aware of how the outside world looks at the Maasai,
All God's Children
2022
67
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Robert Lemelson
Chisako Yokoyama Adair
.
Well over half a million children in Indonesia are on the autism spectrum and have varying difficulty with social interaction and communication. Idris is a nonverbal autistic boy living in rural Java
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
Andrè Singer in conversation
'
Talks
.
Animation
2023
60
'
Special Programmes
Animation
.
Screening online 3-31 March, and at Watershed (Bristol, UK) 25 March, 17:00-18:00
Anshan Diaries
2022
27
'
Student
Directed by
Xiuzhi Dong
.
Director Charles Xiuzhi Dong uses real family life as its backdrop. Casting his grandpa he investigates and retraces his family saga spanning three decades of Chinese post-cultural revolution history.
Anthropology, Creative Practice and Ethnography
'
Talks
.
Anti-Racist Documentary Filmmaking Workshop
'
Talks
Convened by
Elena Guzman
Miasarah Lai
.
This workshop offers fundamental strategies for anti-racist documentary storytelling from concept to production. The need for anti-racist filmmaking has reverberated throughout the film industry with
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
2023
'
Special Programmes
.
A curated programme streaming online 3-31 March 2023. Click here to buy an online festival pass. Live in Bristol 22-25 March 2023. At ICA (London), Sunday 19 March 2023, 18:15 The aim of ARANDU -
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
Ariella Aïsha Azoulay
2023
'
Special Programmes
.
The Art Of Moving
2016
88
'
Directed by
Liliana Marinho de Sousa
.
Daya Al-Taseh, a video activist group made up of 4 Syrian friends, are producing anti-ISIS satirical videos in Gaziantep, a city in south-eastern Turkey. Despite being threatened, the group doesn’t
The Art of Andrew Omoding
2016
9
'
Directed by
Trevor H. J. Marchand
.
Andrew Omoding is a Ugandan-British artist. Andrew enters into partnership with his materials, allowing their sensible properties to guide his exploratory gestures and fingerwork. In stitching and
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
As Aye,
2022
26
'
Student
Directed by
Sam Kenyon
.
As Aye, is a fragment of correspondence with author and storyteller, Jess Smith, and with the ‘absent presence’ of Scottish Travellers in the archive and the landscape. Drawing on the memory and
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.
BE' JAM BE the never ending song
2017
85
'
Directed by
Cyprien Ponson
Caroline Parietti
.
In Sarawak (Borneo), “the ones who live upstream” are the first affected by deforestation. The Penan, (ex) nomadic hunters, must figure out how to go on living when one’s entire world is being
BROKEN SKIN
2018
24
'
Directed by
Lidija Burcak
.
An emotionally charged poetic encounter between the filmmaker and other psoriasis sufferers, exploring skin as a metaphor of strength, belief, belonging and alienation.
Ballad for Syria
2017
49
'
Directed by
Eda Elif Tibet
Maisa Al Hafez
.
A musical documentary about Maisa Alhafez, a musician and a Syrian refugee living in Istanbul. Separated from many of her loved ones, she builds a multicultural community: “The Oriental Istanbul Mosaic Choir”.
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
Bariz (Paris) Street Camp Days
2020
69
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Nicolas Jaoul
.
Summer 2015. La Chapelle neighbourhood, Paris. Hundreds of exiled people from East Africa survive on the streets, chased violently by the police, yet seeking to defend their rights as asylum seekers.
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
Batusha's House
2016
70
'
Directed by
Tino Glimmann Jan Gollob
.
KADRI BATUSHA has been building his tremendous house in the outskirts of Prishtina (Kosovo) for 15 years without any plans or permits. The architecture of this enormous building, with its towers,
Bearing
2021
29
'
Shorts
Directed by
Rosie Reed Hillman
.
The everyday frustrations, heartache and joy of early motherhood are revealed through intimate, observational vignettes, offering a frank and raw account of the filmmaker’s life as a new mum over
Beats of the Antonov
2014
68
'
Global Racialisations
Directed by
Hajooj Kuka
.
Sudan has been in an almost constant state of civil war since it achieved independence in 1956, and it split into a pair of sovereign states in 2011. On the border between the two, Russian-made
Belle River
2022
11
'
Shorts
Directed by
Guillaume Fournier
Samuel Matteau
Yannick Nolin
.
It is 2019. Spring flooding in Mississippi hits record highs. In Louisiana, the residents of Pierre-Part are preparing for the worst. Barring an unexpected turn of events, local authorities will soon
Between Islam and the Sacred Forest
2017
52
'
Directed by
Martin Gruber
Frank Seidel
.
An investigation into the rituals in a small village on the coast of Guinea, West Africa to commemorate a recently deceased woman (a Muslim celebration of the 40th day after death conducted by a
Between Jirina and Anna
2015
5
'
Directed by
Tereza Stehlikova
.
My grandmother Jirina explains the history of a traditional costume that her own mother made. As Jirina's great granddaughter Anna tries the dress on, assisted by her own mother and grandmother, the
Beyond Life - Cooling and Cleansing, in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
2018
25
'
Directed by
Frode Storaas
Knut Chr. Myhre Myhre
.
On the rural slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, a young man takes his own life, leaving a wife and small children behind. On the third day after his burial, a ceremony is conducted to cool and cleanse the
Beyond observation
'
Talks
.
Beyond observation: A history of authorship in ethnographic film. A discussion with Paul Henley. More than just introducing the best in new ethnographic films, the RAI FILM Festival also aims to take
Bill Reid Remembers
2021
24
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
Bill Reid Remembers is a beautiful tribute from Alanis Obomsawin to her friend’s remarkable life and rich legacy. Despite spending his early life away from his nation’s culture, renowned Haida
Biographies of Struggle
2015
43
'
Directed by
Matteo Saltalippi
Greca Campus
.
Biographies of Struggle is a documentary analysing the longest steelworkers' strike in Italy since the last wave of labour unrest in the 80s. The Terni ThyssenKrupp factory threatened by 550 job cuts
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
Bridging the Gap
2021
7
'
Animation
Directed by
Nina Ross
Meg Barrett
.
Aged 18, Meg started hearing a voice. She tried ignoring it, didn’t tell a soul, yet the voice grew. More abusive, more delusional and often completely out of her control. Eventually, her paranoia
Broken Gods
2019
42
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Dakxinkumar Bajrange (Chhara)
Alice Tilche
.
Set among the Rathava and Bhil Adivasi communities of western India, Broken Gods documents the social impact of Hindu religious evangelism among India’s Indigenous groups. As Indigenous people join
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
Cara Romero: Following the Light
2022
27
'
Shorts
Directed by
Kaela Waldstein
.
An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero was raised between contrasting settings: the rural Chemehuevi reservation in Mojave Desert, CA and the urban sprawl of Houston, TX.
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,
Carnival King of Europe. Release 2.0
2011
38
'
Directed by
Michele Trentini
Giovanni Kezich
.
Award-winning ethnographic caleidoscope featuring over 50 different masquerades of some 13 European countries. Thanks to some careful editing, the underlying structure of European winter masked
Western Europe
South-East Europe
Central Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
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,
The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters
2022
85
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Catalina Tesar
Dana Bunescu
.
In a traditional Transylvanian Roma community, boys alone inherit the family’s badge, the tahtais (chalices), silver cups that come from their ancestors. As a result, couples often resort to sex
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
Chasing Houses
2017
60
'
Directed by
Justin Time
.
The experimental road movie enters the contradictory space between home and mobility. Through the vastness of the US American West, CHASING HOUSES follows mobile homes on their journey from tear down
Chasing Shadows
2019
70
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Roger Canals
.
This film is an intimate portrait of the Kyangyang prophetic movement in Guinea-Bissau. The members of the movement communicate with their ancestors, who transmit messages from the high God through
The Chateau
2018
113
'
Directed by
Lisbet Holtedahl
.
A portrait of one of the richest Cameroonian industrialists Al Hajji Mohamadou Ousmanou Abbo. Filmed over a period of more than ten years, the red thread of the story is the construction of Al
Chosen People
2016
18
'
Directed by
Qihui Wu
.
Responding to systematic racism and historical erasure, the African diapora has developed a multitude of tactics for mitigating oppressive ideological conditions. Among them, the Hebrew Israelite
Christmas at Moose Factory
1971
13
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
This lyrical short documentary marked the directorial debut of legendary Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin. Filmed at a residential school in northern Ontario, it is composed entirely of drawings by
The Chronotopes of Palestine
2015
38
'
Directed by
Dominika Blachnicka-Ciacek
.
The Chronotopes of Palestine (38’) is a collection of five ethnographic short films, which explore different modes of remembering the homeland among three generations of exiled Polish and British
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
A Cobra
2016
19
'
Directed by
Carlos Sautchuk
.
What we call Amazonia is actually a diversity of environments, artifacts, actions and actors. These elements are in a constant relation of genesis, producing each other in particular places and
Concrete Sea
2021
15
'
Shorts
Directed by
Julia Naidin
.
As an exercise of resistance, Sônia follows the process of destruction caused by the sea, which day by day, advances into the beach and approaches her home. She makes daily records of this process
Cornershop Beats
2022
8
'
Shorts
Directed by
Bassam Al-Khaled
Abdel Malek Al Ali
Saja Awad
.
In a family run grocery shop in Saida, Lebanon a father and son try to make their dreams come true.
Cracks
2018
54
'
Directed by
Dimitra Kofti
.
Shiny supermarkets stand next to dilapidated factory buildings in the Bulgarian city of Pernik, one of the Balkans once most important industrial areas. Pernik used to be a symbol of
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
Cruces
2020
23
'
Student
Directed by
Carlos Tobon Franco
.
An immersive expedition throughout the geographies and stories composing the Latin American journey to reach US soil. By weaving together oral histories and the landscape, the film is structured to
Cycles
2022
9
'
Shorts
Directed by
Nisreen Hazineh
Anas Al Sheikh
Shawki Al Hallak
.
We have fallen and are trying to stand. We keep on going… The world keeps spinning and we spin along with it in search for our daily bread in the current economic situation. We have become like the
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
David MacDougall
2023
90
'
Special Programmes
.
This conversation will take place on Monday 6 March 2023 10:00 - 11:30, UK time, online. It will be live streamed here. Click here to buy a Full Festival Pass for entry to all the festival’s
Death of the One who Knows
2020
82
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Dana Rappoport
.
In the Toraja highlands of Sulawesi (Indonesia), Lumbaa is one of the last masters of ritual speech. After his forced conversion to Pentecostalism, he is compelled to stop all his ritual activity and
Decolonising the Archive shorts #1
70
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Rethinking how collections are made and remembered
Decolonising the Archive shorts #2
73
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Rethinking how collections are made and remembered
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
Desterro Guarani
2011
38
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Vincent Carelli
Ernesto de Carvalho
Patrícia Ferreira
Ariel Duarte Ortega
.
The Mbya-Guarani’s history of contact and expulsion from the land. As Ariel Ortega thinks about the history of contact of the Myba-Guarani, he tries to understand how his people got expelled from
The Devil and the Holy Water
2016
12
'
Directed by
Diego Maria Malara
.
For centuries, exorcism has been a daily practice in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. But as Ethiopia has undergone extensive social change, exorcism has been revolutionized. New problems produce new
Disability Futures
2023
'
Special Programmes
.
Don’t miss the plenary session with Anneleis Kusters and Erin Moriarty: Birth of a genre: Re-framing language in deaf ethnographic film
Dreaming The Memories of Now
2018
92
'
Directed by
Geska Helena Brečević
Robert Brečević
.
Journeying into the mythical space of southern Mexico, visual artists Geska and Robert Brecevic and their five-year old daughter Katja unearth complex stories in which time, memory and nostalgia are
Drokpa
2016
79
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Yan Chun Su
.
Drokpa is an intimate portrait of the lives and struggles of nomads on the eastern Tibetan plateau. With rare access to a small community of nomads living on the vast yet rapidly degrading
Duende
2022
27
'
Student
Directed by
Lucia Barrenetxea Lopez
.
Duende takes us through one of the most awaited festivals in Granada, Spain: Easter week. Duende is an intimate, unexpected tale of an encounter with the afterlife, a series of miracles that can only
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
Eid AI-Fitr
2015
70
'
Directed by
Xiangchen Liu
.
Kirghiz people in western China celebrate the end of Ramadan with religious ceremonies, meals and other activities.
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
Elder's Corner
2020
96
'
Music Docs
Directed by
Siji Awoyinka
.
From the colourful, celebratory sounds of Juju to the politicized urgency of Afrobeat, Nigerian musicians have spearheaded some of Africa's most prominent musical movements. For over a decade,
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
The Enemy: a Partisan Hymnbook
2015
80
'
Directed by
Federico Spinetti
.
A gunshot echoes from 1944, leading Italian post-punk musician Massimo Zamboni to uncover his family’s past. Long after the break-up of C.S.I., the historic band that he co-founded, Zamboni calls
Engaging Media Worlds [NYU]
'
Talks
.
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
Entretejido
2015
33
'
Directed by
Patricia Alvarez
.
Peruvian alpaca wool is a material of significance among Andean highland communities and their rich textile traditions. Within global fashion worlds, it is considered a luxurious material,
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,
Ernesto, gracias
2022
71
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Laura Ángel
.
From her intimate gaze, Laura portrays her brother Ernesto and the dilemmas surrounding autism. Liliana, their mother, has carried the burden of a complex motherhood. Laura is afraid to repeat her mother’s story.
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 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
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
An Extraordinary Wedding: Marriage and Modernity in Highlands, Papua New Guinea
2018
55
'
Directed by
Rosita Henry
Daniela Vavrova
.
An Extraordinary Wedding is a film about contemporary marital exchanges in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The film presents the complex relationships entangled in a web of bridewealth
The Eye Begins in The Hand
2022
16
'
Shorts
Directed by
Yehuda Sharim
.
El Ojo Comienza En La Mano is a tribute to campesino histories in rural California through the artwork of an artist largely absent from critical conversations on Chicanx art, Ruben A. Sanchez, as
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
A Family Portrait
2022
5
'
Student
Directed by
Shubham Sharma
.
“After finding a family portrait on my phone one evening in Germany, I felt a longing for my hometown. I wanted to make a film about it. But how can you talk about your family portrait without
The Family and the Animals
2015
15
'
Directed by
Jacob Hesmondhalgh
Marie-Josephine Hobson
.
Sunrise to set. An ethnographic film, using no subtitles or narration to depict and illustrate the co-existence of a rural Zimbabwean family and their animals.
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
The Feel of History
2017
29
'
Directed by
Lise Zurné
.
Each year, on the 1st of March, a historical society called the Komunitas Djokjakarta 1945 re-enacts one of the last battles with the Dutch colonizers of 1949 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Following
A Feeling Greater Than Love
2017
93
'
Directed by
Mary Jirmanus
.
In her directorial debut, Mary Jirmanus Saba deals with a forgotten revolution, saving from oblivion bloodily suppressed strikes at Lebanese tobacco and Gandour chocolate factories. These events from
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
Filmmaking for Fieldwork
'
Talks
.
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,
Fireball
'
Lifetime Achievement
.
The Five Breakfasts of Mr Podgoretsky
2016
21
'
Directed by
Carl Rowlinson
.
In the shadow of Brexit an expat is deported from a country that he has made his home over the last 50 years. This documentary asks what it means to make a country a home.
Five Faces of Shiva
2018
60
'
Directed by
R.A. Fedde
.
Five Faces of Shiva follows the rise and fall of the popularity of Hindu god lithographs, arguably India’s first mass media. Lithography — a printing technique which allowed for highly detailed
Floating Raft
2018
29
'
Directed by
Zhang Chong
.
Floating Raft takes an observational look at the life of a vibrant Chinese Buddhist monk Shi Yanyi and his Buddhist brothers, in Los Angeles. The Shaolin Temple is famous for its 1500-year Buddhist
Flores, little Jamaica
2017
49
'
Directed by
Maude Katz
.
The fact that a type of music specific to one place could touch a distant listener has always intrigued me. When I met young people of my generation who were fans of reggae music at Flores, a small
The Forgotten Generation
2015
40
'
Directed by
Deepa Dhanraj
.
In the Forgotten Generation older people aged over 60 in urban Tamil Nadu, rural Rajasthan and tribal Maharashtra reveal the realities of their lives, relationships and work as well as their
Forms of Care
2022
7
'
Animation
Directed by
Charlotte Kühlbrandt
Maayan L. Matz
.
A stop-motion animation following the story of a mundane death, and the forms of care that accompany it. The script is taken verbatim from an interview conducted as part of an ethnographic research
From Ikpeng children to the world
2001
35
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Kumaré Ikpeng
Karané Ikpeng
Natuyu Yuwipo Txicão
.
A video letter from four Ikpeng children introducing their village, in response to the children of the Sierra Maestra in Cuba. With grace and lightness they show their families, their games, their
The Future of Work?
2022
21
'
Student
Directed by
Yihao Yan
.
Digital nomads are a highly mobile group of people who travel while working. Digital nomadism is considered a utopian life and a liberation from sedentary society, but it can also become a privilege.
Gali (Street)
2017
52
'
Directed by
Shabani Hassanwalia
Samreen Farooqui
.
Gali, delves into a world of hip-hop in Delhi, a community that role-plays participation, as well as, dissent, against a mainstream that continues to exclude them. The documentary catches them in
Gambote
2022
24
'
Shorts
Directed by
Sofia Bensadon
.
The clay mountains of the Chuquiago Valley are transformed into brick every day on the outskirts of La Paz City, Bolivia. Irineo and Rosa grind the clay, mould, dry, and burn the bricks every day, in
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
Global Racialisations shorts
57
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
Convened by
Mahdi Fleifel
.
Global racialisations - Q&A with directors
'
Talks
.
Got High With Only One Day Singing
2015
33
'
Directed by
Meng Ziwei
.
Huaer sing the oldest and most renowned folk songs in Gansu Province, China.
The Granary of Salcete
2017
37
'
Directed by
Vince Costa
.
Curtorim is located on the banks of the river Zuari, in Goa, India. The people of this village have over centuries built a bond with rice, so profoundly that it earned the village the title of
Green River. The time of the Yakurunas
2017
70
'
Directed by
Alvaro Sarmiento
Diego Sarmiento
.
Guided by ayahuasca chants, GREEN RIVER. THE TIME OF THE YAKURUNAS is a poetic journey into the depths of the Amazon. The film explores the perception of time in three small villages intertwined by
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
Gule Wamkulu: The Great Dance
1991
37
'
Directed by
Charles Namondwe
.
Performed by the Chewa secret societies, Gule Wamkulu is a form of masked dance which takes place at male initiation ceremonies, funerals, and other major celebrations. Acting as a medium between the
Southern Africa
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Ritual
Guru, a Hijra Family
2016
75
'
Directed by
Laurie Colson
Axelle Le Dauphin
.
Guru documents the work and daily life of a family of hijras in a small village in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. Silky, Mahima, Trisha, Durga, Kuyili, Priyanka, Vasundhara and Yamuna,
Gushegu Exile
2017
52
'
Directed by
Emil Nørgaard Munk
.
In the shadow of a tree Salamatu separates pebbles from the beans she has found at the local market square. Nighttime is coming and her children are hungry. Gmanun is packing 14 years of life in
Gyalmu's House
2016
18
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Asmita Shrish
Gavin Carver
.
In 2015 an earthquake shook the mountains of the Langtang Valley, Nepal, causing landslides and avalanches taking hundreds of lives from the small community. A year later Nima Gyalmu, a woman of
H is for Harry
2018
81
'
Directed by
Ed Owles
Jaime Taylor
.
A coming of age story about Harry, a charismatic 11-year old boy, who arrives at secondary school in suburban London unable to read or write. With the help of Sophie, his extremely dedicated teacher,
Half Elf
2020
64
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Jón Bjarki Magnússon
.
A lighthouse keeper prepares his earthly funeral while trying to reconnect the elf within. Hulda and Trausti have shared a roof on Icelandic shores for over seventy years. Her love of books is
The Healer and the Psychiatrist
2019
74
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Mike Poltorak
.
This film explores the tensions, contradictions, and resonances between traditional and psychiatric treatment in the South Pacific Island group of Vava’u. We meet two main characters: the
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
Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair
2021
29
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
As the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Senator Murray Sinclair was a key figure in raising global awareness of the atrocities of Canada’s residential school system. With
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
How to Save a Dead Friend
2022
103
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Marusya Syroechkovskaya
.
Muzzled by the increasingly autocratic regime of the “Depression Federation”, 16-year-old Marusya decides to join her generations’ suicide statistics by year’s end. Then she meets Kimi and a
I (heart) Jack Lalanne: A Cartoon Memoir
2022
14
'
Animation
Directed by
LeAnn Erickson
.
The filmmaker, a lesbian, feminist baby boomer, shares her coming out story with the help of exercise guru Jack LaLanne. Combining animation with the written memoir, I (heart) Jack LaLanne pushes the
I Am Belmaya
2020
80
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Sue Carpenter
.
Belmaya is desperate for independence. Born a dalit in Nepal, orphaned aged 9, barely educated, and trapped in an abusive marriage with a baby daughter, Belmaya, 21, has given up hope of finding
I Am the World
2022
9
'
Shorts
Directed by
Che Applewhaite
.
A speculative documentary that explores how an archive of networked moving images, featuring famed ballroom hosts Selvin “MC Debra” Mizrahi and Kelly Gorgeous Gucci, enables worldly ways of seeing.
I am Sheriff
2017
28
'
Directed by
Teboho Edkins
.
“I am Sheriff” follows a young man as he travels the mountain kingdom of Lesotho showing his film in remote villages, schools and communities. Sheriff was born with a girl’s body, but as the
I've already become an image
2008
32
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Zezinho Yube
.
A group of Hunikui men tell of the five ages that mark their most recent past: from ‘the time of the Indian lodge’, to first contact with the Nawá, the non-Indian people who came looking for
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
Imagine(ing) migration
'
Talks
.
Imagine(ing) migration. The aesthetics of borders and resistance [SOAS]. What is migration? Is this the “age of migration”? What is diaspora? What challenges do diasporic communities bring to
In the Devil's Garden
2018
25
'
Directed by
Pavel Borecký
.
The film situates the viewer within the makeshift space of an animal market in Algeria. Drifting between feeding and waiting, one attunes to the bodies of goats and camels, the oldest companions of
In Search of Bidesia
2019
65
'
Music Docs
Directed by
Simit Bhagat
.
In the Indian language of Bhojpuri the name ‘Bidesia’ refers to a person who has migrated to a foreign land. However, Bidesia is also the name of a genre of Bhojpuri folk music, which reflects
In Search...
2018
90
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Beryl Magoko
.
As a young girl growing up in a rural village in Kenya, Beryl thought that all women in the world have to be “circumcised” by going through Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) at a young
The Intelligent Hand
2015
21
'
Directed by
Trevor H. J. Marchand
.
The Intelligent Hand introduces us to a first-year cohort of British fine woodwork trainees at the Building Crafts College in Stratford, East London. Through the narratives of the course tutor and
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
The Intersection
2021
30
'
Shorts
Directed by
Daniel Quintanilla
Jessamine Irwin
.
Cecile reconnects with the French of her childhood, thanks to recently-arrived Franco-African immigrants, like Trésor, seeking asylum in Cecile’s hometown of Lewiston, Maine. Cecile’s Franco
Istanbul Notes
2016
69
'
Directed by
Özlem Sariyildiz
Yunus Emre Aydin
.
‘Istanbul Makamı’ is a cinematographic improvisation with 5 musicians from abroad who fall in love with the Maqam Music (Classical Ottoman Music) and decide to live in Turkey believing that
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
Janitzio its fishing, its pinatas
2015
31
'
Directed by
Jose Figueroa
Paola Rodriguez
David Figueroa
Omar Foglio
.
Since the 80s around 250 Purepecha families settled in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. They traveled more than 2,500 miles from Janitzio island, where they were fishermen and weavers of nets,
The Jerusalem Dream
2016
54
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Meni Elias
.
In the late 1970s, after thousands of years of praying and longing for Jerusalem, the first Ethiopian Jews arrived in Israel. Was it worth it? in this film the question is posed for the first time
The Jiama Paper of Bai With My Heart
2016
21
'
Directed by
He Zi Jian Li
.
Traditional Jiama imprinted paper production in the Bai cultural region, southwest China, presented through the experiences of one particular family.
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
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
1993
119
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
In July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, set the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines
Kashi Labh
2018
43
'
Directed by
Rajat Nayyar
.
This film explores the aesthetics of dying, family as a unit of care, and taking the last vital breath in Kashi, India’s sacred city. With Kashi Labh, Nayyar reflects upon his work with families
Kat Cizek
2023
90
'
Special Programmes
.
This conversation is taking place online on Friday 10 March 2023 17:00 - 18:30, UK time, online. This event will be live streamed on https://www.facebook.com/raifilmfest Why co-create – and why
Keynote by Faye Ginsburg
'
Talks
.
Indigenous Media and Archival Imaginaries This talk considers archives created by Indigenous mediamakers who, over the last three decades, have produced an astonishing array of work -- from
Keynote by Stephanie Spray
'
Talks
.
Stephanie Spray, Director, Center for Visual Anthropology at USC Dornsife, Los Angeles, USA. She is a filmmaker, phonographer, and anthropologist whose work explores and exploits the poetics of
Khayyam in Bushehr
2021
56
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Yasin Mohammadi
.
Khayyam in Bushehr highlights the life story of those who show their passion and joy for life by chanting Omar Khayyam’s poems with music and dance.
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
Kisêdjê Manifesto
2012
11
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Kamikia P.T. Kisedje
.
Kisêdjê women’s manifesto against deforestation and river pollution. Filmmaker Kamikia Kisêdjê and the Kisêdjê Cinema Collective decided to send a message from their people to the United
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
Kokota: The Islet of Hope
2015
29
'
Directed by
Craig Norris
.
Mbarouk Mussa Omar is from an East African Island called Pemba. Nearly ten years ago he visited a tiny neighbouring islet called Kokota and was shocked by what he saw. Kokota was teetering towards
La Nave
2021
52
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Carlos Maria Romero
.
Colombian artist and first-time filmmaker Carlos Maria Romero (aka Atabey Mamasita), translates the meaning and spirit of Carnaval de Barranquilla during a year in which gatherings were forbidden.
La Tumba Mambi
2022
28
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier
DJ Jigüe
.
As a result of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), many French settlers travelled to Eastern Cuba with their slaves to escape the revolt. The Tumba Francesa Societies, known as a brotherhood and a
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
Last Days. Last Shot
2016
52
'
Directed by
Sumira Roy
.
In ancient Eastern thought, there are no absolute truths and even in death there is no one model. Through the film’s two characters and their simple acts of daily life we explore two contrasting
Last Round of Jaldi Five
2017
26
'
Directed by
Ellen Lapper
.
2017 marked seventy years since the decolonisation and Partition of India, sparking one of the largest mass migrations in history. One particular community uprooted by this event were the
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
Let Him Fly
2021
29
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Ethiraj Gabriel Dattatreyan
.
Let Him Fly draws on footage shot over eight years to lyrically document the rise and exponential growth of the Delhi hip hop scene. The film spotlights some of the most influential artists on the
La forma del mundo
2017
88
'
Directed by
David Delgado San Ginés
.
A sound is born from the root of the earth. Those are the voices that sing for the animas of Purgatory. Every year for centuries los Cantadores de Arbejales, in the misty mountains of the island of
The Life of Others
2017
45
'
Directed by
Robert McNamara
.
The film is a compilation of scenes from Kazakh Mongolian life outside of Bayan Olgii in Western Mongolia. It was made during a one month period where I lived with and filmed a group of families
Limpiadores
2015
39
'
Directed by
Fernando Mitjáns
.
Migrating is seldom an easy solution. It is rather a journey that begins with a journey. After more than eight years of campaigning, the immigrant cleaners outsourced at the School of Oriental and
The Lindisfarne Causeway
2022
20
'
Student
Directed by
Sammy-Lena Stasse
.
The Lindisfarne Causeway is a road that disappears into the sea twice a day. The filmmaker uses boredom and daydreaming as a method to get to know this place. A poetic world of tarmac silence,
Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege
2021
89
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Abdallah Al-Khatib
.
During the Syrian civil war, Yarmouk, a district of Damascus where thousands of Palestinians are refugees, was the site of fierce fighting. Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege is a filmed diary that
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
MASTER FENG, TAOIST MONK IN CHINA TODAY
2018
72
'
Directed by
Adeline HERROU
.
This ethnographical film paints the portrait of a Taoist monk in central China. Forced to return to a lay life during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), he was sent to work in the fields for 15th
Maboan - notes on the construction of a dam
2015
25
'
Directed by
Ana Luísa Luz
Joana Sousa
Zaino Zauad
Ansomane Dabo
Braima Indjai
.
The colonial military offensive and consequent population exile during the Independence Struggle in Guinea-Bissau (1963-1974) led to the destruction of many mangrove rice fields. In every corner of
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
Mahdi Fleifel Trilogy
103
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Affects and Imaginaries of Racialisation
Making It as Embroiderers
2022
10
'
Student
Directed by
Rachel Schaetzel Barber
.
In the Tsotsil and Tseltal communities in Chiapas, Mexico, weaving and embroidering has traditionally been women’s work, practised in the home and made to be used by the family. As global demand
Making a Living in the Dry Season
2016
35
'
Directed by
Ines Ponte
.
Set in the highlands village of Katuwo, the film is an intimate portrait of the day-to-day life of a family living in an agro-pastoralist farm in Namibe, Angola. Through my request to my host
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
Midnight Ramblers
2017
57
'
Directed by
Julian Ballester
.
Night after night, Kye, Tobie, Paul, Kim and Tattoo wander through the streets and alleys of Montreal. They support each other, and they are all drug users. It is their only way of escaping a harsh
Migrants of ther Dunes
2017
28
'
Directed by
Erica Pomerance
.
The dramatic sanding-over of arable land caused by climate change now threatens the very survival of many ancestral Dogon communities along the magestic Bandiagara Cliffs in Mali. The Dogon people
Milano Milanovaç (with Make a Silence)
2021
49
'
Music Docs
Directed by
Elisa Piria
.
The film follows the life of Kristina, an extraordinary Serbian professional violinist. Music is everything in her family, any time is good for playing and everyone plays a musical instrument. But
A Miscellany of Families
2015
36
'
Directed by
Eluned Zoe Aiano
.
This multi-layered documentary explores the way we navigate the stories that are presented to us during childhood and how we choose to pass them on through ideological influences and shifting values.
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
The Modern Jungle
2016
72
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Charles Fairbanks
.
The Modern Jungle is a portrait of globalization filtered through the fever dream of its main character – a Mexican shaman, don Juan – who falls under the spell of a pyramid-scheme-marketed
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
Mother of Many Children
1977
57
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
In her first feature-length documentary Alanis Obomsawin honours the central place of women and mothers within Indigenous cultures. An album of Indigenous womanhood, the film portrays proud
Mount Currie Summer Camp
1975
5
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
In a series of playful portraits, Stl’atl’imx (Líl̓wat) children and young people go about their daily duties at the community’s summer camp outside Mount Currie, B.C. Infused with a sense of
Muir ar n-Athraichean (Our Fathers’ Sea)
'
Talks
.
Filmmaker Alastair Cole and anthropologist Magnus Course in conversation around the questions posed by their award-winning short film Muir ar n-Athreaichean (Our Fathers’ Sea). The film’s
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
NEW RISE, OLD EBB
2018
28
'
Directed by
Carlo Cubero
Enrico Barone
Kristiina Pilvet
.
In 2016 from May to September, on the island of Piirissaare, a series of fires destroyed several houses and the prayer house, causing insecurities and disagreements in the community.
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
Naach Bhikhari Naach
2018
72
'
Directed by
Shilpi Gulati
Jainendra Dost
.
Naach is a form of traditional folk theatre from Bihar, India. In this tradition, male artists often cross dress as women on stage and are referred to as ‘laundas’. The most legendary name in
Negotiating Amnesia
2015
30
'
Directed by
Alessandra Ferrini
.
Negotiating Amnesia takes as its starting point two collections of photographs found within the Alinari's photographic Archive in Florence (Italy): a series of black and white images of the Ethiopian
Never Hold Your Breath
2016
34
'
Directed by
Gil Orr Urtreger
.
Utila is a tiny island in the Western Caribbean, part of the Republic of Honduras. It is a mixed community established in the 1800s by Caymans, outlaws and former slaves. We arrive as travelers and
New Moon
2018
70
'
Directed by
Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann
.
.See less NICHE African, Islamic, Developing Nations, Women
Nhanderu Bicycles
2011
48
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Ariel Duarte Ortega
Patricia Ferreira
.
An immersion in the everyday spirituality of the Mbya-Guarani of Koenju village, in São Miguel das Missões in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This film is part of Arandu: Listen to the Weather, a
Nicobar, a long way...
2016
60
'
Directed by
Richa Hushing
.
Deep in the Bay of Bengal, the Nicobar archipelago, a tribal reserve protected under Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, was worst smashed by the Tsunami of 26th December
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
Nobody Dies Here
2016
23
'
Directed by
Simon Panay
.
Perma gold mine, Benin. Some dream to find something, others realized there was nothing to be found. Some dig relentlessly hoping to become rich, others died in the process. And a few of them say that here, nobody dies.
North Circular
2022
85
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Luke McManus
.
Travelling the length of Dublin’s fabled North Circular Road, this documentary musical evokes narratives from the history of the city and nation, from colonialism, to mental health, to the struggle
Not in my Neighbourhood
2018
86
'
Global Racialisations
Directed by
Kurt Orderson
.
As cities around the world catapult themselves into ‘world-class city status’, we have to ask ourselves, “at what cost”? This film tells the intergenerational stories of spatial violence in
Nyumba Nthobu
2016
15
'
Directed by
Nick Lunch
.
This film was made by a group of women from the Mara region, North Tanzania, who practise an old tradition called Nyumba Nthobu, by which childless (or lonely) women known as ‘Mamas’ can legally
OTHER FIRE
2017
21
'
Directed by
Guilherme Moura Fagundes
.
A sensorial record of affinity and enmity relationships with fire in the conservation of the Cerrado biome. In the company is locals, hired to act as brigadiers and, more recently, as management
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
Ojò Igbì (with Gũlā)
2020
60
'
Music Docs
Directed by
Daniele Ferreira
João Carlos Couto
.
The ritual cycle of the Waters of Oxalá is one of the most important ceremonies of candomblé in Brazil. After days of preparation, the sons and daughters of the saint gather to cultivate and relive
The Olive Pickers
2020
51
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
Once Upon a Village
2021
60
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Srishti Lakhera
.
Semla is a ghost village in the Himalayan foothills. The fifty families that once lived there have migrated to the city, leaving behind seven people. With this migration, livelihood connected to the
One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk
2019
113
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Zacharias Kunuk
.
In April 1961, John Kennedy is America’s new President, the Cold War heats up in Berlin and nuclear bombers are deployed from bases in arctic Canada. In Kapuivik, north Baffin Island, Noah
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
Ophir
2020
97
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Alexandre Berman
Olivier Pollet
.
This is a collaborative story of the civil war and ongoing struggle for sovereignty in Bougainville Island in the face of an all-too-familiar pattern of colonial rule and corporate mining interests.
The Order of Things
2022
72
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Ramona Badescu
Jeff Silva
.
At the ripe age of 90 years old, Alexandru gardens, jokes, and continues to repair watches in the workshop opened by his father in 1909 in southern Romania. But what is invisible to everyone, and
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
Our People Will Be Healed
2017
97
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
The landmark 50th film for Alanis Obomsawin reveals how a Cree community in Manitoba has turned to education as part of their efforts of community healing cultural revival. The Helen Betty Osborne
Our spirits keep coming
2021
15
'
Shorts
Directed by
Ariel Ortega
Bruno Huyer
.
In Tekoa Ko’ẽju, Pará Yxapy, a Mbya Guarani indigenous woman is dedicated to the first moments of care towards her child, who lies in her womb, and, along with her relatives, ponders about the
Out Swing
2021
26
'
Shorts
Directed by
Samar Minallah Khan
.
On the outskirts of Islamabad, a committed coach teaches a team of unlikely players, their families, and a community, how playing cricket can change lives.
Oyate
2019
72
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Dan Girmus
.
This carefully observed film is composed of a series of moments, feelings, gestures, and events that took place on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during the summer of 2015. The narrative,
P01: Rethinking fieldwork
'
Conference
Convened by
Maruska Svasek
.
P02a: Crisis, creativity and ethics
'
Conference
Convened by
Timothy Cooper
Till J F Trojer
.
P02b: Crisis, creativity and ethics
'
Conference
Convened by
Timothy Cooper
Till J F Trojer
.
P03: Existential crisis, exceptional fields
'
Conference
.
P04: Rethinking anthropological film distribution
'
Conference
Convened by
Christos Varvantakis
Sanderien Verstappen
.
P05a: The crisis of communication
'
Conference
Convened by
Federica Manfredi
Lucia Portis
.
P05b: The crisis of communication
'
Conference
Convened by
Federica Manfredi
Lucia Portis
.
P06a: Worker’s precarity: audio-visual representations of resistance
'
Conference
Convened by
Lana Askari
Paloma Yáñez Serrano
Jose Luis Fajardo-Escoffie
.
P06b: Worker’s precarity: audio-visual representations of resistance
'
Conference
Convened by
Lana Askari
Paloma Serrano
Jose Luis Fajardo-Escoffie
.
P07: Critical play: Smartphones as a mode of creative engagement with crisis
'
Conference
Convened by
Sanderien Verstappen
Mark Westmoreland
.
P08a: Mask: the Face of Covid-19
'
Conference
Convened by
Felicia Hughes-Freeland
Cathy Greenhalgh
.
P08b: Mask: the Face of Covid-19
'
Conference
Convened by
Felicia Hughes-Freeland
Cathy Greenhalgh
.
P08c: Mask: the Face of Covid-19
'
Conference
Convened by
Felicia Hughes-Freeland
Cathy Greenhalgh
.
P09: Together for Mental Health
'
Conference
Convened by
Erminia Colucci
.
P10: Housing loss and insecurity
'
Conference
Convened by
Caterina Sartori
.
P11: Social movements, protest, social justice & creativity
'
Conference
Convened by
José Sherwood
.
P12a: Immersive Ethnography
'
Conference
Convened by
Rossella Schillaci
Mark Westmoreland
.
P12b: Immersive Ethnography
'
Conference
Convened by
Rossella Schillaci
Mark Westmoreland
.
P13: Our pandemic lives: photographing the pandemic
'
Conference
Convened by
Caroline Bennett
.
P14: Co-agitō ergo sum
'
Conference
Convened by
César Enrique Giraldo Herrera
.
P15: Quality and equality in collaborative projects
'
Conference
Convened by
Arjang Omrani
Kris Rutten
.
P16a: Global Black Lives Matter
'
Conference
Convened by
Raminder Kaur
Mariagiulia Grassilli
.
P16b: Global Black Lives Matter
'
Conference
Convened by
Raminder Kaur
Mariagiulia Grassilli
.
P16c: Global Black Lives Matter
'
Conference
Convened by
Raminder Kaur
Mariagiulia Grassilli
.
P17: Workshop: Radical inclusivity and visual ethnography
'
Conference
Convened by
Mike Poltorak
.
P18: Chronotopes during crisis
'
Conference
Convened by
Alastair Lomas
Charlotte Hoskins
Andrea Bordoli
.
P19: The future of Visual Anthropology in the wake of Black Lives Matter
'
Conference
Convened by
Judith Aston
Shawn Sobers
.
P20: Big mouth
'
Conference
Convened by
Nomi Dave
Bremen Donovan
.
P21: Crisis through comics: a roundtable discussion on graphic anthropology
'
Conference
Convened by
Letizia Bonanno
José Sherwood
.
P22: Rhythm, sight and sound: work in times of uncertainty
'
Conference
Convened by
Sandro Simon
Valerie Haensch
Ian M. Cook
.
P23a: Disappearing world reloaded
'
Conference
Convened by
Blake P Kendall
Pavel Borecký
.
P23b: Disappearing world reloaded
'
Conference
Convened by
Blake P Kendall
Pavel Borecký
.
P23c: Disappearing world reloaded
'
Conference
Convened by
Blake P Kendall
Pavel Borecký
.
P24: Encountering reality as crisis
'
Conference
Convened by
Toma Peiu
Luiza Parvu
.
P25: Between academic theory-building and social engagement
'
Conference
Convened by
Henrike Neuhaus
Yanina Carpentieri
.
P26a: Empirical art
'
Conference
Convened by
Andy Lawrence
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
Angélica Cabezas Pino
.
P26b: Empirical art
'
Conference
Convened by
Andy Lawrence
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
Angélica Cabezas Pino
.
P26c: Empirical art
'
Conference
Convened by
Andy Lawrence
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
Angélica Cabezas Pino
.
P26d: Empirical art
'
Conference
Convened by
Andy Lawrence
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
Angélica Cabezas Pino
.
P27a: Colonial Film Archives
'
Conference
Convened by
Jacqueline Maingard
Emma Sandon
.
P27b: Colonial Film Archives
'
Conference
Convened by
Jacqueline Maingard
Emma Sandon
.
P27c: Colonial Film Archives
'
Conference
Convened by
Jacqueline Maingard
Emma Sandon
.
Paltik Families
2016
60
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Jason Fox
Roel Arcilla
.
Set in the ten days leading up to mayoral elections in Danao, Philippines, Paltik Families follows the Arcillas, a family engaged in an illegal network of counterfeit American gun manufacturers, an
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
Pang Lhabsol: Sikkim's National Ritual of the Land and its Guardian Deities
2015
63
'
Directed by
Anna Balikci
.
Pang Lhabsol, Sikkim’s most important indigenous celebration, consists of a series of rituals and monastic dances held in honour of Dzonga, a mountain deity residing on Mt. Khangchendzonga, the
Parizad
2021
24
'
Shorts
Directed by
Mehdi Imani Shahmiri
.
Keshvar is a lonely, old woman crafting an ancient, unknown woven textile, telling a strange story of a fairy and a shepherd who came to their village one day.
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
People of Earth and Clouds
2016
65
'
Directed by
Matteo Robert Morales
Louise Hantson
.
People of Earth and Clouds is a documentary film that explores the role of music bands in indigenous communities of Oaxaca, Mexico and shows why "a village with no band, is a village with no
The People of the Wind
2015
59
'
Directed by
Abtin Sarabi
.
On the coast of the Persian Gulf, in the south of Iran, a ritual called Zâr is still practised today. This musical exorcism is said to heal all ‘victims of the wind.’ According to this popular,
Positive Women: Heartache, Hope & Living with HIV
2017
30
'
Directed by
Rebecca Devaraj
.
In 2016, filmmaker Bex Devaraj and anthropologist Anne Lotter were given unique access to one of the biggest slums in Kampala, Uganda, where every day is a struggle for survival. In this intimate
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
Poundmaker’s Lodge
1987
29
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
Just north of the City of Edmonton lies Poundmaker’s Lodge, an addiction and mental-health facility specialising in treatment for Indigenous people. Founded in 1973 and still operational today, the
President's Award - Trinh T. Minh-ha
2023
'
Special Programmes
.
She will receive the award in person on Thursday 23 March, at the screening of What About China? at Arnolfini (Bristol). On that occasion Trinh T. Minh-ha will be in conversation with May Adadol Ingawanij.
Prism
2021
78
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Rosine Mbakam
Eléonore Yaméogo
An van Dienderen
.
Belgian filmmaker An van. Dienderen invited Brussels-based Rosine Mbakam from Cameroon, and Paris-based Eléonore Yameogo from Burkina Faso to make a film in which their different skin colour serves
The Prison Promise
2022
55
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Joseph Dégramon Ndjom
.
While still prisoners, director Joseph Dégramon Ndjom’s uncle, Detyr and his companion, Adèle, made a promise to each other: to start a new life together once they were free. Today, they live in
Prohibition of Grazing
2016
43
'
Directed by
Wenfei Li
.
Zhang Yuansheng is 64-year-old who was originally a camel herder. Having been born in poverty, as the age of 17 he began studying camel herding in the desert and acquiring the the life skills
Promenade
2016
31
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Philip Cartelli
.
Recorded during two years but organized around a single day, “Promenade” observes a series of movements and interactions on a renovated section of the Marseille waterfront. During the day a cast
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
Pushing Boundaries
2021
102
'
Disability Futures
Directed by
Lesia Kordonets
.
Athletes from the Ukrainian Paralympic National Team have lost their training base in Crimea due to the Russian annexation in 2014. They try to adapt to the new historic conditions in their private,
A Radio of One’s Own
2016
34
'
Directed by
Shweta Radhakrishnan
.
In the heart of the hills, in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, a frequency crackled and came to life on the 21st of September, 2013. Community radio, Mandakini ki Aawaz is Rudraprayag District’s first and
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
The Realm of Forgotten Existence
2015
28
'
Directed by
Piotr Piasta
.
While the images in the film reveal a landscape that often seems unchanged, the narrative reveals fragments of forgotten stories and traditions, skills and working lives no longer of value in
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
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
Remake of a summer
2017
96
'
Directed by
Magali Bragard
Séverine Enjolras
.
During a summer in Paris and it’s suburbs, two young directors attempt a remake of "Chroniques d’un été", fifty years after the cult film of Rouch and Morin. An offbeat portrait of
Researching marriage, filming Family Time
'
Talks
.
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
River Nomads
2016
40
'
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Eric Komlavi Hahonou
.
http://www.rivernomads.dk/river-nomads-english/ password: ddc River Nomads addresses the complex relationship between migration, mobility and citizenship. This first part of a forthcoming trilogy
Roza's Song
2016
45
'
Directed by
Lowri Rees
.
Roza's song gives a unique insight into the Norwegian Roma community. The film follows Roza and her dream of making the Norwegian Roma’s first CD. The congregation and the music means a lot for
SOLITARY LAND
2017
107
'
Directed by
Tiziana Panizza
.
A researcher found 32 documentaries filmed on Easter Island almost a century ago. They contain images of the island’s rock sculptures, the Moai, but they barely show the island’s inhabitants,
Sacred Water
2016
54
'
Directed by
Olivier Jourdain
.
Guided by Vestine, an extravagant star of radio nights, the film discovers Rwandan sexuality in search of the water that gushes out of the female body. Sacred Water reveals with humor and spontaneity
Sailing a Sinking Sea
2015
65
'
Directed by
Olivia Wyatt
.
Sailing A Sinking Sea explores the culture of the Moken people of Myanmar and Thailand. The Moken are a nomadic seafaring community and one of the smallest ethnic groups in Asia. Spending eight
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
Sangharsh. Strife.
2018
105
'
Directed by
Nicolas Jaoul
.
Shot between 1997 and 2001, Sangharsh takes us deep into the lifeworld of Dalit Panther activists in the late 1990s Uttar Pradesh. By following three activists, one is taken on a rough trip in the
Sarah Pink
2023
90
'
Special Programmes
.
This talk will be live streamed online on Tuesday 7 March 2023 10:00 - 11:30, UK time. There is a mounting ethical onus on anthropological filmmakers to go further in their engagements with futures;
The Scorpion is me - A centennial family dance group
2017
95
'
Directed by
Juan Sebastián Alvarez
.
Santos Ramírez “Santico”, the current 40 year old artistic director, hides behind the Carnival’s atmosphere, as he is fighting against all odds to keep El Alacrán's poison alive. "El
Scratches on Celluloid
2018
53
'
Directed by
Vindhya Buthpitiya
Timothy Cooper
.
In the rapidly changing urban landscapes of Jaffna and Lahore, the social and public space of cinema halls are recognisable for their longevity and resilience amid insurgency, war, and
The Season of Vodoun
2016
45
'
Directed by
Ran Muratsu
.
This film depicts ceremonies of Vodoun, deities of ancestors and natures spread in the Gulf of Guinea, and its relationship with national politics. The shooting was held in the period of Vodoun in
The Secret of the Caminanti
2016
63
'
Directed by
Rita Mirabella
Giuseppe Tumino
.
The history of the Caminanti is an unwritten story of an autochthonous community living 'in hiding'. We know barely anything about their history, which has only been transmitted orally throughout
Sent Away Boys
2016
43
'
Directed by
Harjant Gill
.
What happens to families in the absence of sons? What happens to land in the absence of farmers? What happens to communities in the absence of men? Sent Away Boys weaves together stories of
Shomõtsi
2001
42
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Wewito Piyãko
.
Chronicle of the daily life of Shomõtsi, an engaging and gregarious Ashenika man living in a village at the border between Brazil and Peru. Our guide in the film is Shomõtsi’s nephew Valdete, a
Shorts 01 - Creative lives
100
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
The power of art to make worlds come into being
Shorts 02 - Women, empowerment and religion
69
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Ritual encounters with divinity
Shorts 03 - Pleasure
76
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Ground-breaking shorts exploring the world of sex and pleasure [NSFW! Contains adult content]
Shorts 04 - Migration at the crossroads/1
62
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Questioning the representation of migrant experience
Shorts 05 - Migration at the crossroads/2
71
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Questioning the representation of migrant experience
Shorts 06 - Animals | Humans | Ritual
97
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Close encounters with bees, cockrels, fish
Shorts 07 - Sparks!
76
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Experimental short form pushing the boundaries of ethnographic film
Shorts 08 - Livelihoods
90
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Portraits of people working in rural settings
Shorts 09 - Indigenous knowledge
110
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
Teaching the next generation
Shorts 10 - Environmental crisis
69
'
Shorts Programme
Shorts
.
People coping with the consequeces of climate change, pollution and waste
Silas
2017
80
'
Directed by
Anjali Nayar
.
Liberian activist Silas Siakor is a tireless crusader against illegal logging and corruption. Through this focus on one small country -- “Silas” warns of the power of politics, features the role
Sing My Sister
2022
85
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Karen Boswall
Alzira Guetsa
André Bahule
.
Communities of women across Mozambique use song, dance and stories to present a female perspective of three gendered ideological moments in their country’s history. Three co-authored musical
Singing "Bird": Carrying on the Kumeyaay Tradition
2018
30
'
Directed by
Teri Brewer
.
The Kumeyaay, an indigenous people of Southern California and Northern Mexico still perform more than a dozen ancient song cycles kept alive through a process of apprenticeship and study which can
The Sky Wept for Forty Days
2022
62
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Sabrina Mervin
.
The Sky Wept for Forty Days is an immersion in a Shi’a pilgrimage, which once a year attracts millions of faithful to Karbala, in Iraq. Their journey, on foot, lasts at least three days. They reach
Slow Return
2021
80
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Philip Cartelli
.
A river flows out to sea through a network of wetlands, salt marshes, and petrochemical plants. A melting glacier, its surface covered in protective cloth, still attracts tourists. Slow Return
So'o: Life and death of a cow in Puerto Casado
2016
24
'
Directed by
Valentina Bonifacio
.
In the golden age of Puerto Casado, in Paraguay, at least eight cows were slaughtered every day to feed its population of 6,000 people. Eating "asado" (roasted meat) is still at the core of
The Soil
2022
71
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Zuzanna Solakiewicz
.
A contemporary village and its unconventional dwellers of different ages have one thing in common; their strong attachment to folk culture. In this film, music is as important as images, accompanying
The Song Collector
2016
54
'
Directed by
Erik Koto
.
In the 1960s Morup Namgyal sparked a social movement to preserve the traditional Himalayan culture of his homeland. What Morup could not imagine at that time was that he would ultimately embrace
Specialised Technique
2018
6
'
Directed by
Onyeka Igwe
.
William Sellers and the Colonial Film Unit developed a framework for colonial cinema, this included slow edits, no camera tricks and minimal camera movement. Hundreds of films were created in
Still Birth of the Commune-head
2015
80
'
Directed by
Qiao Wu
.
Each Floral-belt Dai village has a “Commune-head” who takes charge of annual collective ceremonies. The Commune-head is picked out through a God election ritual. All candidates’ clothes should
The Storehouses of the World
2018
27
'
Directed by
Timothy Cooper
Abeera Arif-Bashir
.
In the Pakistani city of Lahore an audiocassette recorded decades ago deep among the crowd at a ritual mourning procession continues to circulate in the neighbourhood in which it was first made.
Stories about Mlimani Park Orchestra
2022
110
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Frank Gunderson
.
Tanzanian rhumba band, Mlimani Park Orchestra (aka Sikinde), performs in the music genre musiki wa dansi (literally, “music for dancing”), a variation of the Cuban-based rumba idiom that has been
Stories from Cabo Corrientes
2020
77
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Jordi Esteva
.
The documentary immerses us in the fantastic and magical stories of the inhabitants of Cabo Corrientes, Chocò District (Colombia) where a community of Afro-Colombians, descended from slaves of
Strengh of Women Pataxó of the Mother Village
2019
58
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Caamini Braz
Vanuzia Bonfim
.
Pataxó women speak up. This film is part of Arandu: Listen to the Weather, a festival sidebar celebrating 35 years of Indigenous filmmaking from Brazil: key films and filmmakers working from the
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
Survivors
2018
84
'
Main Competition
Directed by
WeOwnTV
.
With unflinching intimacy this film chronicles the remarkable stories of four Sierra Leoneans during the Ebola epidemic in what is regarded as the most acute public health crisis of the modern era
Swirling in the dreams
2022
78
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Hung En Su
.
In spite of the spread of Christianity and introduction of modern medicine, Taiwan’s indigenous peoples have always had a need for their traditional beliefs. For the people in these tribes, when
TB in Town 2
2017
46
'
Directed by
Dr. Lianne (A.L.) Cremers
.
This film tells the story of patients with tuberculosis living in Town 2, one of the biggest and most violent townships of South Africa. Treatment is available for free and tuberculosis patients can
TRIBAL JUSTICE
2017
87
'
Directed by
ANNE MAKEPEACE
.
TRIBAL JUSTICE is a feature documentary about a little known, under-reported but effective criminal justice reform movement in America today: the efforts of tribal courts to create alternative
Tango, Not-For-Export
2016
53
'
Directed by
Jennie Gubner
.
This collection of 4 short films evokes everyday experiences of music making in the contemporary neighborhood tango scenes of Buenos Aires. They were made as stand alone pieces that co-exist on an
Ten by Ten
2021
29
'
Student
Directed by
Jami L. Bennett
.
There is no denying the evocative power of food to remind us of who we are and where we come from. After living in Asia for over fifteen years, Jessica was longing for the burgers and barbecue of her
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
These Objects, Those Memories
2015
29
'
Directed by
Roger Horn
.
"These Objects, Those Memories" is a split-screen film focused on material culture, specifically, that of three long-term Zimbabwean female migrants currently residing in Cape Town, South
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 Land Is Our Land!
2020
70
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Isael Maxakali
Sueli Maxakali
Carolina Canguçu
Roberto Romero
.
“In the old day, whites did not exist on our lands, and we lived hunting with our yãmưyxop spirits. But the whites came, felled the woods, dried the rivers and chased the animals away. Today, our
Those Who Come, Will Hear
2017
77
'
Directed by
Simon Plouffe
.
Those Who Come, Will Hear proposes a unique meeting with the speakers of several indigenous languages of Quebec – all threatened with extinction. The film starts with the discovery of these unsung
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
A Thousand Fires
2021
90
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Saeed Taji Farouky
.
Parents Htwe Tin and Thein Shwe work hard to give their children a better future, their lives governed by a web of karma and astrology. All their hopes are pinned on their youngest son – Zin Ko
Time to Look at Girls: Migrants in Bangladesh and Ethiopia
2015
31
'
Directed by
Marco Speroni
.
More migrants move within their own country or region than migrate to Northern countries. Bangladesh and Ethiopia have been experiencing increasingly high rates of migration of adolescent girls to
To Work is to Grow
2015
32
'
Directed by
Léa Klaue
.
Gerald, Ruben, Neysa and their friends are children and adolescents who work as wheelbarrow pusher at a market and as prayer boys in a cemetery in the region of Cochabamba in Bolivia. With their own
Toang
2022
37
'
Student
Directed by
Rizky Maulana
.
Toang is an intimate portrait of a rice paddy farmer and his family in Indramayu (Indonesia), who were in a precarious situation due to the cycle of indebtment and environmental degradation that the
Tobacco memories
2020
30
'
Student
Directed by
Manca Filak
.
The villages in southwest Bulgaria have long been known for the cultivation and production of tobacco. Muslim Pomaks, still engaged in this work, are facing a decline due to the low purchase price of
Together Apart (MA Thesis)
2018
57
'
Directed by
Maren Wickwire
.
Carren has spent most of her adult life apart from her children. When her daughter Guil Ann arrives on the island of Cyprus to join her as domestic worker, unexpected events lead to Carren’s
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
The Train Driver
2021
6
'
Animation
Directed by
Christian Wittmoser
Zuniel Kim
.
Trigger warning: suicide and related trauma In the five-minute animated documentary film The Train Driver, an anonymous train driver recounts his experience with suicide on the rails. Six times he
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
True Body
2016
5
'
Directed by
Louise Hollerup Christensen
Shannon Turner
Maja Rosenlund Byriel
.
What do you do to your body hair, and what does your body hair do to you? True Body is a performative documentary that draws the viewer into a debate about gender norms and cultural body practices.
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
A Two Day Fair
2009
60
'
Directed by
Anjali Monteiro
KP Jayasankar
.
Nothing in the world will last – it is but a two day fair” sings Mura Lala, drawing inspiration from the Sufi traditions of Sant Kabir and Abdul Lateef Bhitai. He is accompanied on the double
The Two Lives of Li Ermao
2019
87
'
Main Competition
Directed by
Jia Yuchuan
.
Filmed over 17 years across Southern China, this remarkable film is an intimate and heart-wrenching portrait of Li Ermao, a transgender migrant worker, who performs in clubs looking for love and
Two Poets and a River
2021
76
'
Ethnomusicology
Directed by
Richard K. Wolf
.
Using the Oxus river as a topos, this film explores themes of love and loss through the lives and musical poetry of the two most prominent and innovative Wakhi musicians in Central and South Asia:
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
Unearthed
2021
16
'
Shorts
Directed by
Colin Rosemont
.
The film examines the intersections of history, spirituality, colonialism, and contemporary archaeology through the experiences of archaeologists and Native Californians brought together by an excavation.
VHS Diaries
2020
72
'
Decolonising the Archive
Directed by
Niyaz Saghari
.
The filmmaker revisits the diaries she kept during the years when video was banned in Iran. Using her personal VHS archive of films as a point of reference, the film explores a very personal film
A Village with a View
2022
20
'
Shorts
Directed by
Joseph Inman
.
In wartime Britain, a Lord permitted unused land on Cornwall’s Rame Peninsula to be built on. Tiny chalets appeared, each as individual as its owner, and the community of Freathy came to life. In
Violão-Canção: Brazilian Soul
2016
30
'
Directed by
Chico Saraiva
Rose Satiko Hikiji
.
Following his artistic path, Chico Saraiva meets up with 7 master musicians who share their experiences: João Bosco, Sérgio Assad, Paulo César Pinheiro, Paulo Bellinati, Marco Pereira, Luiz Tatit
Visible Silence
2015
43
'
Directed by
Ruth Gumnit
.
Visible Silence offers a rare glimpse into the lives of Thai tomboys (toms), ladies (dees), and lesbians striving for recognition and acceptance in a traditional Buddhist society. The film highlights
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
The Visual Scholarship Initiative
'
Talks
.
This session discusses the work of the Visual Scholarship Initiative (VSI), which was started in 2006 by a small group of graduate students at Emory University. It quickly established itself on the
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
Voices of Kula
2021
87
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Gina Knapp
.
Voices of Kula tells a story of empowerment, of local responses to cultural and economic changes, and of the strive to revitalise cultural heritage. A group of elders from Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea
Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises
2006
104
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
The filmmaker returns to the village where she was raised to craft a lyrical account of her own people. After decades of tirelessly recording others’ stories, she focuses this film on her own home
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
Walking is Medicine
2018
5
'
Lifetime Achievement Award - Alanis Obomsawin
Directed by
Alanis Obomsawin
.
This is the story of the Nishiyuu walkers, six young Cree men who decided to trek 1600km from Whapmagoostui, Quebec, to Ottawa, in the spirit of their ancestors, whose traditions were to travel long
Warehouse
2018
8
'
Directed by
Lillian Dam Bracia
S. Buse Yildirim
Constantinos Diamantis
Malwa Grabowska
.
Warehouse is a meditative ethnographic short film. Warehouse is a place where sound moves the objects. It is an intimate encounter in the cosmos of objects, sounds and textures where carpenter
The Water Goddess and the Computer
1988
58
'
Lifetime Achievement
Directed by
J. Stephen Lansing
Andre Singer
.
The Water Holds Me / The Water Binds Us
2021
2
'
Animation
Directed by
Lily Mae Kroes
.
Based on the stories of women who dip, dive and swim in rivers, lakes and seas, this animated film evokes many different experiences in one swim, from the anticipation of getting in cold water to the
The Way I See Today
2016
46
'
Directed by
Antonia Gama
Márcio Gomes
.
The critically-acclaimed film City of God (2002) is a fiction film based on a novel about a real place known as Cidade de Deus (City of God), located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Through the
We Belong to the Earth
2015
30
'
Directed by
Ramona August
.
The establishment of the first intentional communities stretches back over two millennia ago, with notable examples such as the ancient Greek commune based on vegetarianism and equality of the sexes
A Wedding
2021
15
'
Shorts
Directed by
Emiko Stock
.
At a Cham Muslim wedding in rural Cambodia, an ethnographer doubles as a wedding videographer, capturing a day-long event in constant movement. Through unstable camera movements never completely
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.
What about China?
2022
135
'
President's Award - Trinh T. Minh-ha
Directed by
Trinh T. Minh-ha
.
Influential filmmaker, writer, composer Trinh T. Minh-ha’s latest film takes the notion of harmony in China as a site of creative manifestation. Highly valued as a virtue and a guiding criterion in
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
When the Sea Sends Forth a Forest
2020
21
'
Shorts
Directed by
Guangli LIU
.
The story revolves around the memory of a Chinese survivor of the Khmer Rouge. This tragedy, which took the lives of two million people, continues to reshape our present. This forgotten moment of
Where Things go
2022
75
'
Werbner Award
Directed by
Baptiste Aubert
.
In the small Belgian town of Verviers in the mid-60s, most of the textile factories that had contributed to the town’s prosperity closed down. On witnessing the end of an epoch, the town council
Who says the lepchas are vanishing (Bang the Drum)
2019
42
'
Music Docs
Directed by
Abhyuday Khaitan
.
A tribute to Sonam Tshering Lepcha, cultural leader and creator of songs, literature, dances and a museum of the Lepcha people of north-west Bengal and Sikkim (India). His life has been devoted to
A Wind of Change
2019
72
'
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
A Wind of Change 72 mins Segesta Production UK/IT Toni de Bromhead Unlike most films that one sees, this film shows what it really means to live with, and to fight the mafia in Sicily - not
A Woman's Story
2015
52
'
Directed by
Azra Rashid
.
A look at genocide, survival, and physical and cultural continuity through the eyes of three women who have experienced three different genocides of the 20th century. Shot on location in Canada,
Women in Sink
2015
36
'
Directed by
Iris Zaki
.
At “Fifi’s”, a hair salon owned by a Christian Arab in Haifa, Iris Zaki installs a minimalist film set over the sink, where she converses with the clients she’s shampooing. She thus paints an
Women of Freedom
2017
58
'
Directed by
Abeer Zeibak Haddad
.
Women of Freedom follows the stories of women who were murdered in the name of ‘honor killing', in the Arab and Palestinian society. This documentary aims to unravel the social and political
Writing on the City
2015
60
'
Directed by
Keywan Karimi
.
With Writing On The City, Keywan Karimi redraws the history of Tehran through its walls, from the Islamic Revolution in 1979 to nowadays. He was sentenced to a year of detention and 223 whiplashes
YEH FREEDOM LIFE / THIS FREEDOM LIFE
2018
70
'
Directed by
Priya Sen
.
Yeh Freedom Life / This Freedom Life was filmed over a year in Ambedkar Nagar, a dense, largely working class area in South Delhi. It moves between the two very different worlds of its protagonists,
Yarang Mamin
2019
21
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Kamatxi Ikpeng
.
Indigenous filmmaker Kamatxi Ikpeng documents the story of a group of Ikpeng women who formed a movement to collect forest seeds and restore the banks of the Xingu River. The Yarang Women’s
Yolngu Homeland
2015
58
'
Directed by
Natasha Fijn
.
An observational film about Yolngu connections with other beings and the land. Garrthalala is a strong homeland community in Arnhem Land, Australia, where all ages venture out onto the coast and into
You can't show my face
2021
20
'
Shorts
Directed by
Knutte Wester
.
The sound of the streets of Tehran are transformed into forbidden beats, people sing and young women and men rhyme their inner feelings. They tell us about a society that rejects them, streets
Yours Truly
2018
15
'
Directed by
Maddi Barber
Charlotte Hoskins
Christopher Murray
.
Yours Truly follows the trail of taxidermic pieces collected by The Manchester Museum during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Archival letters between the museums directors, explorers, and
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
Zawawa - the sound of sugar cane in the wind
2017
50
'
Directed by
Rupert Cox
Angus Carlyle
.
It is a strange and bitter irony that the US naval bombardment which launched the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 was called the ‘typhoon of steel’, invoking the turbulent winds that annually buffet
The initiation of the young Xavante
1999
56
'
Arandu - Listen to the Weather
Directed by
Divino Tserewahú
.
Documentary about the initiation of young Xavante men, held during the training workshops of the Video in the Villages project. At the invitation of director Divino Tserewahú, from the village
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
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
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
The world like a jewel in the hand: unlearning imperial plunder ii
2022
58
'
Focus on: Ariella Aïsha Azoulay
Directed by
Ariella Aïsha Azoulay
.
This film travels over open books, looted objects and postcards to look for the imperial foundations of the world in which we live. Within this wide landscape the film focuses on the destruction of
‘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,