Film list

[the-art-of-regret--Film-image]
The Art of Regret 2007 60'
    Directed by Judith MacDougall .
Photography is known in China as the “Art of Regret”. In the rapidly changing city of Kunming, people are ambivalent about whether they want photography to be a medium of preservation and
South-East Asia Material Culture Film / Photography / Mass media
[bang-the-drum--Film-image]
Bang the Drum 2020 28'
  Directed by William Nitzky .
For the Yao minority in rural southwest China, the bronze drum is a sacred heritage. Its sound aids the souls of deceased elders in reaching the ancestral land. When the Chinese government steps in
Central Asia and Far East Music/ Ethnomusicology Tourism/ Travel/ Pilgrimage Rural Shamans and Shamanism
[daba-portrait-of-a-na-shaman--Film-image]
Daba - Portrait of a Na Shaman 1999 40'
    Directed by Hua Cai .
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early
South-East Asia Education / Knowledge transmission Religion / Belief / Faith Shamans and Shamanism
[depending-on-heaven--Film-image]
Depending on Heaven 1988 56'
    Directed by Peter Entell .
The film is in two parts and focuses on the Mongols living in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. Part One (28 minutes) follows the life of a nomadic Mongol family on their yearly journey
Central Asia and Far East Environment Nomads and Nomadism Herding Everyday Life
[guiyang-beautiful-flavour-barbecue--Film-image]
Guiyang Beautiful Flavour Barbecue 2000 30'
    Directed by Richard Hughes .
In the teeming cities of the most populated country on earth, 20 years of economic reform have brought new opportunity, new energy, and new dangers. This film follows one family's efforts to navigate
South-East Asia Food Social Change Labour
[the-heavenly-court-in-song-family-village--Film-image]
The Heavenly Court in Song Family Village 2009 30'
    Directed by Zhifang Song Gary Seaman Steven Rousso-Schindler .
Religious life in the village is highly gendered, with female shamans dominating most religious activities. These shamanesses and their gods are organised as a “court”, which expresses a
Central Asia and Far East Gender Role and Identity Shamans and Shamanism Ritual
[the-kazakhs-of-china--Film-image]
The Kazakhs of China 1983 52'
    Directed by André Singer .
The Kazakhs of Xinjiang (Sinkiang) are one of the fifty-five national minorities that now live within the borders of the People's Republic of China. The policy of the Chinese Communist Party toward
Central Asia and Far East Social Change Nomads and Nomadism Collective / Community identity
[living-with-the-revolution--Film-image]
Living with the Revolution 1983 52'
    Directed by Leslie Woodhead Claire Lasko .
*These three films ('Inside China: Living with the Revolution'; 'The Newest Revolution'; 'The Kazakhs of China') present a valuable record of aspects of most recent developments in China.* (A.
Central Asia and Far East Social Change History Family / Kinship
[marriage-maoism-and-modernity--Film-image]
Marriage, Maoism and Modernity 2009 30'
  Directed by Zhifang Song Gary Seaman Steven Rousso-Schindler .
This film outlines the types of marriage exchange practiced in a Chinese village over the last fifty years. Dowry, brideprice and exchange marriages have dominated the marriage market in turn as
Central Asia and Far East Marriage History Social Change
[the-meo--Film-image]
The Meo 1972 52'
    Directed by Brian Moser Chris Curling .
Over the last three thousand years the Meo (Miao or Hmong) have migrated south from north and central China to avoid oppression and protect their way of life. Today they live in scattered mountain
South-East Asia War / Conflict / Reconciliation Shamans and Shamanism Ritual Social Organisation Rural
[the-most-admired-man--Film-image]
The Most Admired Man 2002 29'
    Directed by Julia Berg .
'Wise'? 'Serene'? 'A Sage'? Mythologized as the Daoist physician from the Jade Dragon Mountain of Lijiang Province in southwest China , Dr Ho receives hundreds of visitors in search of the 'Real
South-East Asia Public Figure Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
[a-new-era--Film-image]
A New Era 2019 71'
    Werbner Award Directed by Boris Svartzman .
In 2008, local authorities evicted 2,000 villagers from Guanzhou, a river island in Southern China, to make way for new urban planning projects. In spite of the demolition of their houses and police
Central Asia and Far East Urban Development projects Infrastructure\transport Land rights Resettlement
[the-newest-revolution--Film-image]
The Newest Revolution 1983 52'
    Directed by Leslie Woodhead Claire Lasko .
This film is a continuation of 'Living with the Revolution', set in the same communes near Wuxi and focusing on the same families. This film concentrates, however, on the new social and economic
Central Asia and Far East Family / Kinship Social Change
[the-ospreys-and-the-old-man--Film-image]
The Ospreys and the Old Man 2020 9'
  Directed by Ang Gao .
A 76-year-old man living in a village in the middle of China continues the traditional practice of using ospreys (鱼鹰. 鱼鹰 usually referred to as great cormorant in English) to fish while most
Central Asia and Far East Hunting/Gathering/Fishing Animals Elderly People
[the-secret-of-the-stone--Film-image]
The Secret of the Stone 2009 39'
  Directed by Zhifang Song Gary Seaman Steven Rousso-Schindler .
Located on the North China Plain about 200 miles south of Beijing, 'Song Family Village' is home to about 1,300 people. Some 80% of all villagers are members of a single lineage of the Song surname.
Central Asia and Far East Family / Kinship Collective / Community identity Ritual Festivals / Carnival
[song-family-village-takes-a-bride--Film-image]
Song Family Village Takes a Bride 2009 27'
  Directed by Zhifang Song Gary Seaman Steven Rousso-Schindler .
Most weddings in the village still reflect traditional patterns of patrilineal descent and patrilocal residence. The bride leaves her natal home to marry into her husband’s village, where she is a
Central Asia and Far East Marriage Family / Kinship Gender Role and Identity Social Change
[views-from-heavenly-lake--Film-image]
Views from Heavenly Lake 2010 26'
  Directed by Polly Vinken .
Since the beginning of the Mao era in 1949, populations that were once nomadic, isolated by miles of desert and mountains across the Tian Shan ranges, are now becoming highly sought after objects of
Central Asia and Far East Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Social Change
[without-fathers-or-husbands--Film-image]
Without Fathers or Husbands 1995 26'
  Directed by Hua Cai .
The Na are an ethnic group in south-east China. Their particularity is that all the members of each household are consanguineous relatives; their social organisation is absolutely matrilineal and as
South-East Asia Family / Kinship Collective / Community identity Gender Role and Identity Sex / Sexuality