Film list

ABU 2017 80'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Arshad Khan .
Arshad always knew he was different. Soon after emigrating from Pakistan to Canada with his family, Arshad realized he was gay. With Abu, Arshad tells his own story self discovery at a cultural
AWAKE, A Dream from Standing Rock 2017 89'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Josh Fox James Spione Myron Dewey .
The native-led resistance to the construction of a pipeline across the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, North Dakota, captured the world’s attention. Awake tells the story of the defiant Water
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
The Absence of Apricots 2018 49'
    Student Directed by Daniel Asadi Faezi .
In the Hunza Valley in the northern Pakistan there is a magnificent turquoise lake. But the lake hasn’t been always there: it is the result of a massive landslide that blocked a river, causing
South Asia Environment Memory Development projects Resettlement
After 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Cellar 2018 84'
  Directed by Anna Grimshaw .
George Sprague lives and works in Buck's Harbor, Maine. He is widely known for his "cellar" (affectionately called the whine cellar), where people gather to talk, make lobster traps, share
North America Hunting/Gathering/Fishing Trade
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
Fad'jal (Safi Faye Special Focus) 1979 112'
    Special Interest Directed by Safi Faye .
The work of pioneering Senegalese filmmaker and ethnologist Safi Faye is the subject of our Special Focus at the 16th RAI Film Festival. In Fad'jal, Faye tells the story of a Serer village in the
Father's Prescription 2017 11'
    Shorts Directed by Enke Huang .
A personal exploration of traditional Chinese medicine that considers the importance of its sensory qualities. Huang vividly recalls the extreme bitter taste and smell of the teas consumed by her
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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,
Heartbound 2018 90'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Janus Metz Sine Plambech .
In a small, wind-swept fishing community on the Northern coast of Denmark live 926 Thai-women. 25 years ago there were none. Heartbound is a unique study of this unprecedented network of Thai/Danish
Honouring Professor Stephen Nugent '
Conference
  Convened by Renato Athias .
Professor Stephen Nugent, a major figure in the field of Visual Anthropology, passed away in November 2018. At Goldsmiths, Steve set up the pioneering MA in Visual Anthropology, and more recently
Horror in the Andes 2019 33'
    Special Interest Directed by Martha-Cecilia Dietrich .
Horror in the Andes is a behind-the-scenes documentary that follows the process of making a horror movie in Ayacucho, Peru. Directed by audio-visual anthropologist Martha-Cecilia Dietrich, it
South America Art / Artists / Artisans Dance / Theatre / Performance Ethnofiction Film / Photography / Mass media Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
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
IT WAS TOMORROW 2018 53'
    Student Directed by Alexandra D'onofrio .
After living in Italy for almost ten years without documents, three Egyptian men - Ali, Mahmoud and Mohamed - are suddenly awarded legal residence. As a whole new world of opportunities opens up to
Western Mediterranean Animation Art / Artists / Artisans Dance / Theatre / Performance Film / Photography / Mass media Life Story / Life History Memory Migration Research methods Participatory / Collaborative methods
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
Kalès 2017 63'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Laurent van Lanker .
A film of wind and despair, of fire and solidarity, of hope and hell. An intimate and inside perspective of the ‘jungle’ of Calais, evoked through a polyphony of bodies, tales, and
Western Europe Migration Refugees / Displaced populations Squatter Settlements / Homelessness Participatory / Collaborative methods
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
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
Knots and Holes. An Essay Film on the Life of Nets. 2018 74'
    Special Interest Directed by Mattijs van de Port .
A singular anthropological essay film that observes the various nets we find across different contexts in Bahia (from fishing nets to delicate nets of lace), and the emotions and sensations
South America Essay film Reflexivity Love
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
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
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
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
Mobail Goroka 2018 17'
    Shorts Directed by Jackie Kauli .
Glossy advertisements for telecommunications company Digicel abound in Goroka, a town in Papua New Guinea’s eastern highlands. This film takes a close look at the footsoldiers of this multinational
Mossane (Safi Faye Special Focus) 1996 105'
    Special Interest Directed by Safi Faye .
The work of pioneering Senegalese filmmaker and ethnologist Safi Faye is the subject of our Special Focus at the 16th RAI Film Festival. Mossane is one of her greatest achievements, and we present
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
New Moon 2018 70'
    Directed by Philippa Ndisi-Herrmann .
.See less NICHE African, Islamic, Developing Nations, Women
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
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
Opening Night Screening: Edge of the Knife 2018 100'
    Special Interest Directed by Gwaai Edenshaw Helen Haig-Brown .
We are delighted to open the 16th RAI Film Festival with Edge of the Knife, the recipient of this year's President's Medal. Edge of the Knife is the first feature film in the endangered Haida
Our Freedom 2017 52'
    Material Culture Directed by Laura Kuen Yury Snigirev .
The inhabitants of the village of Pungino live mostly beyond the reach of the Russian state. Here, in this remote rural location, they create their own sphere of personal freedom. This film explores
Paani: of women and water 2018 22'
    Student Directed by Costanza Burstin .
Against the bleached sky of Rajasthan, we encounter the women of a small Muslim village as they engage in their work. Here, water binds their daily labour rituals: they collect and carry water in
South Asia Environment Food / Water Gender Role and Identity Rural Everyday Life
Panel 01: Indigenous Cinema: past, present and future 90'
Conference
  Convened by Renato Athias Rodrigo Lacerda .
Full title - Indigenous Cinema: past, present and future Indigenous cinema is a very diverse and global category with more than fifty years of history. The panel seeks submissions to analyze the
Panel 02: How to frame a poem in a film with others? 90'
Conference
  Convened by Roseline Lambert Rachel McCrum .
Full title - How to frame a poem in a film with others? Experiences of translation between different langages, poems, pictures and borders This panel aims to discuss the realisation of film-poems
Panel 03: Precarious landscapes (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Toma Peiu .
Full title: Precarious landscapes: forensics and decolonial futures This panel will be discussing the practicalities and ethics of producing images and sound in vulnerable landscapes. Work coming
Panel 03: Precarious landscapes (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Toma Peiu .
Full title- Precarious landscapes: forensics and decolonial futures This panel will be discussing the practicalities and ethics of producing images and sound in vulnerable landscapes. Work coming
Panel 04: Indigenous California 90'
Conference
  Convened by Teri Brewer Sue Giles Wendy Teeter .
Full title- Indigenous California: A Forum on Collaborative Archaeological and Ethnographic Visual Media Projects In recent years there have been an increasing number of productive visual media
Panel 05: Haptics and Visual Anthropology 90'
Conference
  Convened by Aparna Sharma Arine Kirstein Høgel .
Full title - Haptics and Visual Anthropology: Audio-Visual Dialogues and Non-Verbal Forms of Knowledge Construction In this workshop, filmmakers and researchers Sharma and Høgel explore how
Panel 06: Expanding Ethnographic Film: Multimodality? 90'
Conference
  Convened by Mark Westmoreland Janine Prins .
This panel seeks to investigate the expansion of ethnographic film practices in cases where a combination of different practice-based methodologies led to a multimodal approach. To what extent does
Panel 07: From the Field to the Screen (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Angélica Cabezas Pino Mattia Fumanti .
Full title - From the Field to the Screen: Reflexive Practices and Collaborative Methods in Ethnographic Film. This panel includes contributions from visual anthropologists and filmmakers of
Panel 07: From the Field to the Screen (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Angélica Cabezas Pino Mattia Fumanti .
Full title - From the Field to the Screen: Reflexive Practices and Collaborative Methods in Ethnographic Film This panel includes contributions from visual anthropologists and filmmakers of
Panel 08: Golden Wing, Silver Wings 90'
Conference
  Convened by Gary Seaman Zhuang Kongshao .
Full title - Golden Wing, Silver Wings: Filmic representations of the autobiographical ethnography of Lin Yueh-hwa This panel will focus on the legacy of the famous Chinese anthropologist Lin
Panel 09: We Three: Apparatus, Subject, Society (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Timothy P. A. Cooper Vindhya Buthpitiya .
Departing from the tripartite relationship between apparatus, subject, and society this panel invites reflection on issues of exclusion, consent, cinephobia, cinephilia, censorship, archival
Panel 09: We Three: Apparatus, Subject, Society (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Timothy P. A. Cooper Vindhya Buthpitiya .
Departing from the tripartite relationship between apparatus, subject, and society this panel invites reflection on issues of exclusion, consent, cinephobia, cinephilia, censorship, archival
Panel 10: Youth-centred frames (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Camilla Morelli Flavia Kremer .
Full title - Youth-centred frames: visual collaborations and participatory techniques in the research with young people This panel explores the use of participatory visual methods (film-making
Panel 10: Youth-centred frames (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Camilla Morelli Flavia Kremer .
Full title - Youth-centred frames: visual collaborations and participatory techniques in the research with young people This panel explores the use of participatory visual methods (film-making and
Panel 11: The material mediation of the ‘non-normative’ body 90'
Conference
  Convened by Cathy Greenhalgh Catalin Brylla .
This panel considers filmmakers who seek to work with and represent ‘non-normative’ bodies that are traditionally stereotyped and portrayed as “the other”. The aim is to explore innovative or
Panel 12: Transforming theory in and through film (Part I) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Mattijs van de Port Janine Prins .
This panel seeks to expand theoretical ambitions in visual anthropology. We explore audio-visual modes of report that speak about existential issues via the minutiae of life-as-lived. We invite
Panel 12: Transforming theory in and through film (Part II) 90'
Conference
  Convened by Mattijs van de Port Janine Prins .
This panel seeks to expand theoretical ambitions in visual anthropology. We explore audio-visual modes of report that speak about existential issues via the minutiae of life-as-lived. We invite
Pasajuego 2018 75'
    Material Culture Directed by Daniel Oliveras de Ita .
“Pasajuego” is the name of the court where Oaxacans play the ancient indigenous ball game of Pelota Mixteca. Today more than two million people from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca live in
Pedagogy & Public Anthropology: Legacies of Marshall's and Asch's Ethnographic Films 90'
Seminar
  Convened by Nancy Lutkehaus .
This panel reflects on the role of ethnographic film in pedagogy and public anthropology past, present, and future. It explores the introduction of ethnographic film into school curricula in the
Positive 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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
Tara's footprint 2018 70'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Georgina Barreiro .
Tara's Footprint skilfully conjures the atmosphere of Khechuperi, a village in the Himalayas in north eastern India. Eschewing standard exposition the film follows four young siblings as they go
South Asia Children / Young people Dance / Theatre / Performance Everyday Life Music / Ethnomusicology Religion / Belief / Faith Rural
Thank You For The Rain 2017 87'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Julia Dahr .
Over the last five years Kisilu, a smallholder farmer in Kenya, has used his camera to capture his family life, his village and the impacts of climate change. He has filmed floods, droughts and
Thinking like a Mountain 2018 91'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Alexander Hick .
The Arhuacos are the guardians of the forest and the ice of Colombia’s highest mountain - the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This indigenous community draw a sustained and singular spirituality from
This is My Face 2018 57'
    Student Directed by Angélica Cabezas Pino .
In Chile, people living with HIV fear stigma, and often conceal their condition and remain silent about what they are going through. This is My Face explores what happens when a range of men living
South America LGBTQI* Participatory / Collaborative methods Health / Health care / Healing Gender Role and Identity Film / Photography / Mass media Memory Life Story / Life History Art / Artists / Artisans
Those Who 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
Tindaya Variations 2018 40'
    Special Interest Directed by Isaac Marrero-Guillamon .
The mountain of Tindaya (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands) is more than a mountain. It was a sacred site for the indigenous people of Fuerteventura; later, its rock was quarried and sold for ornamental
Western Mediterranean Archival material / Museum displays Art / Artists / Artisans Environment Material Culture Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Archaeology
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
Vivre Riche 2017 53'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Joël Akafou .
“Rolex the Portuguese” has returned to Abidjan with one mission: to make lots of money. He seeks to emulates the hedonistic lifestyle of a new generation of West African music stars. He and his
Walker's 2018 11'
    Student Directed by Kyle Myers-Haugh .
In this portrait of a historic black barbershop in Wilmington, North Carolina, we witness the everyday rituals that bind the men in this community together. Tight close ups illuminate intimate
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
Welcome Valentine 2017 2017 16'
    Student Directed by Dhruv Satija .
In a temple dedicated to Hanuman in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a priest flouts convention by marrying couples who are shunned elsewhere: mostly those who have eloped from families who disapprove of their
South Asia Marriage Love LGBTQI* Religion / Belief / Faith
What your eyes can’t see 2018 8'
    Shorts Directed by Julieta Pestarino .
An essay-documentary that explores the processes of archival research, and the limits of the kind of knowledge it can provide. Pestarino pursues photographer and traveller André Roosevelt into the
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
Wives 2017 85'
    RAI Basil Wright Directed by Lisbet Holtedahl .
Alhajji Ibrahim is an Islamic scholar who has served as judge at the Sultanate of Ngaoundéré in Northern Cameroon for 46 years. The film follows Alhajji during the last years of his life, focusing
West Africa Family / Kinship Everyday Life Gender Role and Identity Marriage Personal Narrative Religion / Belief / Faith Social Norms
The Women Weavers of Assam 2019 98'
    Special Interest Directed by Aparna Sharma .
The Women Weavers of Assam focuses on the craft, labour and the everyday lives of a group of women weavers in India’s northeastern state of Assam. The weavers belong to a non-profit collective
South Asia Art / Artists / Artisans Gender Role and identity Material Culture
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
Wási 2017 16'
    Shorts Directed by Sebastián Gómez Ruíz Amado Villafaña Chaparro .
As the sun rises on a village in northern Colombia, we glimpse its inhabitants as they begin their day. As the scene emerges from obscurity, a voiceover reflects on the nature of sight. It is the
South America Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Indigenous Filmmaking History of Anthropology Film / Photography / Mass media
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,
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
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