Film list

[across-the-border-afghan-musicians-exiled-in-peshawar--Film-image]
Across the Border: Afghan Musicians exiled in Peshawar 2008 54'
  Directed by John Baily .
It is the year 2000 and most of Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban. Hearing that many of Afghanistain’s musicians are now in exile across the border in Pakistan, ethnomusicologist John
South Asia Refugees / Displaced populations Music / Ethnomusicology Religion / Belief / Faith
[amir-an-afghan-refugee-musicians-life-in-peshavar-pakistan--Film-image]
Amir - An Afghan Refugee Musician's Life in Peshavar, Pakistan 1985 52'
    Directed by John Baily .
The film investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan
South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Refugees / Displaced populations
[andre-and-nandi--Film-image]
André and Nándi 2000 30'
    Directed by Charlotte Grégoire .
Hungarian-born André Reinitz only discovered his Jewish identity when he moved to Brussels at the age of ten. Since then, in spite of the silence of his parents, he has become involved in the Jewish
Western Europe Eastern Europe and Baltic States Religion / Belief / Faith Music / Ethnomusicology Life Story / Life History
[ballad-on-the-shore--Film-image]
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
[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
[body-games-capoeira-and-ancestry--Film-image]
Body Games - Capoeira and Ancestry 2014 87'
    Student Directed by Richard Pakleppa Matthias Röhrig Assunção Christine Dettmann .
The film follows master Cobra Mansa and his friends in the search for the African roots of the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. A powerful myth links Capoeira to a legendary Angolan game called Engolo
South America Southern Africa Dance / Theatre / Performance Music / Ethnomusicology Festivals / Carnival
[cine-rabeca--Film-image]
Cine Rabeca 2022 55'
  Directed by Marcia Mansu .
Time dimensions emerge from the relation between the visible and the imagined, between memory and the experience of the present. A unique place emerges through the entanglement of music and archive
Latin America Music / Ethnomusicology Art / Artists / Artisans Dance / Theatre / Performance
[dor-low-is-better--Film-image]
Dor, Low is Better 1988 47'
    Directed by Robert Boonzajer-Flaes .
The film offers an experimental approach to the comparative study of cultures: the monks of a Tibetan monastery compare their own flutes with the Swiss alphorn and the Dutch windhorn introduced to
South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Ritual
[ghetto-psa--Film-image]
Ghetto PSA 2016 15'
    Special Interest Directed by Rossella Schillaci .
Jacob arrived in Italy alone from French Guinea when he was 11 years old. Today he is 27, and hip hop music is his whole world: it is his way to express dreams, hopes and frustrations, and to not
Western Europe Music / Ethnomusicology Migration Education / Knowledge Transmission
[the-good-wife-of-tokyo--Film-image]
The Good Wife of Tokyo 1992 52'
    Directed by Kim Longinotto Clare Hunt .
Kazuko Hohki goes back to Tokyo with her band, the ‘Frank Chickens’, after living in England for 15 years. This wry and delightful film records her re-experiencing of Japan after a long absence,
Central Asia and Far East Music / Ethnomusicology Gender Role and Identity Marriage Social Change
[gula-music-for-a-sacred-time--Film-image]
Gula - Music for a sacred time 2020 15'
  Directed by Remigiusz Sowa .
Introduces the rich and varied Hindu-Buddhist religious and ritual musical heritage of the ancient royal city of Bhaktapur (Nepal).
South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology
[herat-films-the-annual-cycle-of-music-in-herat--Film-image]
Herat Films: The Annual Cycle of Music in Herat 1983 54'
    Directed by John Baily .
These videos were edited from seven hours of Super 8 film shot by John Baily during two years of ethnomusicological fieldwork carried out in the Herat region of western Afghanistan between 1973 and
Middle and Near East Dance / Theatre / Performance Music / Ethnomusicology
[jungle-cat--Film-image]
Jungle Cat 2000 29'
    Directed by Natalie Schädler .
In search of the righteous way of living, the Liberian rapper CyLover, aka as 'Jungle Cat' wants to make music for his people. Now based in Ghana, the big chance to finish his first album approaches
West Africa Music / Ethnomusicology
[a-kabul-music-diary--Film-image]
A Kabul Music Diary 2003 52'
    Directed by John Baily .
Ethnomusicologist John Baily returns to Kabul to see what is happening in the world of music one year after the defeat of the Taliban. The film documents a variety of musical activities, including
Middle and Near East Music / Ethnomusicology War / Conflict / Reconciliation
[komian--Film-image]
Komian 2015 72'
  Directed by Jordi Esteva .
Four years after the filming of “Return to the Land of Souls”, about the rituals of trance and possession, the narrator travels to Ivory Coast in search of a priestess possessed by the Spirit of
West Africa Possession Ritual Music / Ethnomusicology
[lessons-from-gulam--Film-image]
Lessons from Gulam 1986 52'
    Directed by John Baily .
A detailed study of musical enculturation within the Asian community of Bradford in northern England. Gulam Musa is the principal character and he is shown as a teacher and as a musician. The film
British-Irish Isles Music / Ethnomusicology Education / Knowledge Transmission
[mangrove-music--Film-image]
Mangrove Music 2006 49'
    Directed by Carlo A. Cubero .
The Caribbean island of Culebra is located between Spanish speaking Puerto Rico and English speaking Virgin Islands. Musicians from the island are inspired from a variety of regional, national and
Central America Music / Ethnomusicology
[messages-by-music-senegal-in-transition--Film-image]
Messages by Music - Senegal in Transition 2013 76'
    Directed by Cornelia Strasse .
The traditional musicians in Senegal were in charge of retaining the history of their ethnic group, along with ways of thinking and behaving. Their aim was to conserve the society. Nowadays the
East Africa Music / Ethnomusicology Colonialism / Postcolonialism Social Change Political Activists Resistance
[nawi--Film-image]
Nawi 1970 20'
    Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .
This classic ethnographic documentary, by the renowned filmmaking team of David and Judith MacDougall, explores the nomadic life of the Jie of Uganda. During the dry season the Jie leave their
East Africa Herding Music / Ethnomusicology Nomads and Nomadism
[nodas-launeddas-at-the-time-of-crisis--Film-image]
Nodas. Launeddas at the time of crisis. 2015 29'
    Intangible Culture Directed by Umberto Cao Andrea Mura .
Dating back 3000 years to the Nuragic civilisation on Sardinia, 'launeddas' are wind instruments that testify to contacts from across the Mediterranean. Although they nearly vanished in the 1960s, in
Western Mediterranean Music / Ethnomusicology Festivals / Carnival Intergenerational relations
[the-poets-salary--Film-image]
The Poet's Salary 2008 59'
  Directed by Eric Wittersheim Alexandre Francois .
For the first time in many years, on the little island of Motalava in Vanuatu, a new song will be composed in the island's ancestors’ language, the language of god Quat, and become part of the
Melanesia Music / Ethnomusicology Linguistics / Language Informant-researcher relationship
[polka--Film-image]
Polka 1986 50'
  Directed by Robert Boonzajer-Flaes .
The film confronts the accordion music of Chicano immigrants in southern Texas with the traditional music of accordion players in Austria. Without making any final judgements on the ‘roots’ of
North America Music / Ethnomusicology Collective / Community identity
[return-of-the-nightingales--Film-image]
Return of the Nightingales 2013 33'
  Directed by John Baily .
In 2010 Afghan musicologist Dr. Ahmad Sarmast opened the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), a coeducational vocational music school in Kabul that teaches Afghan, Indian and Western
South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Education / Knowledge Transmission Children / Young people
[ringtone--Film-image]
Ringtone 2014 30'
  Directed by Jennifer Deger Paul Wunungmurra .
Yolngu Aboriginal families offer glimpses into their lives and relationships through their choice of ringtones. From ancestral clan songs to 80s hip hop artists and local gospel tunes, these songs
Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Music / Ethnomusicology Material Culture
[sacred-harp-singers--Film-image]
Sacred Harp Singers 1984 85'
    Directed by Mark Brice .
A moving portrait of harp singers Leonard and Mazine Lacy. Sacred harp music is a kind of harmonised plainsong practised in rural America. This film was shot in Sand Mountain, Alabama, and is
North America Music / Ethnomusicology Rural
[sangita-priya-lover-of-music--Film-image]
Sangita Priya: Lover of Music 2007 30'
    Directed by Anne-Katrine Hansen .
From temples to recording studios of Kochi, Kerala in South India, we follow four musicians -a student and his master, a professional and a promoter - all uniquely devoted to the music that permeates
South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Education / Knowledge transmission
[scenes-of-afghan-music-london-kabul-hamburg-dublin--Film-image]
Scenes of Afghan Music: London, Kabul, Hamburg, Dublin 2007 97'
  Directed by John Baily .
Scenes of Afghan Music is Part IV of 'A Quartet of Afghan Music Films', made in the author’s personal “fieldwork movie” style. It reveals the diversity of music and dance practices in the
Middle and Near East Music / Ethnomusicology Migration Collective / Community identity
[singing-pictures-women-painters-of-naya--Film-image]
Singing Pictures - Women Painters of Naya 2005 45'
  Directed by Lina Fruzzetti Ákos Östör .
For generations the Patua (Chitrakara) communities of West Bengal have been painters and singers of stories depicted in scrolls. The film follows the daily lives of Muslim Patua women from Naya
South Asia Material Culture Art / Artists / Artisans Music / Ethnomusicology
[sons-of-the-moon--Film-image]
Sons of the Moon 1984 25'
  Directed by Frank Speed Deirdre LaPin .
In isolated mountain hamlets in Nigeria’s Jos Plateau the Ngas have traditionally observed the movements of the moon in the night sky. The moon is a key symbol in Ngas cosmology, believed to
West Africa Religion / Belief / Faith Music / Ethnomusicology Everyday Life Ritual
[sundanese-culture-alive--Film-image]
Sundanese Culture Alive 1988 46'
    Directed by Jean Hellwig .
Jaipongan is a new style of music and dancing which was ‘invented’ about a decade ago on Western Java, Indonesia. Drawing on more classical Javanese music and taking elements from Japanese and
South-East Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Dance / Theatre / Performance
[tablas-and-drum-machines-afghan-music-in-california--Film-image]
Tablas and Drum Machines: Afghan Music in California 2001 58'
    Directed by John Baily .
Ethnomusicologist John Baily visits Fremont, California, the new home of the large community of exiled Afghans. He is joined by Kabuli master-musician, Ustad Asif Mahmoud, who plans to open a small
North America Music / Ethnomusicology Education / Knowledge transmission Refugees / Displaced populations
[tabom-in-bahia--Film-image]
Tabom in Bahia 2017 52'
  Directed by Juan Diego Diaz Nilton Pereira .
There is a small community in Ghana who identify as Brazilians. Their name is the Tabom. They are the descendants of former enslaved Africans and creoles who resettled from Bahia to Ghana during the
South America West Africa Music / Ethnomusicology Collective / Community identity Memory Migration Popular Culture Race / Racism / Antiracism Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
[taras-footprint--Film-image]
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
[temporary-sanity-the-skerrit-boy-story--Film-image]
Temporary Sanity: The Skerrit Boy Story 2006 32'
  Directed by Dan Bruun .
This film deals with the culture of Jamaican dancehall music as it exists in New York. It follows one young dancehall participant who makes his living performing and promoting dancehall music.
North America Music / Ethnomusicology Alternative culture
[this-is-a-majlis-a-sound-essay--Film-image]
This Is A Majlis - A Sound Essay 2020 17'
  Directed by Timothy Cooper Abeera Arif-Bashir .
This short film is a multi-platform sound essay. It is primarily illustrated with still images, that conjure an atmosphere of intimacy and intensity of the majlis-e-aza, a mourning gathering central
South Asia Music/Ethnomusicology Urban Art/ Aritists/ Artisans Social Change
[ustad-rahim--Film-image]
Ustad Rahim 2008 55'
    Directed by John Baily .
Shot in the city of Heart, western Afghanistan 1994, in the period between the fall of the last leftist government and the coming of the Taliban, this is a portrait film of an outstanding musician,
South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Education / Knowledge Transmission Personal Narrative
[vasile-nedea--Film-image]
Vasile Nedea 2009 43'
  Directed by Sjoerd van Grootheest .
The film tells the story of Vasile Nedea, a Romanian gypsy musician an Amsterdam. Due to his former illegal status there have been times in which he was forced to show his skills whilst busking the
Western Europe Travellers / Roma Music / Ethnomusicology
[vaud-and-the-villains--Film-image]
Vaud and the Villains 2010 30'
  Directed by Lukas Belkind .
Three members of an 18-piece, 1930s style, American folk big band explore their personal relationships with Los Angeles, performing, the music they love, and the band that binds them all together.
North America Dance / Theatre / Performance Music / Ethnomusicology
[vivir-la-chicha--Film-image]
Vivir la Chicha 2003 28'
  Directed by Sharis Coppens .
Chicha music evokes the experiences of the many Peruvians who migrate from the high Andes down to the cities. This film tells the story of Aurora Ramos, a cobbler and market saleswoman, and the role
South America Music / Ethnomusicology Trade Migration
[you-cant-live-with-your-mouth-shut--Film-image]
You Can’t Live With Your Mouth Shut 1999 29'
  Directed by João Nicolau .
Cape Verde is an archipelago situated 500km off the West Coast of Africa. On the island of Santiago lives Mano Mendi, the last player of cimboa, a one-string violin used to accompany the traditional
West Africa Music / Ethnomusicology