Skip to main content

RAI FILM Festival takes place on 27-30 March 2025. Learn more.

Search our film database

Gule Wamkulu: The Great Dance

Directed by Charles Namondwe

1991 – 37'

Synopsis

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 ancestral world of spirits and the mundane present, Gule Wamkulu symbolises almost the entire spectrum of life’s emotions and actions.

RAI FILM Festival 2025

The next RAI FILM Festival will take place in person from 27-30 March 2025 at the Watershed Cinema and the Arnolfini International Centre for Contemporary Arts in Bristol (UK) and online throughout the month of April 2025.