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In the Catalan-speaking southern France, a proper “Bear Chase”, of the kind that was once popular throughout Europe, has been revived in a carnival context. This film is part of...

In a small community of Italian Slavic-speakers, the performance by the Beautiful White Masks, impersonated by women, comes to an abrupt end with the burning of the Babaz. This film...

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...

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 ritual is made apparent, from...

In the German-speaking Bersntol (Val dei Mòcheni) in the Italian Alps, the Three Wise Men have left in their stead a robust choir of young men, parading the Star from...

Villagers from remote hamlets high in the Andes join together with people from the roadside village of Ocongate for the Peruvian Independence Day celebration. Festivities require that a wild condor...

The yearly parade of the new recruits is the perfect occasion in which to vent an extraordinarily wide repertoire of traditional songs. This film is part of **Carnival King of...

Throughout western Slovenia, Pust or Pustje are the names given to the Carnival dummy and the same names are also used in the Italian side of the Julian Alps. This...

The Didi of Gljev, in the Dalmatian hinterland, are fully-fledged rams and for the duration a day they act and behave as if they were a single magical flock. This...

The Zanni of central Italy, are the same as the Pulcinella of the South of Italy or the Lachè in the North. They are Carnival heralds, clad in white, with...

The film centres on the predominantly female celebration of the feast of Saint John. The women sing the songs associated with the Feast, describe their beliefs and how they organise...

A small village in the Slovenian Karst is entirely taken over by the local masks, the so called “Škoromati”. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 7...

The everyday life of migrant fun fair operators is the filter through which we view the social and economic factors of the 20th and early 21st century that define the...

Joaldunak are “those who resound”, the great bell ringers heralding the Carnival parade between the twin villages of Ituren and Zubieta in the Basque-speaking Spanish Naffaroa. This film is part...

Bagolino and Ponte Caffaro host the largest surviving ensemble of folk violin in the Alps, which makes Carnival a leap back into the Renaissance roots of the violin itself. This...

Among the Yoruba of Western Nigeria and Dahomey the Gelede cult honours the earth spirits, the ancestors and especially the Great Mother. The festival filmed here emphasises the status of...

In the Catholic, French-speaking part of Belgium, monumental, all-encompassing masquerades take place in the middle of Lent. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 6 – RITUAL...

The Gnaga is an old hag, carrying her drunk husband back home in a pannier. This film is part of Carnival King of Europe DVD 5 PARADING THE VILLAGE. On...

On the day of the Epiphany, a grand parade half-way between Christianity and paganism is staged, incorporating all the ancient characters of Alpine fables, the Twelve Days of Christmas, and...

The Kalasha are a tribal people, 3,000 strong, who live in the high valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The Kalasha are...