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About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
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Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
RAI FILM
Login
Facebook
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Twitter
About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
Prices
Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
Menu
About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
Prices
Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
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Twitter
Films
31 Films
Country
“Italy”
x
films with a digital version
7
films hosted on Kanopy
1
short films
22
films available on demand
4
Region
Central Europe
1
Middle and Near East
2
South-East Europe
21
Western Europe
3
Western Mediterranean
8
Country
Bosnia-Herzegovina
1
France
1
Italy
31
x
Palestine
1
Spain
1
Syria
1
United Kingdom
1
Keywords
Agriculture / Farming
1
Animation
1
Archaeology
1
Art / Artists / Artisans
2
Collective / Community identity
1
Dance / Theatre / Performance
1
Education / Knowledge Transmission
1
Family / Kinship
1
Festivals / Carnival
18
Film / Photography / Mass media
1
Folklore
16
Food
1
Gender Role and Identity
1
Herding
2
History
2
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
1
Intergenerational relations
2
Labour
2
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
1
Life Story / Life History
2
Memory
2
Migration
5
Music / Ethnomusicology
2
Participatory / Collaborative methods
2
Political Activists
1
Refugees / Displaced populations
1
Religion / Belief / Faith
2
Research methods
1
Rural
1
Social Change
2
Socioeconomic conditions
1
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
1
Urban
1
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
1
Directors
Ahmed, Akbar
1
Bloching, Max
1
Cao, Umberto
1
D’onofrio, Alexandra
1
Dukmak, Abd Alrahman
1
Fales, Ludovica
1
Ferrarese, Adriana
1
Grasseni, Cristina
1
Grieco, Anthony
1
MacDougall, David
1
Mura, Andrea
1
Patriarca, Niccolo
1
Schillaci, Rosella
1
Schillaci, Rossella
2
Trentini, Michele
16
de Bromhead, Toni
2
Series
Carnival King of Europe
16
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
2
not set
13
Country of production
Australia
1
Canada
1
France
2
Germany
1
Greece
1
Italy
23
United Kingdom
5
United States
1
Year of production
1984
1
1993
1
1998
1
2007
1
2009
1
2010
3
2011
2
2012
1
2014
1
2015
8
2016
6
2017
3
2018
1
2020
1
Film list
The Beautiful White Masks of Rèsije
2017
15
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
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 is part of
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
Caroling with the Star among the Bersntoler
2015
26
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
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 farm to farm. This film is
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
Caught in a Magic Place
2007
28
‘
Directed by
Niccolo Patriarca
.
A story of sandwiches and generations, ambitions and regrets from the heart of the Italian kitchen.
Western Mediterranean
Food
Intergenerational relations
Labour
Coraggio coscritti: take heart, all new recruits!
2016
25
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
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 Europe DVD 6 –
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
The Day of the Pustje on Mt. Matajur
2015
11
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
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 film is part of **Carnival King
South-East Europe
Folklore
Festivals / Carnival
The Day of the Zanni
2016
17
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
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 a pointed, ribboned, imposing headpiece.
South-East Europe
Folklore
Festivals / Carnival
Fiddling away Carnival in Caffaro
2017
12
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
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 film is part of
South-East Europe
Folklore
Festivals / Carnival
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 Gnaga
2017
8
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
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 Carnival days, the village is brought back
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
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
Journey into Europe
2015
122
‘
Directed by
Akbar Ahmed
.
In Journey into Europe, Akbar Ahmed, a world-renowned anthropologist, Islamic scholar, and filmmaker who the BBC has called “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam,” explores Islam
Central Europe
Western Europe
South-East Europe
History
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Letters from Palestine
2011
35
‘
Directed by
Ludovica Fales
.
What if in your great-grandfather’s letters there is a mystery your family doesn’t want to talk about? In 1920 Angelo Levi Bianchini set out to Palestine on an Italian diplomatic mission and never
Western Mediterranean
Middle and Near East
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Memory
History
My Eyes as a Stranger
1984
53
‘
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
This film tells the story of the friendship between an English filmmaker and Nicola, a Sicilian ex-gangster who lives in Florence. The film moves to and fro between a street of ill repute, and the
South-East Europe
Gender Role and Identity
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
Once upon a time in Val di Fiemme
2009
23
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
Every four years, the new recruits in Carano are presented to the community in the midst of a complex carnival ritual called Banderàl. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 6 –
South-East Europe
Folklore
Festivals / Carnival
Other Europe
2011
75
‘
Directed by
Rossella Schillaci
.
What happens to African migrants once granted political refugee status? In Turin, a northern Italian city, an abandoned clinic has been squatted by more than 200 refugees since December 2008. Khaled,
Western Mediterranean
Migration
Urban
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
The Passion and Death of the Carlisèp
2015
19
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
In Schignano, in the Lombardy mountains close to the Swiss border, Carlisèp is the local name of the Carnival dummy, who attempts a last minute escape. Carnival trials such as that held in Valda,
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
Processes
2016
23
‘
Directed by
Adriana Ferrarese
.
Like every year, Corigliano Calabro, a small village in the south of Italy, celebrates Easter: from the investiture of a man to embody Jesus during a night procession, to the passionate debates for
South-East Europe
Religion / Belief / Faith
Festivals / Carnival
A Rite on the Run: the Blùmari of Benecija
2015
10
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
In the Slovenian-speaking Italian Benecija, the Blùmari run across the village fields once a year, just like the Arval Brethren of ancient Rome. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD
South-East Europe
Folklore
Festivals / Carnival
Sea Boundary
2012
55
‘
Directed by
Rosella Schillaci
.
The film depicts the daily struggle of fishermen to earn a living in a harsh physical environment that brings out the social and economic tensions of modern society. Manning the Priamo are Cola, the
Western Mediterranean
Labour
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Socioeconomic conditions
Migration
Shepherds in the Cave
2016
87
‘
Material Culture
Directed by
Anthony Grieco
.
An international team of art restorers, archaeologists and volunteers begin work on the restoration of religious frescoes inside a network of ancient caves. Faced with local bureaucratic challenges
Western Mediterranean
Archaeology
Herding
Art / Artists / Artisans
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Speeding the Plough in Stilfs
2015
22
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
In Upper Vinschgau in South Tyrol a highly charged Carnival parade takes place with the specific purpose of “speeding the plough”. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 4 SPEEDING
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
St. Anthony Bonfires in Mamoiada
2014
17
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
St. Anthony’s Day marks the first annual outing of the celebrated Sardinian Mamuthones with their blackened shepherd’s outfit, carefully directed by their eternal antagonists, the Issohadores.
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
St. Martin’s Bonfires in Predazzo
2010
10
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
On November 11th, great bonfires are lit by the local youth to celebrate the distribution of the annual revenues from the forestry harvest. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 3 –
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
St. Nicholas’ Night in Val di Fassa
2010
15
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
As an early harbinger of celestial light, St. Nicholas and his mixed company of angels and devils visits every home, to tell children off in the most persuasive of manners. This film is part of
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore
Tempus de Baristas
1993
100
‘
Directed by
David MacDougall
.
This film depicts the characters, and social dilemmas of three generations of Sardinian mountain shepherds. Although born roughly 20 years apart, Franchiscu (62), his son Pietro (17) and their
Western Europe
Herding
Social Change
Family / Kinship
Rural
Those Who Don’t Work Don’t Make Love
1998
30
‘
Directed by
Cristina Grasseni
.
An observational documentary about dairy farmers in the Italian Alps. Caught between pride for tradition and the pressure for modernisation, the story of one family is told through the eyes of
Western Mediterranean
Agriculture / Farming
Social Change
A Town in Sicily
2015
120
‘
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
Castellammare is a ‘high-density Mafia’ seaside town. Local government is infiltrated, its economy is stagnant and there is no future for its youth. A group of angry young Sicilians now wish to
South-East Europe
Political Activists
Unwritten Letters
2020
59
‘
Directed by
Max Bloching
Abd Alrahman Dukmak
.
Abd is a 24-year-old Syrian who took part in the early days of the 2011 revolution and now lives in Padova, Italy. Together with his German friend Max he is working on a film called Unwritten
South-East Europe
Middle and Near East
Migration
Refugees / Displaced populations
Participatory / Collaborative methods
Life Story / Life History
The White Primavera of the Agordino
2016
16
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
The beauty of the village, impersonating a gypsy woman, the Zinghenesta, has the main dancing role in the masquerade. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 5 PARADING THE VILLAGE**.
South-East Europe
Folklore
Festivals / Carnival
The trial, sentence and execution of Johnny Woodstock
2010
15
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
Carnival trials such as that held in Valda, in the mountains of Trentino, are commonplace throughout Europe. Death sentence is for granted. This film is part of **Carnival King of Europe DVD 8 –
South-East Europe
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore