Agave is Life is a documentary film about mankind’s 10,000 year-long symbiotic alliance with the marvelous agave plant, from which tequila, Mexico’s iconic distilled spirit, is derived. The

Every day, carrying the simplest of tools, diggers across coastal Maine set out at low tide to dig for clams on the wide mud flats that stretch far into the bay. It is backbreaking work. But it has

"Autumn’s Work" follows Bill Coperthwaite as he prepares for winter. Wrestling with a large felled tree amidst its vast tangle of branches, Bill slowly and methodically breaks it down

The filmmaker and two historians went into the village of Banjeli in 1985 to recreate for the film the traditional iron smelting techniques (which are no longer used) of the area. By focusing on the

A poem about a chair. In 1960, Bill Coperthwaite bought 300 acres of wilderness in Machiasport, Maine. Influenced by the poetry of Emily Dickinson and by the back to the land movement of Scott and

An account of Aboriginal people steering their way through the often frustrating processes of official decision-making, as it is seen from their viewpoint far away from Canberra. Gordon Smith, head

This film examines the indigenous rights revolution sweeping Mexico through the municipal elections in Huehuetla, Puebla. In 1989, the Huehuetla Totonacs formed the Organización Independiente

In the Bolivian highlands an English doctor is setting up a network of health care for remote mountain villages. While teaching the inhabitants the essentials of Western medicine the doctor is

Human remains from the California Channel Islands were donated to an English city museum nearly a century ago. More recently research began into how they came to be there, and whose remains they

A film set in Chicago about an inspirational woman who has defied her past and now rescues girls and young women from a life on the streets.

Religious life in the village is highly gendered, with female shamans dominating most religious activities. These shamanesses and their gods are organised as a “court”, which expresses a

When Geraldine Kawanka’s husband died, she and her children left their house at Aurukun on Cape York Peninsula. In earlier times a bark house would have been burnt, but today a ‘house-opening’

An insightful documentary, constructed with visual restraint, about the male circumcision ritual among the Gisu of Uganda. The narrative follows one male participant through the ritual and contrasts

The film was made in 1914 by Edward Curtis. The plot concerns the efforts of a young man, Motana, son of a great chief, to obtain a bride and how he is thwarted by a wicked sorcerer. Many of the

The Hamat’sa (or “Cannibal Dance”) is the most important—and highly represented ceremony of the Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl) people of British Columbia. This film traces the history of

A classic in ethnographic filmmaking, In and Out of Africa traces the transnational trade of African Art between West Africa and the USA, providing an insight into how value, commoditization and

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

In ‘Koriam's Law’ Australian anthropologist Andrew Lattas meets his match in philosopher-informant Peter Avarea of Matong village, Pomio, Papua New Guinea. Motivated by their lively dialogue the

In the summer of 2006, I went as a student to Zhouguan, a Tunpu village in a multiethnic area of southwest China. Renowned for its performances of the Dixi exorcism operas, the village elders believe

This is the story of two cultures and two technologies. An American navigator is taught the skills of navigation by a traditional Micronesian navigator on Satawal island. The American tries to

A brief glimpse into the Foundation Fior Di Loto girls' school, this film explores the competing ideas of traditional and contemporary womanhood in Rajasthan, India. Four girls introduce us to the

This film outlines the types of marriage exchange practiced in a Chinese village over the last fifty years. Dowry, brideprice and exchange marriages have dominated the marriage market in turn as

Jero uses massage and traditional medicines to treat Ida Bagus, who suffers from sterility and seizures. Through her treatment and her words, Jero reveals her conceptions of the human body, the

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

In 1978, as part of the preparations for the island-wide ceremony eka dasa rudra, religious officials urged all Balinese to cleanse the island by cremating their dead. Many were forced to pool

Located on the North China Plain about 200 miles south of Beijing, 'Song Family Village' is home to about 1,300 people. Some 80% of all villagers are members of a single lineage of the Song surname.

Seed on Earth is a film about everyday life in rural Bangladesh (village of Janta, near Bishnupur town). It follows the daily schedule of two families and observes the complementary and difference of

This film documents a migrant worker’s experiences as a herder on a Nevada sheep ranch who then returns to his family in Mexico after a long absence to renew ties and find a job at home. It

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

Most weddings in the village still reflect traditional patterns of patrilineal descent and patrilocal residence. The bride leaves her natal home to marry into her husband’s village, where she is a

Haji Omar and his three sons belong to the Lakenkhel, a Pashtun tribal group in northeastern Afghanistan. Concentrating within one family, the film draw sharp, colourful portraits of the protagonists

"Spring in Dickinson’s Reach" provides an introduction to the unique environment that Bill Coperthwaite has crafted in the Maine forest. Beginning in early spring, the film follows

A film which explores the philosophy of teaching and learning of Sunny Bancroft, manager of an Aboriginal-run cattle station in northern New South Wales. It also tells the story of Shane Gordon, a

"A Summer Task" examines the rhythm and tempo of work in the forest. The film follows Bill Coperthwaite and his cousin, Steve, as they fell and haul trees to build a bridge and begin

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.

Tiger's Apprentice is the story of M. Trinh Nguyen's journey to her native Vietnam. She observes and documents her great-uncle's folk medicine practices treating many patients and making his

The Jie are semi-nomadic pastoral people living in North-eastern Uganda, who are striving to maintain their way of life in the face of unsympathetic government policy, and, at the time of filming, a dry-season famine.

The film documents the transformation by the Trobriand Islanders of the game of cricket, first introduced by British missionaries into a highly distinctive political ritual. Shot in 1973-1974,

At Jie cattle camps in Uganda men often gather under a special tree to make leather and wooden goods and talk, relax, and sleep. This brilliant ethnographic documentary by renowned filmmakers David

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.

'Virtual Me' examines the experiences of players of the online game World of Warcraft, focusing specifically on their experience and understanding of issues surrounding gender and identity within

The film demonstrates how in Bali, development projects can threaten a carefully balanced ecological irrigation system that is maintained by temple priests. A biologist and an anthropologist look at

Also about individuals from the Turkana in north-western Kenya (see 'Lorang’s Way' and 'A Wife Among Wives'), this film chronicles a series of events which surround the marriage of Lorang’s

This ethnopsychiatric film shows the management of psychiatric disorders by the Yoruba of Nigeria. There are two basic types of institutions to deal with psychiatric disorders. First there are

This segment of the trilogy on the Turkana of northern Kenya (see 'Lorang’s Way' and 'The Wedding Camels' above) evolves around the role of women in the society. The audience follows the

"Winter Days" evokes the stillness and quietness of the forest in winter. Life is lived close to the stove. It’s a time for small tasks and chores – making a wedge, sewing a pocket, the

The Yanomami Indians are one of the last large relatively unacculturated indigenous groups remaining in the world. In November 2000 filmmakers Orloff and Shalygin documented the lives of a small

Set in the predominantly Asian “ethnoburbs” of Los Angeles County, this film follows a vibrant Buddhist youth group in a Chinese-American temple. Youth group members, most raised by immigrant