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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
RAI FILM
Login
Facebook
Instagram
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
Login
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Films
21 Films
shorter than 40 minutes
x
Country of production
“United States”
x
films with a digital version
11
short films
21
x
films available on demand
3
Region
Central America
2
Central Asia and Far East
5
East Africa
2
North America
8
South Asia
2
South-East Asia
1
West Africa
2
Western Europe
1
Country
Bangladesh
1
Canada
1
China
5
India
1
Indonesia
1
Mexico
2
Nigeria
1
Togo
1
Uganda
2
United Kingdom
1
United States
7
Virtual Space
1
Keywords
Alternative culture
1
Animation
1
Archaeology
1
Archival material / Museum displays
4
Art / Artists / Artisans
1
Children / Young people
1
Collective / Community identity
2
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
1
Dance / Theatre / Performance
2
Education / Knowledge Transmission
1
Family / Kinship
3
Festivals / Carnival
1
Gender Role and Identity
5
Health / Health care / Healing
2
Herding
1
History
2
Indigenous peoples / First Nation peoples
1
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
2
Informant-researcher relationship
2
Infrastructure / Transport
1
Intergenerational relations
1
Internet
1
Labour
1
Marriage
2
Material Culture
1
Migration
1
Music / Ethnomusicology
3
Music/ Ethnomusicology
1
Nomads and Nomadism
1
Political Activists
1
Possession
1
Race / Racism / Antiracism
1
Reflexivity
1
Religion / Belief / Faith
1
Reproduction (biology)
1
Ritual
4
Rural
2
Shamans and Shamanism
2
Social Change
2
Tourism/ Travel/ Pilgrimage
1
Directors
Asch, Patsy
1
Asch, Timothy
1
Belkind, Lukas
1
Brandão, Joana
1
Brewer, Teri F.
1
Bruun, Dan
1
Connor, Linda
1
Fruzzetti, Lina
1
Glass, Aaron
1
Guzzetti, Alfred
1
Johnston, Ned
1
Lane, Bruce Pacho
1
Lopes, André
1
Lu, Wanwan
1
MacDougall, David
2
MacDougall, Judith
2
Monahan, Trent
1
Moore, Allen
1
Nitzky, William
1
Olatunji, Ife
1
Prince, Raymond
1
Prothero, Sarah
1
Rousso-Schindler, Steven
4
Saltman, Carlyn
1
Seaman, Gary
4
Song, Zhifang
4
Speed, Frank
1
Torson, Jennifer
1
Werner, Louis
1
Östör, Ákos
1
Series
ANU, Indonesia Series
1
Decolonising Shorts
1
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
3
Shorts Collection 2
1
Song Family Village
4
not set
11
Country of production
Australia
3
Canada
1
China
4
Mexico
1
Nigeria
1
United Kingdom
3
United States
21
x
Year of production
1963
1
1970
1
1973
1
1983
1
1989
1
1996
1
1997
1
2000
1
2004
1
2006
1
2009
4
2010
2
2013
1
2015
2
2019
1
2020
1
Film list
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
The Blooms of Benjeli: Technology and Gender in West African Ironmaking
1997
29
‘
Directed by
Carlyn Saltman
.
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
West Africa
Art / Artists / Artisans
Archival material / Museum displays
History
Material Culture
Democracía Indígena
2000
39
‘
Directed by
Bruce Pacho Lane
.
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
Central America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Political Activists
A Donation to the Museum
2015
25
‘
Directed by
Teri F. Brewer
.
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
North America
Western Europe
Archaeology
Archival material / Museum displays
The Heavenly Court in Song Family Village
2009
30
‘
Directed by
Zhifang Song
Gary Seaman
Steven Rousso-Schindler
.
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
Central Asia and Far East
Gender Role and Identity
Shamans and Shamanism
Ritual
In Search of the Hamat’sa: A Tale of Headhunting
2004
33
‘
Directed by
Aaron Glass
.
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
North America
Archival material / Museum displays
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Ritual
Informant-researcher relationship
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Lessons from the Tiger
2010
22
‘
Directed by
Ife Olatunji
.
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
South Asia
Gender Role and Identity
Children / Young people
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Marriage, Maoism and Modernity
2009
30
‘
Directed by
Zhifang Song
Gary Seaman
Steven Rousso-Schindler
.
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
Central Asia and Far East
Marriage
History
Social Change
The Medium is the Masseuse: a Balinese Massage
1983
31
‘
Directed by
Timothy Asch
Linda Connor
Patsy Asch
.
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
South-East Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Reproduction (biology)
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
New York Just Another City
2019
18
‘
Directed by
André Lopes
Joana Brandão
.
Brazilian Guarani filmmaker Patrícia Ferreira reflects on New York City and Indigenous representation in dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History. This film is part of the collected DVD
North America
Archival material / Museum displays
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Indigenous peoples / First Nation peoples
Race / Racism / Antiracism
The Secret of the Stone
2009
39
‘
Directed by
Zhifang Song
Gary Seaman
Steven Rousso-Schindler
.
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.
Central Asia and Far East
Family / Kinship
Collective / Community identity
Ritual
Festivals / Carnival
Seed and Earth
1989
36
‘
Directed by
Lina Fruzzetti
Alfred Guzzetti
Ned Johnston
Ákos Östör
.
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
South Asia
Rural
Family / Kinship
Gender Role and Identity
A Sheepherder’s Homecoming
1996
40
‘
Directed by
Allen Moore
Louis Werner
.
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
North America
Central America
Migration
Labour
Song Family Village Takes a Bride
2009
27
‘
Directed by
Zhifang Song
Gary Seaman
Steven Rousso-Schindler
.
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
Central Asia and Far East
Marriage
Family / Kinship
Gender Role and Identity
Social Change
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
Under the Men’s Tree
1973
15
‘
Directed by
David MacDougall
Judith MacDougall
.
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
East Africa
Infrastructure / Transport
Informant-researcher relationship
Reflexivity
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
Virtual me: Gender and Identity in World of Warcraft
2013
11
‘
Directed by
Trent Monahan
Sarah Prothero
Jennifer Torson
.
‘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
North America
Gender Role and Identity
Animation
Internet
Were Ni! He is a Madman
1963
30
‘
Directed by
Frank Speed
Raymond Prince
.
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
West Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Ritual
Possession
Youth Group
2015
28
‘
Student
Directed by
Wanwan Lu
.
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
North America
Collective / Community identity
Religion / Belief / Faith
Intergenerational relations