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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
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Films
13 Films
shorter than 40 minutes
x
Keywords
“Material Culture”
x
films with a digital version
6
short films
13
x
films available on demand
1
Region
Australia
1
British-Irish Isles
1
Central America
1
Middle and Near East
1
South America
1
South Asia
1
South-East Asia
1
Southern Africa
1
West Africa
2
Western Europe
2
Western Mediterranean
1
Country
Australia
1
Chile
1
Ghana
1
India
1
Mexico
1
Myanmar
1
South Africa
1
Spain
1
Switzerland
1
The Netherlands
1
Togo
1
United Kingdom
1
Yemen
1
Keywords
Archaeology
1
Archival material / Museum displays
2
Art / Artists / Artisans
3
Collective / Community identity
2
Elderly people
1
Environment
1
Gender Role and Identity
1
History
1
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
2
Infrastructure / Transport
1
Intergenerational relations
2
Labour
4
Material Culture
13
x
Music / Ethnomusicology
1
Religion / Belief / Faith
2
Rural
1
Social Change
1
Trade
1
Directors
Clarissou, Priscilla
1
Contreras, Isis
1
Deger, Jennifer
1
Greenwood, Rachel
1
Gupta, Meghna
1
Heer, Madelief de
1
Horat, Thomas
1
Langer, Vanessa
1
Lwin, Kyaw Myo
1
Marrero-Guillamon, Isaac
1
Saltman, Carlyn
1
Visser, Mara Lin
1
Waddell, Anna
1
Wunungmurra, Paul
1
Series
Ambulante Beyond
1
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
4
Yangon Film School
1
not set
7
Country of production
Australia
1
Mexico
1
Myanmar
1
Netherlands
2
Switzerland
2
United Kingdom
6
United States
1
Year of production
1997
1
2002
1
2004
1
2005
1
2008
1
2010
1
2012
1
2013
1
2014
2
2016
2
2018
1
Film list
75 Grams
2008
31
‘
Directed by
Priscilla Clarissou
.
Nestled below the rugged Chilean peaks of the Andes lies the gold mining town of Andacollo. The town’s remoteness and mining economy has nurtured religious beliefs in the power of the Virgin over the
South America
Labour
Material Culture
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
In a State of Dress
2010
21
‘
Directed by
Madelief de Heer
.
Filmed in Walcheren, a region in the south-west of the Netherlands, this film tells of the lived experience of wearing regional dress. Once worn by the whole community, today this complex attire is
Western Europe
Material Culture
Elderly people
Intergenerational relations
Kutääy
2014
20
‘
Directed by
Isis Contreras
.
Fili, a 22-year-old Mixe, makes ornamental paper hot air balloons. Since this is an important tradition in his community, Fili —an expert in the art— is recognized and accepted. Yet, he is
Central America
Material Culture
Social Change
Intergenerational relations
Living Through Things
2005
32
‘
Directed by
Anna Waddell
.
Kristin, Mark and Bob collect things. The film explores attachment, possession and the way that objects inhabit their lives.
British-Irish Isles
Material Culture
The Log Rafters of Lake Aegeri
2016
29
‘
Material Culture
Directed by
Thomas Horat
.
Aegeri, in a remote part of Switzerland, is one of the few lakes in Central Europe where professional log rafters can still be found. This film is based on the gentle observation of the work of a
Western Europe
Material Culture
Labour
Rural
Native
2002
29
‘
Directed by
Rachel Greenwood
.
Through his clothing, a young South African fashion designer of mixed race urges freedom and unity in post-apartheid South Africa. His message is reaching not only his fellow South Africans, but also
Southern Africa
Collective / Community identity
Material Culture
Ringtone
2014
30
‘
Directed by
Jennifer Deger
Paul Wunungmurra
.
Yolngu Aboriginal families offer glimpses into their lives and relationships through their choice of ringtones. From ancestral clan songs to 80s hip hop artists and local gospel tunes, these songs
Australia
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Music / Ethnomusicology
Material Culture
Tindaya Variations
2018
40
‘
Special Interest
Directed by
Isaac Marrero-Guillamon
.
The mountain of Tindaya (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands) is more than a mountain. It was a sacred site for the indigenous people of Fuerteventura; later, its rock was quarried and sold for ornamental
Western Mediterranean
Archival material / Museum displays
Art / Artists / Artisans
Environment
Material Culture
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Archaeology
Tyres
2013
30
‘
Directed by
Kyaw Myo Lwin
.
A recycling workshop in South Okkalapa in Myanmar’s former capital of Yangon is a place where discarded tyres are transformed from their original shape and use, and are re-purposed to new uses.
South-East Asia
Material Culture
Labour
Infrastructure / Transport
Unity: Dress-scapes of Accra
2016
37
‘
Directed by
Mara Lin Visser
.
This is a film about African fashion in the capital of Ghana. African printed fabrics seem to making a comeback in the fashion system of Accra. While following Allan, a fashion designer and his wife
West Africa
Trade
Material Culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
Unravel
2012
14
‘
Directed by
Meghna Gupta
.
‘Unravel’ follows the Western worlds least wanted clothes, on a journey across Northern India, from sea to industrial interior. They get sent to Panipat, a sleepy town and the only place in the world
South Asia
Labour
Material Culture
Collective / Community identity
The Veil Unveiled
2004
29
‘
Directed by
Vanessa Langer
.
In Yemen, the land of Queen Saba, a wide variety of veils can be found. In the capital Sana’a, the women, although at first sight appearing to all be wearing but black, distinguish themselves one
Middle and Near East
Gender Role and Identity
Material Culture
Religion / Belief / Faith