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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
Login
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Films
36 Films
shorter than 40 minutes
x
Region
“British-Irish Isles”
x
films with a digital version
6
short films
36
x
films available on demand
2
Region
British-Irish Isles
36
x
West Africa
1
Country
Ireland
1
Nigeria
1
Sierra Leone
1
United Kingdom
35
Keywords
Alternative culture
8
Animals
3
Archival material / Museum displays
2
Art / Artists / Artisans
2
Art/ Artists/ Artisans
1
Children / Young people
1
Collective / Community identity
1
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
1
Dance / Theatre / Performance
1
Death
2
Development projects
1
Education / Knowledge transmission
1
Elderly people
1
Environment
2
Family / Kinship
1
Festivals / Carnival
1
Film / Photography / Mass media
2
Folklore
1
Health / Health care / Healing
2
Health/ Health care/ Healing
1
History of Anthropology
1
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
1
Intergenerational relations
1
Land Rights
1
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
1
Life Story/ Life History
1
Love
1
Marriage
3
Material Culture
1
Migration
2
Personal Narrative
2
Political Activists
2
Popular Culture
2
Public Figure
1
Race / Racism / Antiracism
2
Reflexivity
1
Refugees / Displaced populations
1
Religion / Belief / Faith
2
Ritual
2
Rural
1
Social Conflict
1
Social Norms
1
Sport
1
Travellers / Roma
1
Urban
3
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
1
Directors
Allward, Caroline
1
Anttila, Birgitta H.
1
Asadullah, Sara
1
Austena, Aunund
1
Basu, Paul
1
Benfield, Andy
1
Bolchover, James
1
Campbell, Karlia
1
Clifford-Jaeger, Simone
1
Cole, Sarah
1
Coppe, Alexia
1
Demiralay, Hakan
1
Eschenbach, Sebastian
1
Farrell, Emma
1
French, Dominic
1
Grove-White, Will
1
Gruber, Martin
1
Henley, Paul
1
Hill, Amanda
1
Kaymak, Vedide
1
Kirkwood, Nick
1
Lawrence, Andy
1
McGuirk, Siobhan
1
Okojie, Paul
1
Owles, Ed
1
Payne, Becky
1
Reed, Alex
1
Rice, Tom
1
Richards, Naomi
1
Robertson, Rachel
1
Ross, Nina
1
Samir-Shakir, Yasmin
1
Schlenker, Juana
1
Shakerifar, Elhum
1
Taylor, Jamie
1
Thomas Allen, Christopher
1
Trentini, Michele
1
Waddell, Anna
1
Werbner, Richard
1
Wright, Evie
1
de Bromhead, Toni
1
Series
Carnival King of Europe
1
Decolonising Shorts
1
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
27
National Film and Television School
1
Shorts Collection 2
1
The Well-Being Quest in Botswana
1
not set
4
Country of production
Canada
1
Denmark
1
Italy
1
United Kingdom
34
not set
1
Year of production
1982
1
1989
1
1992
1
1994
1
1995
2
1996
1
1997
3
1998
2
1999
2
2001
1
2002
1
2003
3
2004
3
2005
1
2006
1
2007
3
2009
2
2010
4
2011
1
2018
1
2020
1
Film list
Back to Basics
1994
33
‘
Directed by
Dominic French
.
A group of environmentalists and homeless have purchased some land on which to settle and get back to a simpler way of life. But the nearby residents of the ‘best-kept village’ in Somerset,
British-Irish Isles
Social Conflict
Alternative culture
Land Rights
Beneath the Budding Greenwoods
2004
25
‘
Directed by
Evie Wright
.
Anne and Rosemary both chose to bury their husbands in the woods, whereas Tony was certain he didn’t want a vicar at his wife’s funeral. Focusing on the experiences of three grieving widows, the film
British-Irish Isles
Environment
Ritual
Death
Religion / Belief / Faith
The Boy From Allison Street
1998
30
‘
Directed by
Caroline Allward
.
Wayne has left school, sweet 16, disillusioned, with no qualifications. He is briefly distracted by Becka, the girl next door, and the discovery of his father’s porno movie. But all he really wants
British-Irish Isles
Children / Young people
Love
Cae Dai – a Home From Home
1997
30
‘
Directed by
Will Grove-White
.
After the closure of the North Wales psychiatric hospital in the late 1980s, Sparrow Harrison opened his family home to local people suffering from mental illness. This film explores the humour,
British-Irish Isles
Health / Health care / Healing
Alternative culture
Counterpoint One
2011
37
‘
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
The first in the Forum Follies series, ‘Counterpoint One’ pitches the ethnographic filmmaker Richard Werbner into debate with audiences for his film ‘Holy Hustlers’ (2009), from a rough to a final
British-Irish Isles
Reflexivity
Cultivating Death
2003
23
‘
Directed by
Martin Gruber
.
Cemeteries are not only places for the dead. They are also spaces in which the living interact with each other – and with the dead. “Cultivating Death” depicts the different ways in which
British-Irish Isles
Death
Ritual
The Daring Young Girl on the Flying Trapeze
2020
27
‘
Directed by
Nina Ross
.
As a child, Nancy Willis dreamt of joining the circus, longing for freedom and adventure. Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and told she would not live beyond her twenties, the now 65-year-old artist
British-Irish Isles
Art/ Artists/ Artisans
Personal Narrative
Health/ Health care/ Healing
Life Story/ Life History
Drive it, Crash it, Paint it
2002
26
‘
Directed by
James Bolchover
.
Kelzo grew up in Hulme and has been writing on walls, wrecked cars and other urban surfaces since 1984. But now that he is a ‘graffiti artist’ whose work is sold in galleries, is he still in touch with his roots?
British-Irish Isles
Personal Narrative
Alternative culture
Art / Artists / Artisans
Eco trip
1997
30
‘
Directed by
Rachel Robertson
.
A group of eco-activists travel around Britain attending festivals and other events aimed at raising awareness of ecological issues and of new, alternative ways of living. But sometimes relationships
British-Irish Isles
Alternative culture
Environment
Faces Voices
2018
18
‘
Directed by
Paul Basu
Christopher Thomas Allen
.
The film complicates any simple reading of a colonial photographic archive from Southern Nigeria and Sierra Leone that was collected between 1909 and 1915. Through a collaborative creative effort
West Africa
British-Irish Isles
Archival material / Museum displays
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Fighting for Control
1998
30
‘
Directed by
Alexia Coppe
.
An unconventional household of two women and five children in South London, attempting to leave a difficult past behind, and build a happy future.
British-Irish Isles
Family / Kinship
Fish Have Feelings Too
2001
23
‘
Directed by
Tom Rice
.
For Jack and Stan, two men from Manchester, koi carp have become something more than an obsession. Not only have their pets become a source of fame and distinction, but of affection and mutually
British-Irish Isles
Animals
For The Love of the Game
2010
24
‘
Directed by
Birgitta H. Anttila
.
Hurling is a game combining skill, speed and strength. Players – even at the highest levels – are amateurs, but still spend hours on training. Through the encounter with hurler Shane Dooley, we learn
British-Irish Isles
Sport
Fragments from the Past
2006
27
‘
Directed by
Vedide Kaymak
Hakan Demiralay
.
In the days before DVD and satellite television, the cinema was important to London’s Turkish speaking population as a place to meet and as a link with home. Eight individuals recount their
British-Irish Isles
Popular Culture
Migration
Film / Photography / Mass media
Hulme Homes for Hulme People
1992
23
‘
Directed by
Aunund Austena
.
Summer ’92 and Hulme, a densely populated and culturally diverse area of inner city Manchester, is being demolished for the second time in 30 years, this time in consultation with local residents and
British-Irish Isles
Urban
John the Eel Trapper
1982
28
‘
Directed by
Toni de Bromhead
.
The fens of East Anglia provide the scenery for this documentary. At the centre of the film is John, a solitary character, who makes his living by trapping eels in the numerous canals of the area.
British-Irish Isles
Animals
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
The Land on which We Stand
2007
31
‘
Directed by
Becky Payne
.
This film is a glimpse into the life of the Landmatters Co-operative, a community of 11 adults and 4 children living in benders and yurts in rural Devon as they develop a permaculture project. The 42
British-Irish Isles
Rural
Alternative culture
Life as We Know it
1995
25
‘
Directed by
Alex Reed
.
"It was Star Trek that brought us together". John and Pauline are to be wed beyond the Final Frontier at a Star Trek convention in Manchester. Among the guests are Klingons and Hollywood stars.
British-Irish Isles
Popular Culture
Marriage
Lifelibrary
2007
22
‘
Directed by
Amanda Hill
.
Library spacescape. quiet, history, dreams, wisdom, structure, anomaly, affection, preservation, creation, galaxies, distraction and contemplation. An exploration of a changing world withinwithout
British-Irish Isles
Education / Knowledge transmission
Archival material / Museum displays
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
Looking for the Man Of Aran
1999
25
‘
Directed by
Sebastian Eschenbach
.
It is 60 years since Robert Flaherty made Man of Aran. How do the people of the Aran Islands remember the experience and what do they feel about the image the films gives of their land?
British-Irish Isles
Film / Photography / Mass media
History of Anthropology
The Most Wasted of All Days
2003
24
‘
Directed by
Nick Kirkwood
.
A day without laughter is the most wasted of all days, according to veteran circus performer Jan Erik, a.k.a ‘Fips the Clown’. So when his back goes in the middle of the summer tour round Scotland,
British-Irish Isles
Dance / Theatre / Performance
A New Kind of Life
1997
28
‘
Directed by
Emma Farrell
.
How is someone’s life affected when faced with cancer? This film is a portrait of three people from Manchester, England, who have chosen to include complementary therapies as part of their daily coping strategies.
British-Irish Isles
Health / Health care / Healing
Alternative culture
Pepe
2004
23
‘
Directed by
Juana Schlenker
.
Pepe is a Spanish immigrant who came to England more than forty years ago to work as a waiter. After working in several restaurants and hotels, he retired two years ago and now he fills his days with
British-Irish Isles
Migration
Elderly people
Raised by Humans
2010
25
‘
Directed by
Karlia Campbell
.
‘Raised by Humans’ follows two dogs with difficult life histories as volunteers from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals try to find families to adopt them in Stockport,
British-Irish Isles
Animals
Development projects
Shonar Bangla
2009
28
‘
Directed by
Sara Asadullah
.
Four scenes from a Bangladeshi community in London. Each scene is an encounter with a different generation (children, teenagers and adults) until the final scene where all generations are brought together in a wedding.
British-Irish Isles
Intergenerational relations
Marriage
Southeast London Ethnography – Three Student Films: Anglesea Road; The Good Ol’ Days; Talk of Trade
2007
13
‘
Directed by
Elhum Shakerifar
Ed Owles
Jamie Taylor
.
These 3 films on Southeast London were made by GCC college students who took a course in anthropology & film. ANGLESEA ROAD: Situated in Woolwich, South East London, Anglesea Road is a small
British-Irish Isles
Urban
Still Life
2009
26
‘
Directed by
Siobhan McGuirk
.
“I am here because I can’t go home.” Subject to strict controls in the UK, three women asylum seekers wait for claims to be processed and decisions made. Here they find the lives which they
British-Irish Isles
Refugees / Displaced populations
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Suspend your Beliefs
2004
29
‘
Directed by
Simone Clifford-Jaeger
.
Suspension of the living body from hooks has been practiced in various cultural contexts and places in the past, but today forms part of a growing global interest in body modification. This film
British-Irish Isles
Alternative culture
The Thompsons
1996
29
‘
Directed by
Andy Lawrence
.
In 1996 the troubles in Northern Ireland continued to the sound of beating drums and marching feet. This is the story of a Protestant family in rural Ulster and their fight to remain British and free from Irish rule.
British-Irish Isles
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Two Ears, One Mouth
1999
25
‘
Directed by
Andy Benfield
.
Duncan Williamson is of Traveller descent and lives in Scotland, Amy Douglas is fifty years younger and lives in Cheshire. But they share a love for telling stories and both manage to make a living
British-Irish Isles
Travellers / Roma
Art / Artists / Artisans
We Are Born to Survive
1995
30
‘
Directed by
Paul Henley
Paul Okojie
.
A political biography of the activist Kath Locke, from Manchester’s Moss Side, based on an interview conducted by her political comrade Paul Okojie shortly before her death in 1992, aged 64.
British-Irish Isles
Political Activists
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Public Figure
Why Wear White
1989
28
‘
Directed by
Sarah Cole
.
The wedding industry in Britain is currently booming and many people find it necessary to have a long white dress, an old-fashioned car and other specially made details for their wedding. The film,
British-Irish Isles
Marriage
Social Norms
Worldwide, Streetwise
2003
32
‘
Directed by
Naomi Richards
.
A film that explores issues of faith and activism at a radical church in an ethnically and religiously diverse area of Leeds.
British-Irish Isles
Religion / Belief / Faith
Urban
Political Activists
[S+P2]
2010
30
‘
Directed by
Yasmin Samir-Shakir
.
Following various members of The Forest Collective in the run-up to the ‘DIY’ arts space’s Tenth Birthday celebrations, we observe some of the internal and external struggles faced by this
British-Irish Isles
Alternative culture
Collective / Community identity
A good day in Sharnford. God Speed the Plough!
2010
14
‘
Directed by
Michele Trentini
.
In the heart of Ye Olde England, the first Monday after the Epiphany is still “Plough Monday”, with the ritual parading of a decorated plough and the Morris Dance. This film is part of
British-Irish Isles
Festivals / Carnival
Folklore