Films - RAI FILM

RAI FILM

Film list

[back-to-basics--Film-image]

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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[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

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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