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About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
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Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
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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
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Films
70 Films
shorter than 40 minutes
x
Series
“0”
x
films with a digital version
56
films hosted on Kanopy
1
short films
70
x
films available on demand
9
Title initial
A
2
B
6
C
3
D
4
E
3
F
1
G
4
H
3
I
2
K
1
L
4
M
1
N
3
O
2
P
3
R
5
S
5
T
5
U
4
V
2
W
6
Y
1
Region
Australia
3
British-Irish Isles
4
Caribbean Islands
1
Central Africa
1
Central America
3
Central Asia and Far East
4
East Africa
3
Melanesia
2
Middle and Near East
5
North America
6
North and Northeast Africa
2
Scandinavia
2
South America
4
South Asia
8
South-East Asia
3
South-East Europe
3
Southern Africa
1
West Africa
11
Western Europe
5
Western Mediterranean
3
not set
1
Country
Afghanistan
3
Anguilla
1
Australia
3
Bangladesh
1
Botswana
1
Burkina Faso
1
Cameroon
2
Canada
1
China
2
Colombia
1
Cyprus
1
Denmark
1
Egypt
1
Ethiopia
1
Germany
1
Ghana
1
India
6
Indonesia
1
Italy
4
Japan
3
Jordan
1
Mexico
3
Nigeria
7
Norway
1
Palestine
1
Papua New Guinea
2
Peru
2
Romania
1
Russian Federation
1
Spain
1
Sweden
1
Switzerland
2
Tanzania
1
Togo
1
Uganda
2
United Kingdom
5
United States
5
Virtual Space
1
Yemen
1
not set
2
Keywords
Agriculture / Farming
1
Animals
1
Animation
1
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
2
Archaeology
2
Archival material / Museum displays
6
Art / Artists / Artisans
6
Children / Young people
8
Collective / Community identity
5
Dance / Theatre / Performance
6
Death
2
Education / Knowledge Transmission
3
Education / Knowledge transmission
2
Elderly people
1
Environment
3
Ethnofiction
1
Everyday Life
4
Family / Kinship
7
Festivals / Carnival
4
Film / Photography / Mass media
5
Food / Water
1
Gender Role and Identity
9
Health / Health care / Healing
1
Herding
1
History
3
History of Anthropology
2
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
1
Indigenous Filmmaking
1
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
10
Informant-researcher relationship
4
Infrastructure / Transport
2
Inter-religious relations
1
Intergenerational relations
2
Internet
2
LGBTQI*
3
Labour
5
Land Rights
1
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
2
Life Story / Life History
1
Love
2
Marriage
2
Material Culture
7
Memory
3
Migration
5
Music / Ethnomusicology
6
Nomads and Nomadism
1
Political Activists
1
Popular Culture
1
Possession
2
Post-communism
1
Prison
1
Race / Racism / Antiracism
1
Reflexivity
3
Refugees / Displaced populations
2
Religion / Belief / Faith
10
Reproduction (biology)
3
Ritual
14
Rural
5
Science / Technology
1
Sex / Sexuality
4
Shamans and Shamanism
1
Social Change
3
Social Conflict
3
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
1
Trade
2
Urban
4
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
3
Directors
Al Akash, Ruba
1
Arcé, Adrian
1
Baily, John
3
Banks, Marcus
1
Beier, Ulli
1
Boswall, Karen
1
Bradbury, Ray
1
Brewer, Teri F.
1
Burstin, Costanza
1
Cai, Hua
2
Cao, Umberto
1
Deger, Jennifer
1
Demiralay, Hakan
1
Dietrich, Martha-Cecilia
2
Drion, Georges
1
Dunne, Bryony
1
Eaton, Michael
1
Fales, Ludovica
1
Ferrarese, Adriana
1
Fruzzetti, Lina
1
Glass, Aaron
1
Golovnev, Ivan
1
Grossman, Alyssa
1
Gruber, Martin
1
Gupta, Meghna
1
Guzzetti, Alfred
1
Gómez Ruíz, Sebastián
1
Harper, Peggy
2
Henley, Paul
1
Hinckley, Priscilla
1
Horat, Thomas
1
Horton, Robin
1
Hughes-Freeland, Felicia
1
Hörmann, André
1
Jeppesen, Kira de Hemmer
1
Jerstad, Jon
1
Johnston, Ned
1
Kawase, Itsushi
1
Kaymak, Vedide
1
Kuentz, Gaspard
1
LaPin, Deirdre
1
Lane, Bruce Pacho
1
Langer, Vanessa
1
Lewis, Ariane
1
Lloyd, Ravi Hart
1
Loïzos, Peter
1
Lu, Wanwan
1
MacDougall, David
4
MacDougall, Judith
3
Magnússon, Jón Bjarki
1
Marrero-Guillamon, Isaac
1
Monahan, Trent
1
Moore, Allen
1
Munro, Neil G.
1
Mura, Andrea
1
Owles, Ed
1
Prince, Raymond
1
Prothero, Sarah
1
Saltman, Carlyn
2
Satija, Dhruv
1
Schillaci, Rossella
1
Schlenker, Juana
1
Shakerifar, Elhum
1
Smith, Sophia Hersi
1
Sonderegger, Ramona
1
Speed, Frank
7
Straube, Anna
1
Tanlaka, Kilian Lamtur
1
Taylor, Jamie
1
Torson, Jennifer
1
Villafaña Chaparro, Amado
1
Visser, Mara Lin
1
Vávrová, Daniela
1
Waage, Trond
1
Werbner, Richard
1
Werner, Louis
1
Wunungmurra, Paul
1
Zirión, Antonio
1
not set
1
Östör, Ákos
1
Series
not set
70
x
Country of production
Australia
5
Cameroon
1
Canada
1
China
2
Colombia
1
Egypt
1
France
1
Germany
2
Iceland
1
India
4
Italy
3
Japan
3
Jordan
1
Mexico
2
Netherlands
1
Nigeria
6
Norway
2
Peru
1
Russia
1
Slovenia
1
Switzerland
3
Tanzania
1
United Kingdom
32
United States
11
not set
1
Year of production
1931
1
1963
2
1964
1
1966
1
1970
2
1973
1
1975
1
1983
2
1984
1
1985
1
1986
1
1987
1
1988
2
1989
1
1990
1
1995
1
1996
2
1997
1
1999
1
2000
1
2003
1
2004
3
2006
3
2007
1
2008
1
2009
1
2010
2
2011
1
2012
3
2013
4
2014
4
2015
6
2016
8
2017
2
2018
4
2019
1
Film list
The Ainu Bear Ceremony
1931
27
‘
Directed by
Neil G. Munro
.
The RAI has reedited the original film of this ceremony among the Ainu people of Japan. In the bear ceremony, now no longer performed, a specially reared bear was reverently killed and its flesh and
Central Asia and Far East
Ritual
Animals
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Arnav At Six
2012
28
‘
Directed by
David MacDougall
.
Filmed as a collaborative project with Arnav Koshy in 2008, this film explores the mind and activities of an intelligent and observant child of six. Arnav is fascinated by the geology, plant-life,
South Asia
Children / Young people
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Benin Kingship Rituals
1963
20
‘
Directed by
Frank Speed
Ray Bradbury
.
Until it was conquered by the British in 1897, the city of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, was the centre of a powerful kingdom. Its rulers, the Obas of Benin, were mysterious, secluded figures who
West Africa
Ritual
Dance / Theatre / Performance
History
Between Memories
2015
34
‘
Directed by
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
.
Eudosia is still searching for her husband’s remains in the highlands of Ayacucho; Lucero has been in prison for 25 years now for the crime of terrorism against the Peruvian state; since 2009 the
South America
Memory
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
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
Boya Boya (Shine Shine)
2014
18
‘
Directed by
Karen Boswall
Ruba Al Akash
.
A portrait of Syrian refugee Mohammed, a 12-year-old shoe shine boy, ‘Boya Boya (Shine Shine)’ looks at the reality of the growing population of urban refugees from a child’s point of view. While
Middle and Near East
Children / Young people
Refugees / Displaced populations
Labour
Breaking the Yard
2018
21
‘
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
"Breaking-the-Yard" documents the court hearings and troubled affairs of a quarrelsome young couple, a stay-at-home farmer and his police constable, town-savvy wife. They claim to be still
Southern Africa
Family / Kinship
Gender Role and Identity
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
Love
Marriage
Breeding Cells
2009
39
‘
Directed by
Anna Straube
.
Breeding Cells is a film about a reproductive laboratory. A fertility clinic is a place where human reproduction is separated from sex and anatomized into bio/technological components. There
Western Europe
Reproduction (biology)
Science / Technology
Calcutta Calling
2006
16
‘
Directed by
André Hörmann
.
“Business Process Outsourcing” is the fastest growing industry in the world. In India, approximately 350,000 people are currently working in call centres to maintain the contact between western
South Asia
Labour
Chantal’s Choice
1990
30
‘
Directed by
Priscilla Hinckley
Carlyn Saltman
.
Adolescents in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, create a play for their peers in Europe and the USA. They enact an African folktale about a girl who faces a painful dilemma because she is determined to stay in school.
West Africa
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Children / Young people
Reproduction (biology)
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
Daba – Portrait of a Na Shaman
1999
40
‘
Directed by
Hua Cai
.
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early
South-East Asia
Education / Knowledge transmission
Religion / Belief / Faith
Shamans and Shamanism
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
Duminea: A Festival for the Water Spirits
1966
20
‘
Directed by
Frank Speed
Robin Horton
.
The communal rituals of most villages of the Eastern Niger Delta focus on two great classes of spirits – the heroes and the water people. The heroes once lived with the men, founded their
West Africa
Ritual
Possession
Enet Yapai – an Ambonwari Girl
2008
25
‘
Directed by
Daniela Vávrová
.
Enet Yapai was six years old when Vavrova met her for the first time in 2005 in Ambonwari village, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. Between November 2007 and April 2008 she followed Enet and
Melanesia
Children / Young people
Rural
Everyday Life
Even Asteroids Are Not Alone
2018
17
‘
Directed by
Jón Bjarki Magnússon
.
Eve Online is a computer game in which players mine, trade and fight their way through computer-generated galaxies. Whilst computer game aficionados are often depicted as isolated, this game is
Internet
Extended Family
2016
31
‘
Student
Directed by
Ramona Sonderegger
.
This films offers an intimate insight into the lives of two same-sex families who found a way to create themselves within a legal grey area in Switzerland. Swiss law bans adoption and access to
Western Europe
LGBTQI*
Family / Kinship
Sex / Sexuality
Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy
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
Garden Days: Village in Papua New Guinea
1988
25
‘
Directed by
Ariane Lewis
Jon Jerstad
.
A detailed account of domestic life in the Sepik area of Papua New Guinea, mainly from the women’s point of view. It describes their everyday activities in the ‘gardens’ in order to produce
Melanesia
Agriculture / Farming
Children / Young people
Ritual
Gelede: A Yoruba Masquerade
1970
30
‘
Directed by
Frank Speed
Peggy Harper
.
Among the Yoruba of Western Nigeria and Dahomey the Gelede cult honours the earth spirits, the ancestors and especially the Great Mother. The festival filmed here emphasises the status of women and
West Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Ritual
Festivals / Carnival
Social Conflict
Ghetto PSA
2016
15
‘
Special Interest
Directed by
Rossella Schillaci
.
Jacob arrived in Italy alone from French Guinea when he was 11 years old. Today he is 27, and hip hop music is his whole world: it is his way to express dreams, hopes and frustrations, and to not
Western Europe
Music / Ethnomusicology
Migration
Education / Knowledge Transmission
The Guest
2012
20
‘
Student
Directed by
Kira de Hemmer Jeppesen
.
Following the personal story of a Danish first-time surrogate mother, ‘The Guest’ explores issues of maternal bonding, modern families, relatedness, and desired control over body and mind. We follow
Scandinavia
LGBTQI*
Sex / Sexuality
Reproduction (biology)
Family / Kinship
Herat Films: The City of Herat
1983
21
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
These videos were edited from seven hours of Super 8 film shot by John Baily during two years of ethnomusicological fieldwork carried out in the Herat region of western Afghanistan between 1973 and
Middle and Near East
Urban
Trade
Herat Films: The Shrines of Herat
1983
30
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
These videos were edited from seven hours of Super 8 film shot by John Baily during two years of ethnomusicological fieldwork carried out in the Herat region of western Afghanistan between 1973 and
Middle and Near East
Religion / Belief / Faith
Urban
Horror in the Andes
2019
33
‘
Special Interest
Directed by
Martha-Cecilia Dietrich
.
Horror in the Andes is a behind-the-scenes documentary that follows the process of making a horror movie in Ayacucho, Peru. Directed by audio-visual anthropologist Martha-Cecilia Dietrich, it
South America
Art / Artists / Artisans
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Ethnofiction
Film / Photography / Mass media
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
In the Light of Memory
2010
40
‘
Directed by
Alyssa Grossman
.
‘In the Light of Memory’ explores evocations of memory in contemporary post-socialist Bucharest, nearly twenty years after the fall of Romanian communism. The film is shot in Cismigiu Gardens, one of
South-East Europe
Memory
Post-communism
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
Kwagh Hir
1975
30
‘
Directed by
Frank Speed
Peggy Harper
.
Four million Tiv people form the major culture of the Benue state of southern Nigeria. They are popularly known as the greatest democrats in Africa as their society is based on fraternal cooperation
West Africa
Festivals / Carnival
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Ritual
Land of Udehe
2015
26
‘
Student
Directed by
Ivan Golovnev
.
This film takes us into the world of Udehe – indigenous people of the Far East of Russia. According to the census of 2010, their population dropped to 1,490 souls…
Central Asia and Far East
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Change
Letters from Palestine
2011
35
‘
Directed by
Ludovica Fales
.
What if in your great-grandfather’s letters there is a mystery your family doesn’t want to talk about? In 1920 Angelo Levi Bianchini set out to Palestine on an Italian diplomatic mission and never
Western Mediterranean
Middle and Near East
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Memory
History
Living with Boko Haram
2016
37
‘
Special Interest
Directed by
Trond Waage
.
January 2015. Boko Haram’s violent insurgency is approaching Mogdé, on the Nigerian/Cameroonian border, where Antoniette lives. Just outside Oslo, Norway, lives her son Vakote, worried and afraid
West Africa
Scandinavia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Social Conflict
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Migration
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
Masks of Mer
2010
37
‘
Directed by
Michael Eaton
.
The film Alfred Haddon made in 1898 in the Torres Straits, lasting for less than a minute, is the world’s first example of anthropological cinema. ‘The Masks of Mer’ tells the extraordinary story of
Australia
History of Anthropology
Film / Photography / Mass media
Archival material / Museum displays
Ritual
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 Images
1964
27
‘
Directed by
Ulli Beier
Frank Speed
.
The film is a brief description of life in a busy commercial centre that still depends upon and retains its ancient traditions. These are based on the history of the town which was founded on the
West Africa
Art / Artists / Artisans
Religion / Belief / Faith
Archival material / Museum displays
Nodas. Launeddas at the time of crisis.
2015
29
‘
Intangible Culture
Directed by
Umberto Cao
Andrea Mura
.
Dating back 3000 years to the Nuragic civilisation on Sardinia, ‘launeddas’ are wind instruments that testify to contacts from across the Mediterranean. Although they nearly vanished in the 1960s, in
Western Mediterranean
Music / Ethnomusicology
Festivals / Carnival
Intergenerational relations
The Orchard Keepers
2014
24
‘
Directed by
Bryony Dunne
.
Against the backdrop of political upheaval, an ancient network of orchards thrives in the mountains of the Sinai desert. Filmmaker Bryony Dunne shadows two Bedouins as they nurture their gardens and
North and Northeast Africa
Environment
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
Rural
Out of Focus
2013
37
‘
Directed by
Adrian Arcé
Antonio Zirión
.
This is a collaborative documentary about arts, culture and everyday life inside a prison for minors. It was shot during a photography and video workshop with young inmates at the Juvenile Community
Central America
Children / Young people
Prison
Art / Artists / Artisans
Reflexivity
Paani: of women and water
2018
22
‘
Student
Directed by
Costanza Burstin
.
Against the bleached sky of Rajasthan, we encounter the women of a small Muslim village as they engage in their work. Here, water binds their daily labour rituals: they collect and carry water in
South Asia
Environment
Food / Water
Gender Role and Identity
Rural
Everyday Life
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
Processes
2016
23
‘
Directed by
Adriana Ferrarese
.
Like every year, Corigliano Calabro, a small village in the south of Italy, celebrates Easter: from the investiture of a man to embody Jesus during a night procession, to the passionate debates for
South-East Europe
Religion / Belief / Faith
Festivals / Carnival
Raju and His Friends
1988
40
‘
Directed by
Marcus Banks
.
This film is set in the city of Jamnagar, western India. The film focuses on the emotions, quality of life, and on duty. Raju’s friendship with different people, including the director, provide a
South Asia
Urban
Informant-researcher relationship
Life Story / Life History
Reclaiming the Forest
1987
39
‘
Directed by
Paul Henley
Georges Drion
.
National governments, itinerant gold-miners, and indigenous inhabitants compete for control of an area of the South American rainforest. The film shows the potential conflict between the interests
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Change
Social Conflict
Return of the Nightingales
2013
33
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
In 2010 Afghan musicologist Dr. Ahmad Sarmast opened the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), a coeducational vocational music school in Kabul that teaches Afghan, Indian and Western
South Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Children / Young people
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
Room 11, Ethiopia Hotel
2006
23
‘
Directed by
Itsushi Kawase
.
The film recounts the life of children living on the street in Gondar, Ethiopia, by witnessing the interaction between two children and the filmmaker. The entire film was shot in the room of Ethiopia
North and Northeast Africa
Children / Young people
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
Informant-researcher relationship
Reflexivity
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
Sons of the Moon
1984
25
‘
Directed by
Frank Speed
Deirdre LaPin
.
In isolated mountain hamlets in Nigeria’s Jos Plateau the Ngas have traditionally observed the movements of the moon in the night sky. The moon is a key symbol in Ngas cosmology, believed to
West Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Music / Ethnomusicology
Everyday Life
Ritual
Sophia and Her People
1985
35
‘
Directed by
Peter Loïzos
.
Sofia and her family lost their village home in 1975 when Turkey invaded Cyprus. The film, mainly set in Nicosia in 1983, shows the pressures of refugee economic recovery through shift work in a
South-East Europe
Refugees / Displaced populations
Social Change
Family / Kinship
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
Tayuban: Dancing the Spirit in Java
1996
30
‘
Directed by
Felicia Hughes-Freeland
.
Once a year a ritual is held in a Javanese village. After a distribution of food, men dance with professional female dancers. Their allegedly sexual ethos makes these ‘tayuban’ unacceptable as
South-East Asia
Ritual
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Sex / Sexuality
Gender Role and Identity
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
Together as One
2013
39
‘
Directed by
Kilian Lamtur Tanlaka
.
Nso’ is the biggest kingdom of the Western Grassfields and an ethnic group in the northeast corner of Cameroon’s northwest region. Its capital Kumbo is where the ruler (Fon) lives. The Nso’
Central Africa
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
Collective / Community identity
Inter-religious relations
A Transfer of Power
1986
22
‘
Directed by
Judith MacDougall
David MacDougall
.
Replacing the engine in an old car is a familiar rural task, but how people go about it differs. For these Aboriginal men in New South Wales, it’s an occasion for affirming continuing
Australia
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Education / Knowledge transmission
Infrastructure / Transport
Treasured Moments
2016
33
‘
Student
Directed by
Ravi Hart Lloyd
.
This is the personal story of a boy who grew up mixed in every aspect of his life, his parents, where he was from, his race. The black kid who thought that he was white. The white kid who thought
Caribbean Islands
North America
Family / Kinship
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Collective / Community identity
Film / Photography / Mass media
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
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
Uzu
2015
27
‘
Directed by
Gaspard Kuentz
.
Held every October in the city of Matsuyama, the Dogo Autumn Festival is one of the most violent religious festivals celebrated in Japan. Eight teams of men carrying massive portable wood shrines
Central Asia and Far East
Ritual
Gender Role and 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
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
The Way We Live Now
2016
32
‘
Student
Directed by
Sophia Hersi Smith
.
‘The Way We Live Now’ is an intimate portrait of the daily routines and rituals of the Hadza; modern-day hunter-gatherers living in the acacia-baobab woodlands surrounding Lake Eyasi in North-Central
East Africa
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Everyday Life
We Don’t Need A Grave
2014
27
‘
.
‘We Don’t Need a Grave’ attempts to show how the people who choose Shizenso rather than the typical family grave try to accept one’s death. Shizenso is a natural mortuary practice that has no
Central Asia and Far East
Religion / Belief / Faith
Death
Ritual
Welcome Valentine 2017
2017
16
‘
Student
Directed by
Dhruv Satija
.
In a temple dedicated to Hanuman in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a priest flouts convention by marrying couples who are shunned elsewhere: mostly those who have eloped from families who disapprove of their
South Asia
Marriage
Love
LGBTQI*
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
Without Fathers or Husbands
1995
26
‘
Directed by
Hua Cai
.
The Na are an ethnic group in south-east China. Their particularity is that all the members of each household are consanguineous relatives; their social organisation is absolutely matrilineal and as
South-East Asia
Family / Kinship
Collective / Community identity
Gender Role and Identity
Sex / Sexuality
Wási
2017
16
‘
Shorts
Directed by
Sebastián Gómez Ruíz
Amado Villafaña Chaparro
.
As the sun rises on a village in northern Colombia, we glimpse its inhabitants as they begin their day. As the scene emerges from obscurity, a voiceover reflects on the nature of sight. It is the
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Indigenous Filmmaking
History of Anthropology
Film / Photography / Mass media
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