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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
19 Films
with a digital version available
x
Keywords
“Rural”
x
Colour / Black and white
“Colour”
x
films with a digital version
19
x
short films
5
films available on demand
2
Region
Central Asia and Far East
2
Melanesia
2
Middle and Near East
1
North America
6
North and Northeast Africa
1
South-East Asia
1
South-East Europe
1
West Africa
2
Western Europe
2
Western Mediterranean
1
Country
Albania
1
China
2
Egypt
1
Ethiopia
1
France
1
Greenland
1
Mongolia
1
Papua New Guinea
2
Sierra Leone
1
Spain
1
Switzerland
1
Turkey
1
United States
5
Keywords
Agriculture / Farming
2
Alternative culture
4
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
1
Art / Artists / Artisans
4
Children / Young people
2
Collective / Community identity
2
Development projects
1
Environment
2
Everyday Life
7
Gender Role and Identity
1
Herding
3
Labour
1
Land Rights
1
Marriage
1
Material Culture
1
Music / Ethnomusicology
1
Music/ Ethnomusicology
1
Post-communism
1
Ritual
1
Rural
19
x
Shamans and Shamanism
2
Social Change
4
Social Organisation
2
Tourism/ Travel/ Pilgrimage
1
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
1
Directors
Arnott, Susi
1
Brice, Mark
1
Carr, Peter
1
Curling, Chris
1
Dunne, Bryony
1
Elixhauser, Sophie
1
Grimshaw, Anna
4
Horat, Thomas
1
Kaserci, Zeynep
1
MacDonald, Bruce
1
Moser, Brian
2
Nitzky, William
1
Seitz, Anni
1
Sincich, Francesco
1
Vávrová, Daniela
1
Wason, David
1
Woodhead, Leslie
1
Series
Disappearing World Series
6
Mr Coperthwaite: a life in the Maine Woods
4
National Film and Television School
2
Shorts Collection 2
1
Shorts collection 2
1
not set
5
Country of production
Egypt
1
Germany
1
Italy
1
Slovenia
1
Switzerland
1
Turkey
1
United Kingdom
8
United States
5
Year of production
1972
1
1975
1
1984
1
1987
1
1988
1
1989
1
1990
1
1991
1
2008
2
2013
4
2014
2
2016
1
2020
2
Colour / Black and white
Film list
The Albanians of Rrogam
1991
52
‘
Directed by
David Wason
.
With the fall of the Stalinist regime in Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, the people of a remote mountain village, Rrogam, are faced with the dilmma of how to re-allocate the land and
South-East Europe
Post-communism
Social Change
Land Rights
Rural
Autumn’s Work
2013
47
‘
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
"Autumn’s Work" follows Bill Coperthwaite as he prepares for winter. Wrestling with a large felled tree amidst its vast tangle of branches, Bill slowly and methodically breaks it down
North America
Alternative culture
Rural
Everyday Life
Art / Artists / Artisans
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 Basques of Santazi
1987
52
‘
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
*In her book ‘The Circle of Mountains’ Sandra Ott provided a fascinating analysis of social reciprocity (…) The film highlights the village’s contemporary dilemmas and thereby complements rather
Western Europe
Herding
Social Change
Rural
The Carrot and the Stick
1988
44
‘
Directed by
Susi Arnott
.
When they retired from selling insurance and teaching, John and Irene Brown volunteered to work overseas under a British Aid programme. They were sent to expand a marketing project aimed at
Melanesia
Development projects
Agriculture / Farming
Rural
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
Fatuma and Asya. Two Afar Girls in Ethiopia
2014
59
‘
Directed by
Francesco Sincich
.
Two young Afar girls, Fatuma (10) and Asya (13), show us their daily life in two different contexts of the Afar Region in Ethiopia. Both of them face hard challenges: finding an alternative way to
West Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Children / Young people
Rural
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
The Mende
1990
52
‘
Directed by
Bruce MacDonald
.
This is a portrait of Kpuawala, Sierra Leone, a village of some 260 Mende people living in a clearing in the forest in houses of mud brick and tin. Like any village portrait it gossips, happy
West Africa
Everyday Life
Social Organisation
Rural
The Meo
1972
52
‘
Directed by
Brian Moser
Chris Curling
.
Over the last three thousand years the Meo (Miao or Hmong) have migrated south from north and central China to avoid oppression and protect their way of life. Today they live in scattered mountain
South-East Asia
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Shamans and Shamanism
Ritual
Social Organisation
Rural
Mongolia, part 1: On the Edge of the Gobi
1975
52
‘
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
Mongolia is a country the size of Western Europe with under 1.5 million people but over 23 million head of livestock. This film concentrates on life in the great plains of Mongolia, at the foot of
Central Asia and Far East
Herding
Social Change
Rural
Everyday Life
Ocak
2020
28
‘
Directed by
Zeynep Kaserci
.
The story of a family who earns their livelihood as hazelnut cultivators in rural north-eastern Turkey. Filmed in an observational style, it offers glimpses into the local social life of the village
Middle and Near East
Collective / Community identity
Agriculture / Farming
Rural
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
Sacred Harp Singers
1984
85
‘
Directed by
Mark Brice
.
A moving portrait of harp singers Leonard and Mazine Lacy. Sacred harp music is a kind of harmonised plainsong practised in rural America. This film was shot in Sand Mountain, Alabama, and is
North America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Rural
Sermiligaag 65°54’N, 36°22’W
2008
64
‘
Directed by
Anni Seitz
Sophie Elixhauser
.
The people of East Greenland inhabit a small string of coastal land at the edge of the biggest island of the world. Long winters have always shaped daily life here, a life that has gone within a few
North America
Rural
Social Change
Environment
Spring in Dickinson’s Reach
2013
83
‘
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
"Spring in Dickinson’s Reach" provides an introduction to the unique environment that Bill Coperthwaite has crafted in the Maine forest. Beginning in early spring, the film follows
North America
Alternative culture
Rural
Everyday Life
Art / Artists / Artisans
A Summer Task
2013
47
‘
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
"A Summer Task" examines the rhythm and tempo of work in the forest. The film follows Bill Coperthwaite and his cousin, Steve, as they fell and haul trees to build a bridge and begin
North America
Alternative culture
Everyday Life
Rural
Art / Artists / Artisans
The Villagers of Sierra de Gredos
1989
52
‘
Directed by
Peter Carr
.
The 130 villagers of Navalguijo in the Sierra de Gredos of Central Spain live in a village perched high in the mountains and they face an extreme climate with very cold winters and hot summers. The
Western Mediterranean
Herding
Rural
Collective / Community identity
Winter Days
2013
59
‘
Directed by
Anna Grimshaw
.
"Winter Days" evokes the stillness and quietness of the forest in winter. Life is lived close to the stove. It’s a time for small tasks and chores – making a wedge, sewing a pocket, the
North America
Alternative culture
Rural
Everyday Life
Art / Artists / Artisans