Films - RAI FILM

RAI FILM

Film list

[the-kalasha-rites-of-spring--Film-image]

The Kalasha: Rites of Spring 1990 60‘

Directed by John Sheppard .

The Kalasha are a tribal people, 3,000 strong, who live in the high valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The Kalasha are unique as a pagan people in

South Asia Festivals / Carnival Land Rights Agriculture / Farming Social Conflict

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Sherpas of Nepal 1977 52‘

Directed by Leslie Woodhead Pattie Winter .

Thami is a village 12,000 feet up in the Himalayas in the Kingdom of Nepal. As the film’s opening shots illustrate, in a type of filmic short-hand, Thami is composed of a patchwork of individual

South Asia Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Labour Marriage Social Change

[return-of-the-nightingales--Film-image]

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

[the-absence-of-apricots--Film-image]

The Absence of Apricots 2018 49‘

Student Directed by Daniel Asadi Faezi .

In the Hunza Valley in the northern Pakistan there is a magnificent turquoise lake. But the lake hasn’t been always there: it is the result of a massive landslide that blocked a river, causing

South Asia Environment Memory Development projects Resettlement

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Black Mountain 2008 84‘

Directed by Charlotte Whitby-Coles Amin Hajee .

A once unremarkable site of multi-faith pilgrimage to a Sufi Saint has been transformed and its local history rewritten – the film documents the journey of Charlotte, a student undertaking her PhD

South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Inter-religious relations

[playing-with-nan--Film-image]

Playing with Nan 2012 88‘

Directed by Dipesh Kharel Asami Saito .

Playing with Nan is the story of a Nepali young man who migrated to work in a Nepali restaurant in northern Japan. The film explores his daily life at work and his family at home, which reflects

South Asia Central Asia and Far East Labour Migration Socioeconomic conditions

[kataragama-a-god-for-all-seasons--Film-image]

Kataragama: A God for All Seasons 1973 52‘

Directed by Charlie Nairn .

In ever-increasing numbers Sinhalese of all religions (Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) are turning to Kataragama, an ancient Hindu God, at times of trouble and desperation. Once a year pilgrims

South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Ritual Possession

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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

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Khyber 1979 49‘

Directed by André Singer Andy Harries .

For more than a century Britain was engaged in war with the Pashtun tribesmen of India’s North West frontier. It began with the bloodiest massacre in the history of the British Empire when, in

South Asia War / Conflict / Reconciliation Colonialism / Postcolonialism History

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Dor, Low is Better 1988 47‘

Directed by Robert Boonzajer-Flaes .

The film offers an experimental approach to the comparative study of cultures: the monks of a Tibetan monastery compare their own flutes with the Swiss alphorn and the Dutch windhorn introduced to

South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Ritual

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The Golden Beach 2008 58‘

Directed by Hasse Wester .

A small group of farmers belonging to the Halakki Gowda tribe live near a small beach in a valley in southern India. When the Swedish film maker Hasse Wester was first there twenty years ago the

South Asia Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Rural Social Change

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Drugs & Prayers 2009 55‘

Directed by Helene Basu .

The Sufi shrine of Mira Datar in North Gujarat is a large pilgrimage centre specialising in healing possession and mental illness. It has become a site of experimenting with new forms of community

South Asia Health / Health care / Healing Ritual Religion / Belief / Faith

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Ustad Rahim 2008 55‘

Directed by John Baily .

Shot in the city of Heart, western Afghanistan 1994, in the period between the fall of the last leftist government and the coming of the Taliban, this is a portrait film of an outstanding musician,

South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology Education / Knowledge Transmission Personal Narrative

[holy-men-and-fools--Film-image]

Holy Men and Fools 2005 61‘

Directed by Michael Yorke .

The film narrates the story of Uma Giri, a Swedish woman who has become a Hindu nun, called Uma Giri. She is one of the few western women to be accepted into the most radical order of wandering

South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Inter-religious relations Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage

[across-the-border-afghan-musicians-exiled-in-peshawar--Film-image]

Across the Border: Afghan Musicians exiled in Peshawar 2008 54‘

Directed by John Baily .

It is the year 2000 and most of Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban. Hearing that many of Afghanistain’s musicians are now in exile across the border in Pakistan, ethnomusicologist John

South Asia Refugees / Displaced populations Music / Ethnomusicology Religion / Belief / Faith

[raju-and-his-friends--Film-image]

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

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Ritual Journeys 2011 75‘

Directed by Dawa Lepcha Anna Balikci .

The film is an intimate portrait of Merayk, an 80 years old Lepcha shaman or Padim. Merayk lives with his family in Dzongu, a Lepcha reserve in North Sikkim. He performs healing rituals for

South Asia Ritual Shamans and Shamanism Health / Health care / Healing

[tingvong-a-lepcha-village-in-sikkim--Film-image]

Tingvong: A Lepcha Village in Sikkim 2005 60‘

Directed by Dawa T Lepcha Anna Balikci-Denjongpa Asen Balikci .

The film illustrates the changes the Lepcha of the Dzongu reserve, North Sikkim, have been through in the last 60 years. From the 1940s, the Lepcha of Tingvong village gradually abandoned hunting,

South Asia Social Change Religion / Belief / Faith Agriculture / Farming

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Q2P 2006 55‘

Directed by Paromita Vohra .

Q2P is a film about toilets and the city. It sifts through the dream of Mumbai as a future Shanghai and searches for public toilets, watching who has to queue to pee. As the film observes who has

South Asia Gender Role and Identity Urban Socioeconomic conditions

[a-tibetan-new-year--Film-image]

A Tibetan New Year 1987 45‘

Directed by Jon Jerstad .

This outstanding documentary is placed in Northern India among a group of Tibetan refugees. They celebrate the New Year, following a ritual of their religion, Bonpo, which is older than Buddhism.

South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Ritual

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A Life with Slate 2006 59‘

Directed by Dipesh Kharel .

Alampu is a beautiful and exceedingly remote village in Nepal. The majority of the settlers there are Thami people, one of the indigenous groups of Nepal. More than 90 percent of them have been

South Asia Labour Socioeconomic conditions

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Rain in the Mirror 2012 48‘

Directed by Nilanjan Bhattachary Kanchan Mukhopadhayay .

Dorji Bhutia, a Buddhist monk and a reputed mask-maker with supernatural powers of bringing or stopping rain chose a self-determined death at the age of eighty-six. Dorji leaves his mystic image

South Asia Religion / Belief / Faith Children / Young people Education / Knowledge Transmission Intergenerational relations

[silk-muthappar-and-vhs-portraits-from-south-india--Film-image]

Silk, Muthappar and VHS: Portraits from South India 1997 63‘

Directed by Ulrich Grossenbacher Damaris Luethi .

The documentary, filmed during ethnographic field research, shows three portraits of ‘ordinary’ personalities — Mala, a young weaver sharing a one-bedroom house with nine siblings; Santa Cruz,

South Asia Labour Everyday Life Film / Photography / Mass media

[gula-music-for-a-sacred-time--Film-image]

Gula – Music for a sacred time 2020 15‘

Directed by Remigiusz Sowa .

Introduces the rich and varied Hindu-Buddhist religious and ritual musical heritage of the ancient royal city of Bhaktapur (Nepal).

South Asia Music / Ethnomusicology

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The Pathans 1980 52‘

Directed by André Singer Andy Harries .

There are twelve million Pathans. Bound by a common language, a common heritage and the unifying force of Islam, these proud and independent people do not acknowledge the geographical boundary which

South Asia War / Conflict / Reconciliation Social Organisation Gender Role and Identity

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This Is A Majlis – A Sound Essay 2020 17‘

Directed by Timothy Cooper Abeera Arif-Bashir .

This short film is a multi-platform sound essay. It is primarily illustrated with still images, that conjure an atmosphere of intimacy and intensity of the majlis-e-aza, a mourning gathering central

South Asia Music/Ethnomusicology Urban Art/ Aritists/ Artisans Social Change

[where-the-clouds-end--Film-image]

Where the Clouds End 2014 52‘

Directed by Wanphrang Diengdoh .

“My late great grandfather was a Bengali who came to Shillong in the early 1900s – long before the present political border divided the lands.” After the creation of borders between India and

South Asia Colonialism / Postcolonialism Race / Racism / Antiracism Collective / Community identity

[afghan-exodus--Film-image]

Afghan Exodus 1980 52‘

Directed by André Singer .

When Granada Television visited Afghanistan to make the award-winning Disappearing World ‘The Kirghiz’, they were a proud, independent, nomadic people who made their living by rearing herds of yaks

South Asia Refugees / Displaced populations War / Conflict / Reconciliation Migration

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Kusum 2000 69‘

Directed by Jouko Aaltonen Antti Pakaslahti .

Kusum is a 14-year-old Indian girl. She lives and attends school in Delhi. Kaushal, her father, drives a motorised rickshaw and works his fingers to the bone to support his family. Sumitra, Kusum’s

South Asia Children / Young people Health / Health care / Healing Possession