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About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
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Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
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About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
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Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
RAI FILM
Login
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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
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
20 Films
Keywords
“Music Ethnomusicology”
x
Country of production
“United Kingdom”
x
films with a digital version
13
short films
7
films available on demand
2
Region
British-Irish Isles
1
Central America
1
Central Asia and Far East
1
Middle and Near East
3
North America
3
South America
2
South Asia
5
South-East Asia
1
Southern Africa
1
West Africa
3
Country
Afghanistan
5
Angola
1
Brazil
1
Cape Verde
1
Ghana
1
Indonesia
1
Japan
1
Nepal
1
Nigeria
1
Pakistan
2
Peru
1
Puerto Rico
1
United Kingdom
1
United States
3
Keywords
Children / Young people
1
Collective / Community identity
1
Dance / Theatre / Performance
4
Education / Knowledge Transmission
3
Education / Knowledge transmission
1
Everyday Life
1
Festivals / Carnival
1
Gender Role and Identity
1
Marriage
1
Migration
2
Music / Ethnomusicology
20
x
Personal Narrative
1
Refugees / Displaced populations
3
Religion / Belief / Faith
2
Ritual
1
Rural
1
Social Change
1
Trade
1
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
1
Directors
Assunção, Matthias Röhrig
1
Baily, John
9
Belkind, Lukas
1
Brice, Mark
1
Coppens, Sharis
1
Cubero, Carlo A.
1
Dettmann, Christine
1
Hellwig, Jean
1
Hunt, Clare
1
LaPin, Deirdre
1
Longinotto, Kim
1
Nicolau, João
1
Pakleppa, Richard
1
Schädler, Natalie
1
Sowa, Remigiusz
1
Speed, Frank
1
Series
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
5
National Film and Television School
1
Shorts collection 2
1
not set
13
Country of production
Brazil
1
South Africa
1
United Kingdom
20
x
United States
1
Year of production
1983
1
1984
2
1985
1
1986
1
1988
1
1992
1
1999
1
2000
1
2001
1
2003
2
2006
1
2007
1
2008
2
2010
1
2013
1
2014
1
2020
1
Film list
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
Amir – An Afghan Refugee Musician’s Life in Peshavar, Pakistan
1985
52
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
The film investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan
South Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Refugees / Displaced populations
Body Games – Capoeira and Ancestry
2014
87
‘
Student
Directed by
Richard Pakleppa
Matthias Röhrig Assunção
Christine Dettmann
.
The film follows master Cobra Mansa and his friends in the search for the African roots of the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. A powerful myth links Capoeira to a legendary Angolan game called Engolo
South America
Southern Africa
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Music / Ethnomusicology
Festivals / Carnival
The Good Wife of Tokyo
1992
52
‘
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Clare Hunt
.
Kazuko Hohki goes back to Tokyo with her band, the ‘Frank Chickens’, after living in England for 15 years. This wry and delightful film records her re-experiencing of Japan after a long absence,
Central Asia and Far East
Music / Ethnomusicology
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Social Change
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
Herat Films: The Annual Cycle of Music in Herat
1983
54
‘
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
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Music / Ethnomusicology
Jungle Cat
2000
29
‘
Directed by
Natalie Schädler
.
In search of the righteous way of living, the Liberian rapper CyLover, aka as ‘Jungle Cat’ wants to make music for his people. Now based in Ghana, the big chance to finish his first album approaches
West Africa
Music / Ethnomusicology
A Kabul Music Diary
2003
52
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
Ethnomusicologist John Baily returns to Kabul to see what is happening in the world of music one year after the defeat of the Taliban. The film documents a variety of musical activities, including
Middle and Near East
Music / Ethnomusicology
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Lessons from Gulam
1986
52
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
A detailed study of musical enculturation within the Asian community of Bradford in northern England. Gulam Musa is the principal character and he is shown as a teacher and as a musician. The film
British-Irish Isles
Music / Ethnomusicology
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Mangrove Music
2006
49
‘
Directed by
Carlo A. Cubero
.
The Caribbean island of Culebra is located between Spanish speaking Puerto Rico and English speaking Virgin Islands. Musicians from the island are inspired from a variety of regional, national and
Central America
Music / Ethnomusicology
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
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
Scenes of Afghan Music: London, Kabul, Hamburg, Dublin
2007
97
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
Scenes of Afghan Music is Part IV of ‘A Quartet of Afghan Music Films’, made in the author’s personal “fieldwork movie” style. It reveals the diversity of music and dance practices in the
Middle and Near East
Music / Ethnomusicology
Migration
Collective / Community identity
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
Sundanese Culture Alive
1988
46
‘
Directed by
Jean Hellwig
.
Jaipongan is a new style of music and dancing which was ‘invented’ about a decade ago on Western Java, Indonesia. Drawing on more classical Javanese music and taking elements from Japanese and
South-East Asia
Music / Ethnomusicology
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Tablas and Drum Machines: Afghan Music in California
2001
58
‘
Directed by
John Baily
.
Ethnomusicologist John Baily visits Fremont, California, the new home of the large community of exiled Afghans. He is joined by Kabuli master-musician, Ustad Asif Mahmoud, who plans to open a small
North America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Education / Knowledge transmission
Refugees / Displaced populations
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
Vaud and the Villains
2010
30
‘
Directed by
Lukas Belkind
.
Three members of an 18-piece, 1930s style, American folk big band explore their personal relationships with Los Angeles, performing, the music they love, and the band that binds them all together.
North America
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Music / Ethnomusicology
Vivir la Chicha
2003
28
‘
Directed by
Sharis Coppens
.
Chicha music evokes the experiences of the many Peruvians who migrate from the high Andes down to the cities. This film tells the story of Aurora Ramos, a cobbler and market saleswoman, and the role
South America
Music / Ethnomusicology
Trade
Migration
You Can’t Live With Your Mouth Shut
1999
29
‘
Directed by
João Nicolau
.
Cape Verde is an archipelago situated 500km off the West Coast of Africa. On the island of Santiago lives Mano Mendi, the last player of cimboa, a one-string violin used to accompany the traditional
West Africa
Music / Ethnomusicology