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About RAI Film
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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
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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
71 Films
Keywords
“Religion Belief Faith”
x
films with a digital version
35
films hosted on Kanopy
2
short films
30
films available on demand
9
Title initial
A
2
B
4
C
4
D
5
E
1
F
1
G
3
H
5
I
3
J
2
K
5
L
3
M
2
N
2
O
1
P
2
Q
1
R
4
S
5
T
5
U
2
V
1
W
7
Y
1
Region
British-Irish Isles
2
Central Asia and Far East
3
Central Europe
1
Eastern Europe and Baltic States
1
Melanesia
3
Middle and Near East
6
North America
2
North and Northeast Africa
2
Scandinavia
1
South America
10
South Asia
14
South-East Asia
7
South-East Europe
4
Southern Africa
7
West Africa
8
Western Europe
3
Western Mediterranean
1
Country
Afghanistan
1
Belgium
1
Bosnia-Herzegovina
1
Botswana
4
Brazil
3
Burkina Faso
1
Cameroon
2
Chile
1
China
1
Colombia
1
France
1
Germany
1
Ghana
1
Greece
1
Guinea-Bissau
1
Hungary
1
India
11
Indonesia
4
Iran
1
Israel
2
Italy
2
Japan
1
Lesotho
1
Malta
1
Myanmar
2
Namibia
1
Nepal
1
Nigeria
3
Norway
1
Pakistan
1
Papua New Guinea
2
Peru
1
Romania
1
Russian Federation
1
Solomon Islands
1
South Africa
1
Spain
1
Sri Lanka
1
Sudan
2
Syria
1
United Kingdom
3
United States
2
Uzbekistan
1
Venezuela
4
Yemen
1
Keywords
Agriculture / Farming
2
Alternative culture
1
Animation
1
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
1
Archival material / Museum displays
1
Art / Artists / Artisans
2
Children / Young people
3
Collective / Community identity
6
Dance / Theatre / Performance
4
Death
6
Education / Knowledge Transmission
2
Education / Knowledge transmission
1
Elderly people
1
Environment
1
Essay film
1
Everyday Life
3
Family / Kinship
1
Festivals / Carnival
2
Gender Role and Identity
3
Health / Health care / Healing
9
History
1
History of Anthropology
1
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
2
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
2
Informant-researcher relationship
1
Inter-religious relations
6
Intergenerational relations
3
LGBTQI*
1
Labour
1
Life Story / Life History
1
Love
1
Marriage
2
Material Culture
3
Migration
2
Music / Ethnomusicology
4
Personal Narrative
1
Political Activists
2
Possession
4
Post-communism
1
Reflexivity
1
Refugees / Displaced populations
3
Religion / Belief / Faith
71
x
Reproduction (biology)
1
Resistance
1
Ritual
19
Rural
2
Shamans and Shamanism
2
Social Change
4
Social Conflict
2
Social Norms
1
Socioeconomic conditions
1
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
1
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
2
Trade
1
Urban
3
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
2
Directors
Ahmed, Akbar
1
Asch, Patsy
2
Asch, Timothy
1
Ash, David
1
Baily, John
2
Balikci, Asen
1
Balikci-Denjongpa, Anna
1
Barreiro, Georgina
1
Basu, Helene
1
Beier, Ulli
1
Bernstein, Anya
1
Bhattachary, Nilanjan
1
Bringas, Sylvie
1
Cai, Hua
1
Chabanier, Gabriel
1
Clarissou, Priscilla
1
Colucci, Erminia
2
Cross, Stephen
1
Davidson, John Paul
1
Fedda, Yasmin
1
Ferrarese, Adriana
1
Ferrarini, Lorenzo
1
Griggs, David
1
Grossman, Alyssa
1
Grégoire, Charlotte
1
Hajee, Amin
1
Hatland, Line
1
Henley, Paul
2
Hill, Joanna
1
Holtedahl, Lisbet
1
Huysmans, Carla
1
Jerstad, Jon
1
Johnson, Dul
1
Journet, Martine
1
Kawanami, Hiroko
1
Kharel, Dipesh
1
Kildea, Gary
1
LaPin, Deirdre
1
Langer, Vanessa
1
Langhorst, Insa
1
Leizaola, Ricardo
1
Lepcha, Dawa T
1
Lu, Wanwan
1
MacDonald, Bruce
1
MacDougall, Judith
1
Meliqo’ziev, Iqbol
1
Moser, Brian
2
Mukhopadhayay, Kanchan
1
Nairn, Charlie
1
Nougarol, Gérard
1
Oo, Zaw Naing
1
Owen, Chris
1
Pasini, Carlos
1
Pedrosa, Patrícia
1
Richards, Naomi
1
Robinson, Paul
1
Satija, Dhruv
1
Simon, Andrea
1
Singer, André
1
Speed, Frank
2
Stefani, Fotini
1
Storaas, Frode
1
Tari, János
1
Tsering Lepcha, Dawa
1
Tucker, Andrew
1
Vella, Steve
1
Waage, Trond
1
Werbner, Richard
4
Whitby-Coles, Charlotte
1
Woodhead, Leslie
1
Wright, Evie
1
Yezbick, Julia
1
Yorke, Michael
1
not set
1
van de Port, Mattijs
1
Series
ANU, Indonesia Series
2
Disappearing World Series
8
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
17
Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology Staff Film
1
National Film and Television School
1
Shorts collection 2
1
The Well-Being Quest in Botswana
4
Yangon Film School
1
not set
36
Country of production
Argentina
1
Australia
4
Cameroon
1
China
1
France
2
Germany
2
Hungary
1
India
6
Indonesia
1
Italy
1
Japan
1
Myanmar
1
Netherlands
1
Nigeria
2
Norway
3
Romania
1
Switzerland
1
United Kingdom
46
United States
3
Uzbekistan
1
not set
1
Year of production
1964
1
1971
1
1973
2
1974
2
1977
1
1981
1
1982
2
1983
1
1984
1
1987
3
1990
1
1992
2
1993
1
1995
1
1996
1
1997
1
1998
1
1999
1
2000
1
2001
3
2002
2
2003
4
2004
4
2005
5
2006
1
2007
1
2008
5
2009
2
2010
1
2012
2
2014
4
2015
2
2016
3
2017
2
2018
2
2019
1
2021
2
Film list
75 Grams
2008
31
‘
Directed by
Priscilla Clarissou
.
Nestled below the rugged Chilean peaks of the Andes lies the gold mining town of Andacollo. The town’s remoteness and mining economy has nurtured religious beliefs in the power of the Virgin over the
South America
Labour
Material Culture
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
André and Nándi
2000
30
‘
Directed by
Charlotte Grégoire
.
Hungarian-born André Reinitz only discovered his Jewish identity when he moved to Brussels at the age of ten. Since then, in spite of the silence of his parents, he has become involved in the Jewish
Western Europe
Eastern Europe and Baltic States
Religion / Belief / Faith
Music / Ethnomusicology
Life Story / Life History
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
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
Born Again
2003
19
‘
Directed by
Carla Huysmans
.
Carla last met Maureen Mulozi in 1998 in Lusaka, Zambia where they were colleagues and friends. Since then Maureen’s life has changed considerably: she became a ‘born again’ Christian and moved to
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Inter-religious relations
Burying Hallelujah
2014
51
‘
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Hallelujah, a ‘bush mechanic’ turned archbishop, gets the funeral he deserves, one of the very biggest in Botswana’s railway town, Palapye. Many churches come together, their robes, splendid, their
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Death
A Celebration of Origins: Wai Brama, Flores, Indonesia
1992
45
‘
Directed by
Timothy Asch
Patsy Asch
.
This film is a record of the gren mahe rituals of the people of the domain of Wai Brama. The gren mahe is the largest religious event of the Wai Brama ceremonial system and requires the participation
South-East Asia
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Cham in the Lepcha Village of Lingthem
2007
52
‘
Directed by
Dawa Tsering Lepcha
.
Every winter, over a period of six days, the lamas of Lingthem’s village monastery hold their annual cham. These dramatic ritual masked dances impart elementary Buddhist teachings while providing
South Asia
Ritual
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Religion / Belief / Faith
Cuyagua – Devil Dancers
1987
52
‘
Directed by
Paul Henley
.
The men of the Afro-Caribbean population of Cuyagua enact a ritual that occurs 60 days after Easter. The film is a portrait of two men who direct the devil dancing. They tell the history of the
South America
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Cuyagua – the Saint With Two Faces
1987
56
‘
Student
Directed by
Paul Henley
.
The film centres on the predominantly female celebration of the feast of Saint John. The women sing the songs associated with the Feast, describe their beliefs and how they organise the feast.
South America
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Festivals / Carnival
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
Dervishes of Kurdistan
1973
52
‘
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
A community of Kurds resident in Iran on the border with Iraq forms the subject of this film. Many of the inhabitants of the community are refugees from Kurdish areas of Iraq and the villagers are
Middle and Near East
Refugees / Displaced populations
Religion / Belief / Faith
Distant Temple
2002
90
‘
Directed by
János Tari
.
The last orthodox synagogue in Makó was renewed and inaugurated in 2002. The little temple, as they call it, is more than hundred years old and represents the link between the Jews who emigrated
Middle and Near East
Migration
Religion / Belief / Faith
Diya
2001
55
‘
Directed by
Judith MacDougall
.
A diya is a small terra cotta oil lamp used throughout India in Hindu ceremonies. The film follows the life history of an object through the every day experience of people who make, sell and use it
South Asia
Trade
Material Culture
Religion / Belief / Faith
Art / Artists / Artisans
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
Encountering Eloyi
2008
56
‘
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Of all the faith-healing churches in Botswana, Eloyi is the most controversial. Sensational stories in newspapers and on television have made Eloyi notorious for so-called witch-busting and for
Southern Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Reproduction (biology)
Faith
2010
30
‘
Directed by
Insa Langhorst
.
Together with a Pentecostal youth group, teenagers Colin and Salo are on a mission trip to East Germany preaching the word of God. On the streets of Wismar they experience the highs and lows of what
Western Europe
Children / Young people
Religion / Belief / Faith
Gods and Satans
2005
87
‘
Directed by
Martine Journet
Gérard Nougarol
Gabriel Chabanier
.
Among the Wana people, semi nomads from the Indonesian (Sulawesi) forest, Indo Pino is a shaman recognized by everybody. Her nephew, who is also a shaman’s son, converted to Christianity some
South-East Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Shamans and Shamanism
Inter-religious relations
Guli Armug’on
2019
23
‘
Directed by
Iqbol Meliqo’ziev
.
Uzbek and Tajik women in eastern Uzbekistan celebrate the arrival of spring by gathering at the grave of an Islamic saint. The Afghan redbud trees growing on the site are in full bloom. The magical
Central Asia and Far East
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
HARMONI: HEALING TOGETHER
2021
98
‘
Directed by
Erminia Colucci
.
As a nation of 270 million, Indonesia is facing the grave task of caring for millions of people living with mental illness. Many have experienced human rights abuses in their lifetime. In communities
South-East Asia
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Heal the Whole Man
1974
50
‘
Directed by
Paul Robinson
.
The ‘Barolong boo Ratshidi’ are one of the group of Tswana peoples, who together form a culturally homogeneous population of over two million. The Barolong themselves number about 75’000 and
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Health / Health care / Healing
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
Holy Hustlers
2009
53
‘
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Charismatic, street-wise young men, living in Botswana’s capital, command the prophetic domain in Eloyi, their Apostolic faith-healing church, at a time of escalating crisis. Bitter, sinful
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Urban
Possession
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
In Our Blood
2003
26
‘
Directed by
Steve Vella
.
In Malta, devotion to the Virgin Mary is very fervent, particularly in the village of Naxxar, where the most important annual feast, taking place over several days, is dedicated to her honour. But
Western Mediterranean
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
In the Play of Life: a wayang performance in East Java
1992
25
‘
Directed by
Patsy Asch
.
These companion films examine the philosophy and ritual practices of the followers of a holy man popularly known as Embah Wali. The movement, centred in Blitar, East Java, regards wayang as a model
South-East Asia
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Into the Field
2005
28
‘
Directed by
Alyssa Grossman
.
‘Into the Field’ follows the everyday “secular” lives of nuns in a Orthodox nunnery in Romania. Documenting the nuns’ activities, relationships and roles within their community, the film also
South-East Europe
Religion / Belief / Faith
Animation
Join Me in Shambala
2001
30
‘
Directed by
Anya Bernstein
.
Once brutally persecuted under the Soviet regime, Buddhism is re-emerging in Siberia. But with a past where Lamas were killed in prisons and temples burnt to the ground, there are few masters left to
Central Asia and Far East
Religion / Belief / Faith
Post-communism
Journey into Europe
2015
122
‘
Directed by
Akbar Ahmed
.
In Journey into Europe, Akbar Ahmed, a world-renowned anthropologist, Islamic scholar, and filmmaker who the BBC has called “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam,” explores Islam
Central Europe
Western Europe
South-East Europe
History
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Kalanda – the Knowledge of the Bush
2014
62
‘
Directed by
Lorenzo Ferrarini
.
In some parts of West Africa, hunting is much more than killing animals. A donso is no common hunter, but a healer, a diviner, a ritual specialist and amulet maker. Kalanda is a unique initiatory
West Africa
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Education / Knowledge Transmission
Ritual
A Kali Temple Inside Out
2018
83
‘
Werbner Award
Directed by
Dipesh Kharel
Frode Storaas
.
Religious boundaries in India are not necessarily as sharp and antagonistic as news media lead us to believe. This film portrays everyday life inside and around a Kali temple in the city of Kanpur,
South Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
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
Keepers of the Faith: The Buddhist Nuns of Sagaing Hills
1996
51
‘
Directed by
Hiroko Kawanami
.
In the Sagaing Hills, 12 miles from the ancient capital of Mandalay are hundreds of pagodas, stupas, monasteries and nunneries which form a focal point of worship for Buddhism in Burma. In 1986 the
South-East Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Gender Role and Identity
Koriams Law and the Dead who Govern
2005
110
‘
Directed by
Gary Kildea
Andrea Simon
.
In ‘Koriam’s Law’ Australian anthropologist Andrew Lattas meets his match in philosopher-informant Peter Avarea of Matong village, Pomio, Papua New Guinea. Motivated by their lively dialogue the
Melanesia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Possession
Lady of the Lake
2014
22
‘
Directed by
Zaw Naing Oo
.
Governments – even decades-old military regimes – may come and go but, like many rural communities in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), the lives of the villagers of Pyun Su on the banks of Moe
South-East Asia
Religion / Belief / Faith
Rural
The Lau of Malaita
1982
52
‘
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
*Pierre Miranda and a team from Granada Television have made a fine film exploring the trouble realities of the people of the lagoon in the 1980s.* (B. Shore) This film focuses on the people of
Melanesia
Social Change
Social Conflict
Ritual
Death
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
Message from a Saint
2003
27
‘
Directed by
Andrew Tucker
.
During the celebration of the Feast of San Juan Bautista in the village of Chuao, on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, an image of Jesus appeared on a drinks tray. The community is trying to find out
South America
Religion / Belief / Faith
Milking the Desert
2004
25
‘
Directed by
Yasmin Fedda
.
This film follows the lives and choices of two monks living at Mar Musa, the Abyssinian Monastery in the desert of Syria. Through their daily lives, the issue of dialogue with Islam emerges.
Middle and Near East
Inter-religious relations
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
Nkabom: A little medicine A little prayer
2021
79
‘
Werbner Award
Directed by
Erminia Colucci
.
A mother is caring for her son at a healing shrine on the edge of a village in the central belt of Ghana. In another village, a father has taken his son to several Christian and traditional healers
West Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Orphans of Passage: The Uduk
1993
52
‘
Directed by
Bruce MacDonald
.
In 1987 Sudanese government forces attacked the Uduk of Southern Sudan, and 20-25000 Uduk fled. Since then they have criss-crossed the Sudanese/Ethiopian border 5 times. In the spring of 1992, 13000
North and Northeast Africa
Refugees / Displaced populations
War / Conflict / Reconciliation
Religion / Belief / Faith
Squatter Settlements / Homelessness
The Possibility of Spirits
2016
72
‘
Directed by
Mattijs van de Port
.
What is it that you film when you film a spirit? I was brought up to believe that spirits do not exist. Years of research on an afro-Brazilian spirit possession cult taught me the limits of such
South America
Essay film
Religion / Belief / Faith
Reflexivity
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
The Quechua
1974
52
‘
Directed by
Carlos Pasini
David Ash
.
This film is set in a community of peasant agriculturalists 2 1/4 miles above sea level in the southern Peruvian Andes. Concentrating on a single family, the film explores aspects of religious and
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Religion / Belief / Faith
Social Change
The Ragged Ones
2002
30
‘
Directed by
David Griggs
.
The Basotho live in Lesotho, a kingdom of high mountains surrounded by South Africa. Afflicted by famine, poverty and AIDS, they carry on making a science out of their witchcraft beliefs.
Southern Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Socioeconomic conditions
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
The Red Bowmen
1981
50
‘
Directed by
Chris Owen
.
In a remote part of the West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea, the Umeda people eke out a difficult living from the sago swamps and primary rain forest that surround them. Until recently, these
Melanesia
Ritual
Religion / Belief / Faith
History of Anthropology
Rock ‘n’ Pray
2001
24
‘
Directed by
Fotini Stefani
.
The monks from the monastery of Saints Augustine and Serapheim Sarow on mainland Greece have found modern ways to appeal to young people. The film explores how their traditional life co-exists with
South-East Europe
Religion / Belief / Faith
Intergenerational relations
A Saint from New York
1995
30
‘
Directed by
Line Hatland
.
Dorothy Day, ex-communist, anarchist, single mother and co-founder of the widespread ‘Catholic Worker’ movement — died in New York in 1980. Soon after the Claretian Fathers started a campaign
North America
Alternative culture
Religion / Belief / Faith
Shade Seekers and The Mixer
2006
60
‘
Directed by
Richard Werbner
.
Set in Moremi village within Botswana’s awesome Tswapong hills, the film makes village elders self-consciously reflexive. The elders, including a controversial healer, view and discuss an earlier
Southern Africa
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Informant-researcher relationship
A Small Light
2004
32
‘
Directed by
Julia Yezbick
.
Through following the daily life of a home for the elderly in Kathmandhu, Nepal, run by Catholic nuns but situated beside the cremation ghats of Pashupathinath Hindu temple, this film explores
South Asia
Death
Inter-religious relations
Religion / Belief / Faith
Elderly people
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
The Storyteller
1990
50
‘
Student
Directed by
John Paul Davidson
.
Unaware of the written word until the 1950s, the Waura tribe who live in the headwaters of the Xingu river in Brazil still practise the art of storytelling. Tribal storyteller Aruta recounts one of
South America
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Religion / Belief / Faith
Tara’s footprint
2018
70
‘
Intangible Culture
Directed by
Georgina Barreiro
.
Tara’s Footprint skilfully conjures the atmosphere of Khechuperi, a village in the Himalayas in north eastern India. Eschewing standard exposition the film follows four young siblings as they go
South Asia
Children / Young people
Dance / Theatre / Performance
Everyday Life
Music / Ethnomusicology
Religion / Belief / Faith
Rural
Thanks Be to God
2008
31
‘
Directed by
Patrícia Pedrosa
.
Four Christian women work and live in a Muslim and patriarchic world. The ‘Sisters of the Consolata Missionaries’ are building a new library in Empada, a small village in the south of
West Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
There is Nothing Wrong with my Uncle
2012
78
‘
Directed by
Sylvie Bringas
Dul Johnson
.
Nigerian writer Dul Johnson returns to Tarok land to observe the local death rituals and the record of the Tarok ways of dealing with grief and honoring departed. This film provides a rare and
West Africa
Death
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
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
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
Umbanda
1977
52
‘
Directed by
Stephen Cross
.
Umbanda is a syncretic religious movement, combining elements from orthodox Catholicism with submerged African and indigenous Indian spiritual beliefs. In spite of past attempts to suppress it,
South America
Possession
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Ritual
Uncle Poison
1998
60
‘
Directed by
Ricardo Leizaola
.
Filmed in the city of Caracas, capital of Venezuela, Uncle Poison is an intimate portrait of a traditional faith healer, set against the backdrop of his community’s Easter celebrations. Every day,
South America
Health / Health care / Healing
Religion / Belief / Faith
Archaeobotany / Ethnobotany
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
War of the Gods
1971
52
‘
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
While relying on a polemical stance directed against the cultural genocide wrought by missionaries, ‘War of the Gods’ also contains a wealth of information and detail about Amazonian Indian
South America
Religion / Belief / Faith
Collective / Community identity
Agriculture / Farming
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
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
Witchcraft Among the Azande
1982
52
‘
Directed by
André Singer
.
*Witchcraft among the Azande’ is suitable for showing in undergraduate and graduate classes on topics of religion, philosophy, and African ethnography. It could also be stimulating to discussions of
North and Northeast Africa
Religion / Belief / Faith
Health / Health care / Healing
Social Change
Wives
2017
85
‘
RAI Basil Wright
Directed by
Lisbet Holtedahl
.
Alhajji Ibrahim is an Islamic scholar who has served as judge at the Sultanate of Ngaoundéré in Northern Cameroon for 46 years. The film follows Alhajji during the last years of his life, focusing
West Africa
Family / Kinship
Everyday Life
Gender Role and Identity
Marriage
Personal Narrative
Religion / Belief / Faith
Social Norms
Women of a Divided Land
1997
22
‘
Directed by
Joanna Hill
.
This film follows the activities of Israeli and Palestinian women peace activists in Jerusalem and the West Bank, portraying both the collective and individual experiences of resistance.
Middle and Near East
Resistance
Political Activists
Religion / Belief / Faith
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
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