Films - RAI FILM

RAI FILM

Film list

[masks-of-mer--Film-image]

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

[the-guga-hunters-of-ness--Film-image]

The Guga Hunters of Ness 2010 59‘

Directed by Mike Day .

This film follows a vanishing community’s beloved and unique tradition. The Gaelic speakers of Lewis and Scotland are the only people in the EU exempt from a ban on hunting gannets, but they are

Western Europe Hunting / Gathering / Fishing Animals Ritual

[the-guardian-of-the-forces--Film-image]

The Guardian of the Forces 1991 52‘

Directed by Anne Laure Folly .

‘The Guardian of the Forces’ introduces the viewer to the world of Sikavi, a ‘fetish priest’ in Lome, Togo. He controls the spirits of several voodoos or gods. The film explores the significance

West Africa Health / Health care / Healing Possession Ritual

[kalanda-the-knowledge-of-the-bush--Film-image]

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

[cham-in-the-lepcha-village-of-lingthem--Film-image]

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

[in-search-of-the-hamatsa-a-tale-of-headhunting--Film-image]

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

[sons-of-the-moon--Film-image]

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

[fatmawatis-wedding-the-weddings-of-two-sisters-the-preparations--Film-image]

Fatmawati’s Wedding: the Weddings of two Sisters, the Preparations 1998 50‘

Directed by Fiona Kerlogue .

This film records the preparations for the wedding of two sisters in eastern Sumatra in December 1996. There is an emphasis on the importance of the role of women in the village. Ritual exchanges

South-East Asia Gender Role and Identity Marriage Ritual Material Culture

[imbalu-ritual-of-manhood-of-the-gisu-of-uganda--Film-image]

Imbalu: Ritual of Manhood of the Gisu of Uganda 1988 69‘

Directed by Richard Hawkins .

An insightful documentary, constructed with visual restraint, about the male circumcision ritual among the Gisu of Uganda. The narrative follows one male participant through the ritual and contrasts

East Africa Ritual Gender Role and Identity

[the-red-bowmen--Film-image]

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

[gelede-a-yoruba-masquerade--Film-image]

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

[matai-samoa--Film-image]

Matai Samoa 1989 65‘

Directed by George Milner .

The film is a valuable treatment of archival footage that George Milner shot while conducting fieldwork in 1955 and 1959. The footage (18 minutes of the total film) focuses on the traditional Samoan

New Zealand and Polynesia History of Anthropology Film / Photography / Mass media Social Organisation Archival material / Museum displays Ritual

[kwagh-hir--Film-image]

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

[cuyagua-the-saint-with-two-faces--Film-image]

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

[benin-kingship-rituals--Film-image]

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

[good-bye-old-man--Film-image]

Good-bye Old Man 1977 70‘

Directed by David MacDougall .

A last request of a Tiwi man on Melville Island was that a film be made of the pukumani (bereavment) ceremony to follow his death. The film follows his family, from the days of preparation to their

Australia Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Death Elderly people Film / Photography / Mass media Ritual

[garden-days-village-in-papua-new-guinea--Film-image]

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

[the-house-opening--Film-image]

The House-Opening 1980 45‘

Directed by Judith MacDougall .

When Geraldine Kawanka’s husband died, she and her children left their house at Aurukun on Cape York Peninsula. In earlier times a bark house would have been burnt, but today a ‘house-opening’

Australia Ritual Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples Death

[cultivating-death--Film-image]

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

[cuyagua-devil-dancers--Film-image]

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

[dor-low-is-better--Film-image]

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

[drugs-prayers--Film-image]

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

[duminea-a-festival-for-the-water-spirits--Film-image]

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

[komian--Film-image]

Komian 2015 72‘

Directed by Jordi Esteva .

Four years after the filming of “Return to the Land of Souls”, about the rituals of trance and possession, the narrator travels to Ivory Coast in search of a priestess possessed by the Spirit of

West Africa Possession Ritual Music / Ethnomusicology

[uzu--Film-image]

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

[ritual-journeys--Film-image]

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

[the-ainu-bear-ceremony--Film-image]

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

[the-day-i-will-never-forget--Film-image]

The Day I Will Never Forget 2002 92‘

Directed by Kim Longinotto .

The documentary explores the local dimensions of the female circumcision debate in Kenyan societies. In a region of Kenya that is home to Muslims, Massai and Somali and crosscut by Christian

East Africa Gender Role and Identity Ritual Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy Political Activists

[were-ni-he-is-a-madman--Film-image]

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

[tayuban-dancing-the-spirit-in-java--Film-image]

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

[bridewealth-for-a-goddess--Film-image]

Bridewealth for a Goddess 2000 72‘

Directed by Chris Owen .

A unique insight into a secret spirit cult among the Kawelka people in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. After a dream, a clan leader initiates a long and complex ‘work’, when he and a

Melanesia Ritual Marriage Possession

[there-is-nothing-wrong-with-my-uncle--Film-image]

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

[ngat-is-dead-studying-mortuary-traditions--Film-image]

NGAT IS DEAD: STUDYING MORTUARY TRADITIONS 2007 59‘

Directed by Christian Suhr Nielsen Ton Otto .

A film about how anthropological knowledge is developed through active participation in traditional exchange ceremonies on the small island of Baluan in the South Pacific. The film follows the

Melanesia Death Ritual Informant-researcher relationship Social Conflict

[barbara-and-her-friends-in-candombleland--Film-image]

Barbara and Her Friends in Candombleland 1997 52‘

Directed by Sylvie Timbert Carmen Opipari .

In the divine Afro Brazilian cult Candomble is an initiation religion centred around possession. The filmmakers concentrate on children who introduce and guide us to this world. The children play

South America Children / Young people Dance / Theatre / Performance Possession Ritual

[we-dont-need-a-grave--Film-image]

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