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About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
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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
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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
32 Films
Keywords
“Social Change”
x
Country of production
“United Kingdom”
x
films with a digital version
23
short films
6
films available on demand
1
Region
Central America
1
Central Asia and Far East
7
East Africa
3
Melanesia
1
Middle and Near East
2
North America
2
North and Northeast Africa
3
South America
4
South Asia
1
South-East Asia
2
South-East Europe
3
West Africa
1
Western Europe
1
Western Mediterranean
1
Country
Albania
1
Algeria
1
China
5
Colombia
1
Cyprus
1
Ethiopia
2
France
1
Greece
1
Indonesia
1
Iran
1
Italy
1
Japan
1
Kenya
3
Mexico
1
Mongolia
1
Nepal
1
Palestine
1
Peru
1
Russian Federation
1
Senegal
1
Solomon Islands
1
Sudan
1
United States
1
Venezuela
1
not set
1
Keywords
Agriculture / Farming
1
Animals
1
Children / Young people
1
Collective / Community identity
3
Death
2
Everyday Life
1
Family / Kinship
4
Festivals / Carnival
1
Food
1
Gender Role and Identity
5
Health / Health care / Healing
2
Herding
6
History
1
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
1
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
2
Informant-researcher relationship
1
Labour
2
Land Rights
4
Life Story / Life History
1
Linguistics / Language
1
Marriage
3
Memory
1
Music / Ethnomusicology
1
Nomads and Nomadism
6
Post-communism
1
Public Figure
1
Race / Racism / Antiracism
1
Refugees / Displaced populations
2
Religion / Belief / Faith
3
Ritual
3
Rural
4
Shamans and Shamanism
1
Social Change
32
x
Social Conflict
2
Social Organisation
3
Socioeconomic conditions
2
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
2
Directors
Ash, David
1
Curling, Chris
2
Drion, Georges
1
Grasseni, Cristina
1
Henley, Paul
2
Hughes, Richard
1
Hunt, Clare
1
Johnston, Graham
1
Lasko, Claire
2
Loizos, Peter
1
Longinotto, Kim
2
Loïzos, Peter
1
MacDougall, David
1
MacDougall, Judith
1
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba
1
Moser, Brian
2
Musleh, Hanna
1
Nairn, Charlie
1
Pasini, Carlos
1
Savage, Rebecca
1
Sheppard, John
2
Singer, André
2
Sowa, Remigiusz (aka Remi)
1
Vinken, Polly
1
Wason, David
2
Winter, Pattie
1
Woodhead, Leslie
7
Series
Disappearing World Series
18
Granada Center for Visual Anthropology Student Film
5
Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology Staff Film
1
In Search of Cool Ground: The Mursi Trilogy
1
National Film and Television School
1
Turkana Conversations
1
not set
6
Country of production
Australia
1
Senegal
1
United Kingdom
32
x
Year of production
1971
1
1972
1
1974
4
1975
2
1977
2
1982
2
1983
3
1985
3
1987
3
1989
1
1991
2
1992
1
1998
1
2000
2
2001
1
2006
1
2010
1
2015
1
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
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 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
Guiyang Beautiful Flavour Barbecue
2000
30
‘
Directed by
Richard Hughes
.
In the teeming cities of the most populated country on earth, 20 years of economic reform have brought new opportunity, new energy, and new dangers. This film follows one family’s efforts to navigate
South-East Asia
Food
Social Change
Labour
The Herders of Mongun-Taiga
1989
52
‘
Directed by
John Sheppard
.
The Tuvinians live deep inside the Soviet Union, at the very centre of Asia. Tuva is geographically closer to Peking than to Moscow. It only entered the USSR in 1944 and was closed to foreigners
Central Asia and Far East
Herding
Nomads and Nomadism
Shamans and Shamanism
Gender Role and Identity
Social Change
In Search of Cool Ground: The Mursi Trilogy
1987
52
‘
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
.
This is a trilogy about aspects of the culture of two groups of people, the Kwegu and the Mursi, in Ethiopia. The titles are: THE MURSI , THE KWEGU, THE MIGRANTS *What made this trilogy special
North America
Social Change
Socioeconomic conditions
Health / Health care / Healing
Kanraxël: the Confluence of Agnack
2015
52
‘
Student
Directed by
Remigiusz (aka Remi) Sowa
.
**DVD copies are available for secondary teaching and home use at the following prices: £35 (plus VAT) schools and colleges; £20 (plus VAT) individual / home use licence** Agnack is a
West Africa
Linguistics / Language
Social Change
The Kazakhs of China
1983
52
‘
Directed by
André Singer
.
The Kazakhs of Xinjiang (Sinkiang) are one of the fifty-five national minorities that now live within the borders of the People’s Republic of China. The policy of the Chinese Communist Party toward
Central Asia and Far East
Social Change
Nomads and Nomadism
Collective / Community identity
The Last of the Cuiva
1971
52
‘
Directed by
Brian Moser
.
The film focuses on recent changes in the culture and society of the Cuiva, hunters and gatherers in a remote forest region of south-eastern Colombia, brought about through contact with Colombian
South America
Social Change
Race / Racism / Antiracism
Land Rights
Hunting / Gathering / Fishing
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
The Legacy of Antonio Lorenzano
2000
46
‘
Directed by
Paul Henley
.
Antonio Lorenzano was an acclaimed musician, shamanic healer and craftsman, and the leader of the Warao community of Morichito on the Winikina River, in the lower Orinoco Delta, Venezuela. The film
South America
Death
Public Figure
Informant-researcher relationship
Social Change
Memory
Life Chances: Four Families in a Greek Cypriot Village
1974
43
‘
Directed by
Peter Loizos
.
A careful account of social change in a prosperous Greek Cypriot village, which follows four closely related families before the Turkish made them all refugees. Their lives reflect the possibilities
South-East Europe
Social Change
Life Story / Life History
Rural
Family / Kinship
Living with the Revolution
1983
52
‘
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
Claire Lasko
.
*These three films (‘Inside China: Living with the Revolution’; ‘The Newest Revolution’; ‘The Kazakhs of China’) present a valuable record of aspects of most recent developments in China.* (A.
Central Asia and Far East
Social Change
History
Family / Kinship
Lorang’s Way
1977
69
‘
Directed by
David MacDougall
Judith MacDougall
.
The Turkana are a group of semi-nomadic pastoralists who inhabit a harsh environment of dry thorn country in northwestern Kenya. Lorang’s Way focuses upon a Turkana elder. Having spent time away
East Africa
Herding
Social Change
Nomads and Nomadism
Masai Manhood
1975
52
‘
Directed by
Chris Curling
.
This film was made after ‘Masai Women’ and in the same area. Together the two films provide a vivid view of Masai men and women and their place in Masai society. The Masai are pastoral nomads in
East Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Social Change
Ritual
Social Organisation
Nomads and Nomadism
Herding
Masai Women
1974
52
‘
Directed by
Chris Curling
.
The Masai are cattle herders living in the East African rift valley: they grow no crops and are proud of being a non-agricultural people. Cattle are the all-important source of wealth and social
East Africa
Gender Role and Identity
Social Change
Ritual
Social Organisation
Nomads and Nomadism
Herding
The Migrants
1985
52
‘
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
David Wason
.
The Migrants is the third film in the trilogy ‘In Search of Cool Ground’ for Granada Television’s Disappearing World series. It is about a drought-induced migration of Mursi from their traditional
North and Northeast Africa
Social Change
Collective / Community identity
Refugees / Displaced populations
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
The Newest Revolution
1983
52
‘
Directed by
Leslie Woodhead
Claire Lasko
.
This film is a continuation of ‘Living with the Revolution’, set in the same communes near Wuxi and focusing on the same families. This film concentrates, however, on the new social and economic
Central Asia and Far East
Family / Kinship
Social Change
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
Reclaiming the Forest
1987
39
‘
Directed by
Paul Henley
Georges Drion
.
National governments, itinerant gold-miners, and indigenous inhabitants compete for control of an area of the South American rainforest. The film shows the potential conflict between the interests
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Social Change
Social Conflict
Runaway
2001
87
‘
Directed by
Kim Longinotto
Ziba Mir-Hosseini
.
This film is set in a refuge for girls in Tehran and follows the stories of five girls who come here. These girls, in leaving a situation that has become intolerable, show incredible courage and
Middle and Near East
Children / Young people
Social Change
Gender Role and Identity
Sahar’s Wedding
1991
46
‘
Directed by
Hanna Musleh
.
The chronicle of a wedding in a village in Palestine under Israeli occupation at the time of the first Intifada, this film looks at the lives of the bride and groom, and their families. Attitudes
Middle and Near East
Marriage
Social Change
The Sakuddei
1974
52
‘
Directed by
John Sheppard
.
The Sakuddei are a small and ethnically separate community living on the island of Siberut off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Their distinctive way of life and elaborate religious
South-East Asia
Collective / Community identity
Social Change
Land Rights
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
Sophia and Her People
1985
35
‘
Directed by
Peter Loïzos
.
Sofia and her family lost their village home in 1975 when Turkey invaded Cyprus. The film, mainly set in Nicosia in 1983, shows the pressures of refugee economic recovery through shift work in a
South-East Europe
Refugees / Displaced populations
Social Change
Family / Kinship
Those Who Don’t Work Don’t Make Love
1998
30
‘
Directed by
Cristina Grasseni
.
An observational documentary about dairy farmers in the Italian Alps. Caught between pride for tradition and the pressure for modernisation, the story of one family is told through the eyes of
Western Mediterranean
Agriculture / Farming
Social Change
Tiempo de Vals
2006
22
‘
Directed by
Rebecca Savage
.
The ‘Quinceañera’ celebration is a lived illusion. A daydream shared by the whole community of Tetlanohcan, a rapidly urbanising agricultural town in Tlaxcala, Central Mexico. The dream is
Central America
Festivals / Carnival
Social Change
The Tuareg
1972
52
‘
Directed by
Charlie Nairn
.
This film is about a group of nomadic Tuareg living high up in the Hoggar Mountains near Tamanrasset in Algeria. The main focus of the film is the collapse of the former economic basis of their
North and Northeast Africa
Social Organisation
Social Change
Socioeconomic conditions
Nomads and Nomadism
Tuktu
1985
47
‘
Directed by
Graham Johnston
.
Tuktu is the Kuvanmiit Eskimo word for caribou. The film traces the early evolution of Ambler, founded almost 30 years ago on the Kobuk River in Alaska. Change and development mark life now in this
North America
Animals
Social Change
Views from Heavenly Lake
2010
26
‘
Directed by
Polly Vinken
.
Since the beginning of the Mao era in 1949, populations that were once nomadic, isolated by miles of desert and mountains across the Tian Shan ranges, are now becoming highly sought after objects of
Central Asia and Far East
Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage
Social Change
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