Films - RAI FILM

RAI FILM

Film list

[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

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Atieno 2018 64‘

Directed by June Ndinya Effie Awino Ruth Njoki Lavine Atieno Dorcas Akin .

Atieno is a collaborative fiction film scripted, acted and directed by DreamGirls, a group of adolescent girls and young women from Nairobi and Kisumu. The film tells of Atieno, a 16 year old girl

East Africa Health / Healthcare / Healing Children / Young people Gender Role and Identity Ethnofiction Dance / Theatre / Performance Participatory / Collaborative methods Sex / Sexuality

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Nawi 1970 20‘

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

This classic ethnographic documentary, by the renowned filmmaking team of David and Judith MacDougall, explores the nomadic life of the Jie of Uganda. During the dry season the Jie leave their

East Africa Herding Music / Ethnomusicology Nomads and Nomadism

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Messages by Music – Senegal in Transition 2013 76‘

Directed by Cornelia Strasse .

The traditional musicians in Senegal were in charge of retaining the history of their ethnic group, along with ways of thinking and behaving. Their aim was to conserve the society. Nowadays the

East Africa Music / Ethnomusicology Colonialism / Postcolonialism Social Change Political Activists Resistance

[under-the-mens-tree--Film-image]

Under the Men’s Tree 1973 15‘

Directed by David MacDougall Judith MacDougall .

At Jie cattle camps in Uganda men often gather under a special tree to make leather and wooden goods and talk, relax, and sleep. This brilliant ethnographic documentary by renowned filmmakers David

East Africa Infrastructure / Transport Informant-researcher relationship Reflexivity

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The Way We Live Now 2016 32‘

Student Directed by Sophia Hersi Smith .

‘The Way We Live Now’ is an intimate portrait of the daily routines and rituals of the Hadza; modern-day hunter-gatherers living in the acacia-baobab woodlands surrounding Lake Eyasi in North-Central

East Africa Hunting / Gathering / Fishing Everyday Life

[the-rendille--Film-image]

The Rendille 1977 52‘

Directed by Chris Curling .

The Rendille are camel herders who live in villages and camps dotted over 10,000 square miles of desert and scrub bush in Northern Kenya. As the terrain they occupy is so dry, the Rendille grow no

East Africa Herding Animals Social Organisation Everyday Life

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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

[masai-manhood--Film-image]

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

[benjamin-and-his-brother--Film-image]

Benjamin and His Brother 1999 87‘

Directed by Arthur Howes .

Years of war and ethnic conflict in the Sudan have created a generation of young men, known as the "Lost Boys", who have spent more years in refugee camps than in their home communities.

North America East Africa Refugees / Displaced populations War / Conflict / Reconciliation Children / Young people Family / Kinship

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A Wife Among Wives 1981 72‘

Directed by Judith MacDougall David MacDougall .

This segment of the trilogy on the Turkana of northern Kenya (see ‘Lorang’s Way’ and ‘The Wedding Camels’ above) evolves around the role of women in the society. The audience follows the

East Africa Gender Role and Identity Marriage Family / Kinship

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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

[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

[adhiambo-born-in-the-evening--Film-image]

Adhiambo – Born in the Evening 2001 66‘

Directed by Ruth Prince Wenzel Geißler Ruth Tuchtenhagen .

‘Adhiambo’ means ‘the one born in the evening’ in the language of the Luo of western Kenya. The film follows NyaSeme, a married mother and grandmother in her late 30s, during the last month

East Africa Children / Young people Health / Health care / Healing

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Uncanny Strangers 2009 46‘

Directed by David Picard .

Uncanny Strangers has been filmed in a fishing village in the South-West of Madagascar. Through a series of everyday life episodes the film provides insight into the relationships between the

East Africa Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Development projects Environment

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To Live With Herds 1972 90‘

Directed by David MacDougall .

The Jie are semi-nomadic pastoral people living in North-eastern Uganda, who are striving to maintain their way of life in the face of unsympathetic government policy, and, at the time of filming, a dry-season famine.

East Africa Nomads and Nomadism Disasters Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy

[the-wedding-camels--Film-image]

The Wedding Camels 1976 108‘

Directed by Judith MacDougall David MacDougall .

Also about individuals from the Turkana in north-western Kenya (see ‘Lorang’s Way’ and ‘A Wife Among Wives’), this film chronicles a series of events which surround the marriage of Lorang’s

East Africa Family / Kinship Marriage Animals Herding

[law-and-war-in-rural-kenya--Film-image]

Law and War in Rural Kenya 2010 64‘

Directed by Suzette Heald .

In 1998, a new movement swept through Kuria, in south western Kenya with dramatic effect. Cattle raiding fuelled by the increasing presence of guns had led to a situation of total insecurity, with

East Africa War / Conflict / Reconciliation Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy