Films - RAI FILM

RAI FILM

Film list

[unwritten-letters--Film-image]

Unwritten Letters 2020 59‘

Directed by Max Bloching Abd Alrahman Dukmak .

Abd is a 24-year-old Syrian who took part in the early days of the 2011 revolution and now lives in Padova, Italy. Together with his German friend Max he is working on a film called Unwritten

South-East Europe Middle and Near East Migration Refugees / Displaced populations Participatory / Collaborative methods Life Story / Life History

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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

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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

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The Kirghiz of Afghanistan 1975 51‘

Directed by Charlie Nairn André Singer .

The Kirghiz of Afghanistan are a group of some 2,000 pastoralists living on a bleak mountain plateau in a narrow isthmus of land between the borders of the Soviet Union and China. For nine months of

Middle and Near East Herding Nomads and Nomadism Social Organisation

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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

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Men of Words 2009 22‘

Directed by Johanne Haaber Ihle .

The film explores how ancient traditions of poetry are still used in contemporary Yemen to discuss social and political problems.

Middle and Near East Art / Artists / Artisans Socioeconomic conditions

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Socotra, the Island of Djinns 2016 64‘

RAI Basil Wright Directed by Jordi Esteva .

The film is the story of a journey across the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Yemen. Socotra is isolated during the monsoon season, when it is impossible to land on it. This

Middle and Near East Myths / Fairy tales Nomads and Nomadism Tourism / Travel / Pilgrimage Trade

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Herat Films: The City of Herat 1983 21‘

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 Urban Trade

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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

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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

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Sons of Haji Omar 1978 58‘

Directed by Timothy Asch Asen Balikci David Newman Richard Sorensen .

Haji Omar and his three sons belong to the Lakenkhel, a Pashtun tribal group in northeastern Afghanistan. Concentrating within one family, the film draw sharp, colourful portraits of the protagonists

Middle and Near East Everyday Life Nomads and Nomadism Herding

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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

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Boya Boya (Shine Shine) 2014 18‘

Directed by Karen Boswall Ruba Al Akash .

A portrait of Syrian refugee Mohammed, a 12-year-old shoe shine boy, ‘Boya Boya (Shine Shine)’ looks at the reality of the growing population of urban refugees from a child’s point of view. While

Middle and Near East Children / Young people Refugees / Displaced populations Labour

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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

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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

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Ocak 2020 28‘

Directed by Zeynep Kaserci .

The story of a family who earns their livelihood as hazelnut cultivators in rural north-eastern Turkey. Filmed in an observational style, it offers glimpses into the local social life of the village

Middle and Near East Collective / Community identity Agriculture / Farming Rural

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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

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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

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37 Uses for a Dead Sheep 2006 85‘

Directed by Ben Hopkins .

The Pamir Kirghiz are a tribe of some 2,000 people from the Pamir region of Central Asia. For the last 27 years they have lived in exile in Eastern Turkey. In 2005 an Anglo-Turkish film crew arrives

Middle and Near East Film / Photography / Mass media Animals Migration

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Little Waterfall 2002 52‘

Directed by Joshka Wessels .

Shallalah Saghirah (‘Little Waterfall’) is a small village of about 20 households located in the Khanasser valley, in north Syria. The village has no electricity and still uses an ancient ganat

Middle and Near East Infrastructure / Transport Material Culture Development projects

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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

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Hope, Despair and Laughter: A circus project in Palestine 2007 27‘

Directed by Ester Hertog .

Filmed in Dheisheh refugee camp in the West bank, this film is about a circus summer-camp dedicated to bring laughter and hope for Palestinian children. Children are taught all sorts of activities

Middle and Near East Development projects Dance / Theatre / Performance Children / Young people

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Divorce Iranian Style 1989 80‘

Directed by Kim Longinotto .

This film is set in the Family Law Courts in central Tehran. The three main characters are Jamileh who punishes her husband for beating her, Ziba, a 16 year old girl who is trying to get a divorce

Middle and Near East Marriage Gender Role and Identity Law and Legislation / Bureaucracy Family / Kinship

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Ayouni 2020 75‘

Directed by Yasmin Fedda .

Bassel was a successful open source developer and hacker in Damascus. Paolo was a well-known priest based in Mar Musa monastery. Both men were active in the 2011 Syrian revolution, and witnesses to

Middle and Near East War / Conflict / Reconciliation Memory Political Activists

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Letters from Palestine 2011 35‘

Directed by Ludovica Fales .

What if in your great-grandfather’s letters there is a mystery your family doesn’t want to talk about? In 1920 Angelo Levi Bianchini set out to Palestine on an Italian diplomatic mission and never

Western Mediterranean Middle and Near East War / Conflict / Reconciliation Memory History