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RAI FILM Festival takes place on 27-30 March 2025. Learn more.

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The Trobriand Islanders

Directed by Harry Powell

1952 – 58'

Synopsis

During his field work in the region of Omarakana, H.A.Powell filmed various sequences from which the film is assembled. In spite of the technical handicaps under which he was operating — shooting with a single, fixed-focus lens, 16mm camera without tripod — the film is nevertheless useful as a teaching aid. The commentary concentrates on the ethnography of Trobriand life.

RAI FILM Festival 2025

The next RAI FILM Festival will take place in person from 27-30 March 2025 at the Watershed Cinema and the Arnolfini International Centre for Contemporary Arts in Bristol (UK) and online throughout the month of April 2025.