Explore the 2019 programme below, either by browsing the separate sections, or looking at the timetable view.

Student showcases films made by the new generation of ethnographic filmmakers, often as part of doctoral projects
RAI/Basil Wright features the films competing for the top prizes at this year’s festival
Material Culture focuses on films with something to say about the way we engage with our material world
Intangible Culture explores worlds of music, dance, performance, and ritual
Special Interest explores a range of fascinating topics, including programmes with a special director or thematic focus
Shorts is new for 2019, and celebrates the best in short-form ethnographic filmmaking as a cauldron of innovation

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Directed by
Costanza Burstin

Countries of production
India

Year of production
2018

Duration
22 minutes

Thursday
28 March
Cinema 2, Watershed 9:00 AM
Student

Against the bleached sky of Rajasthan, we encounter the vidly attired women of small Muslim village as they engage in their work. Here, water binds their daily labour rituals: they collect and carry water in massive urns, they clean plates and clothes with it, water their animals, and even maintain their homes with it (we see them churn mud to smear across their floors). A record of the ongoing cycles of women’s labour (“we make food, we eat, we sleep, we wake up…”), their sense of humour and resilience, and the ways the community co-operate to deal with scarcity.

Director Costanza Burstin will attend the screening and take part in a Q&A.

Location(s) depicted
Modiya. A small rural village in Rajasthani desert.

Language(s) of film subjects
HindiMarwari