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
The Women Weavers of Assam focuses on the craft, labour and the everyday lives of a group of women weavers in India’s northeastern state of Assam. The weavers belong to a non-profit collective called Tezpur District Mahila Samiti (TDMS), which was founded a century ago by women activists and Gandhian freedom fighters of Assam. The TDMS weavers preserve traditional motifs and methods of Assamese weaving, which have been declining since the introduction of mechanized cloth production in India. Montages of weaving blends with weavers' accounts of their personal experiences, generating an evocative representation of the environment and the rhythms of TDMS, and the cultural significance of hand-weaving as a craft and industry in Assam.
Director Aparna Sharma will take part in a Q&A following this screening.
Sharma will also lead a workshop, with Arine Kirstein Høgel, on Thu 28 March 11:00 in Waterside 3 (Watershed) called "Haptics and Visual Anthropology — Audio-Visual Dialogues and Non-Verbal Forms of Knowledge Construction". This workshop is part of the RAI Film Festival Conference which runs parallel to the film programme.
Location(s) depicted
Tezpur, Assam
Kolibari village, Assam
Dhekiajuli village, Assam
Jorhat, Assam
Bamuni Hills, Assam
Language(s) of film subjects
Assamese
