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All God's Children

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 10:39:29 GMT

Well over half a million children in Indonesia are on the autism spectrum and have varying difficulty with social interaction and communication, as well as uneven access to resources, education and services. “All God’s Children” tells the story of Idris, a nonverbal autistic teenager living in rural Central Java. Idris’s mother, Isti, struggles to understand Idris and meet their basic needs, especially since the two moved away from Idris’s neurotypical twin brother and biological father over thirteen years ago. Shot over the course of five years, the film follows Idris and Isti to traditional healers, biomedical treatment centers, specialized schools, activist organizations, and community gatherings as they seek the acceptance and support they long for. As the family ultimately finds new avenues to healing and hope, the film also tells a story of how grassroots disability awareness movements, local cultural models of inclusion, and religious principles can unite to better support all members of a community.

This film is sold as a part of a set which also includes Wawan's Prayer.

“All God's Children promotes an awareness of grassroots disability in Indonesia. The film itself has a lot of heart. It’s very empathetic and kind to its interlocutors. We also want to recognize the film for its exceptional technical achievements. Its editing, it’s really truly exceptionally edited. And the long term ethnographic research that went into making it, which is evident in the final outcome. The film is a wonderful example of ethnographic storytelling.” – RAI Film Festival, Werbner Award committee

Selected Screenings & Awards

Commendation – Werbner Award, Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) Film Festival, USA, 2023

Best Ethnographic Film, New York International Film Awards, New York, 2021

Finalist - Best Documentary Film, 4th Dimension Independent Film Festival, Bali, Indonesia, 2021

Golden Door International Film Festival, New Jersey, 2022
Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival, Vancouver, BC, 2019

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'Are'are Music and Shaping Bamboo

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:18:00 GMT

'Are'are Music and Shaping Bamboo
Buy Now: $340.00

'Are'are Music (color, 141 min, 1979)

A fascinating documentation of the traditional musical culture of the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands, in the South-Western Pacific. The three LP records published after a first one-year field-research in 1969-70 were a "phenomenal surprise" (Garfias) as they revealed a completely unknown music (outside of the Solomon Islands) of an exceptional beauty and complexity in its instrumental and vocal polyphonies. It seemed to the researcher an absolute necessity to document visually what had been published on sound recordings, showing in detail all the playing techniques, body movements of performers, and spatial coordination of music ensembles and dancers. The documentary consists of a comprehensive inventory of all the twenty musical genres of the 'Are'are people and is structured according to native classification, along with explanations by master musician 'Irisipau.

Shaping Bamboo (color, 33 min, 1979)

For the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands, the most valued music is that of the four types of panpipe ensembles. With the exception of slit drums, all musical instruments are made of bamboo; therefore the general word for instruments and the music performed with them is "bamboo" ('au). This film shows the making of panpipes, from the cutting the bamboo in the forest to the making of the final bindings. The most important part of the work consists in shaping each tube to its necessary length. Most 'Are'are panpipe makers measure the length of old instruments before they shape new tubes. Master musician 'Irisipau, surprisingly, takes the measure using his body, and adjusts the final tuning by ear. For the first time we can see here how the instruments and their artificial equiheptatonic scale—seven equidistant degrees in an octave—are practically tuned.

Both films have been previously issued as the Society for Ethnomusicology Audiovisual Series no. 1.

“The film is a splendid introduction when seen once through, but it is far more profitable to see it again and again with the aid of the printed analytic materials, of course... In sum, Musique 'Are'are is both a tour de force and a marathon.”
— Peter Crowe, Ethnomusicology, 31(2), 1987

“It is difficult to resist superlatives when considering the entire volume of Hugo Zemp's 'Are'are work over the years....('Are'are Music and Shaping Bamboo) are a model of thoroughness, imagination, and cohesiveness, and will remain valuable even beyond their considerable eminence as ethnographic documentation of this particular culture.”
— Robert Garfias, Ethnomusicology, 40(1), 1996

“[Zemp's work on the 'Are'are, including the films] is the single most detailed documentation to date of any Melanesian music world... I can think of very few projects that deserve such praise.”
— Steven Feld, Oceania, June 1997

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Klaus Wachsman Prize, Society for Ethnomusicology, 1985 for Shaping Bamboo

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Alaska Native Heritage Film Series

Wed, 5 Sep 2018 11:07:00 GMT

Alaska Native Heritage Film Series
Buy Now: $2,070.00

Filmmakers Sarah Elder and Len Kamerling produced these films jointly with village councils. Since 1974, the Alaska Native Heritage Film Project has pioneered a community-based approach to producing cultural films in which the film's subjects play a central role in determining the production's themes and direction. The goal of this approach is to produce documentary films that are closer to the perspectives and priorities of the indigenous and minority people they represent. This technique was developed to ensure authentic Alaskan native material and point of view. Each of the communities represented helped to decide the direction and content of the films.

Films in the Alaska Native Heritage Film series:

At the Time of Whaling

The Drums of Winter (Uksuum Cauyai)

From the First People

Note on Term "Eskimo":

The films in this series make use of the name "Eskimo." While once broadly applied, it is a perjorative term and considered offensive. While the inception of the word is a matter of debate, it is no longer used or applied in our film catalog. The context in which the term appears in this series is an acknowledged relic of a colonial past, presented in its original version. DER apologizes for any offense caused.

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Afflictions Series

Wed, 5 Sep 2018 11:07:00 GMT

Afflictions Series
Buy Now: $1,395.00

Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia is a six-part series of ethnographic films on severe mental illness in Indonesia, based on material drawn from 12 years of person-centered research by writer/anthropologist Robert Lemelson. The series, which follows six individuals of different ages and backgrounds, explores the relationship between culture, mental illness, and first-person experience.

The films may be purchased individually, as a complete series, or in two sets organized by theme:

Volume 1: Psychotic Disorders

Shadows & Illuminations (35 min, 2010) explores how non-normative mental events and behavior can be understood or interpreted in multiple ways outside the confines of Western psychiatric diagnostics.

Memory of My Face (22 min, 2011) illustrates how the residues of colonialism and the pervasive influence of globalization affect the subjective experience of mental illness.

Ritual Burdens (25 min, 2011) questions how communal spiritual obligations may be folded into personal schemas of stress to trigger episodes of mental illness.

Volume 2: Neuropsychiatric Disorders

The Bird Dancer (40 min, 2010) focuses on the social stigma of neuropsychiatric disorder and the human suffering it entails.

Family Victim (38 min, 2010) examines bi-directional influences between an individual considered to have a disruptive or troublesome personality.

Kites and Monsters (22 min, 2011) follows a young Balinese from boyhood to manhood, discovering the influential and protective aspects of culture that may guide developmental neuropsychiatric processes.

Films in the Afflictions series
The Bird Dancer
Family Victim
Kites and Monsters
Memory of My Face
Ritual Burdens

Shadows & Illuminations

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An Autobiography of Michelle Maren

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 13:31:00 GMT

An Autobiography of Michelle Maren
Buy Now: $320.00

When the filmmaker Michel Negroponte (Jupiter's Wife) received an e-mail from a woman who thought she might be a promising subject for a documentary, a process of collaboration began that would result in one of the most revealing self-portraits of living with mental illness ever made.

“Michelle Maren, this movie's titular subject and eventual co-director of the movie, has lived enough lives to fill several movies: she's been a professional actress, go-go dancer, nightclub performer and porn star. But she also suffers from borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, clinical depression, childhood trauma and a daily struggle just to get by. By handing her the camera, Negroponte effectively empowers Maren to tell her own story - or stories - and what emerges is as compelling and unfiltered an immersion into a complicated mind as any you have ever seen.”

— Geoff Pevere, Program Director, Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival

“A fascinating, sometimes harrowing journey into an unusual woman's psyche. Once again, Negroponte tests the limits of where documentary can go, what it can reveal about the inner lives of others - and by extension, of ourselves.”

— Filmmaker Ross McElwee, Sherman's March

“Exposure therapy and cinema collide in one of the most intense documentaries you'll ever see.”
— Filmmaker Nina Davenport, Parallel Lines

“An intense, challenging and supremely artful documentary that will haunt you long after the final frame.”

— Filmmaker Doug Block, 51 Birch Street

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival, 2017

Rendezvous with Madness, Toronto, Canada, 2015

DOCNYC, NYC, 2015

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Andean Women

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 13:31:00 GMT

Andean Women
Buy Now: $495.00

Aymara women voice a common paradox. In the film they express agreement with the dominant Hispanic ideal that women should be subservient to men and assigned to tasks appropriate to their limited strength and intelligence. Yet Aymara culture recognizes their equal contributions to survival.

Films in the Bolivia series

Andean Women
The Children Know
Magic and Catholicism
Potato Planters
The Spirit Possession of Alejandro Mamani
Viracocha

About the Faces of Change Collection

Faces of Change is comprised of 25 films that examine five cultures selected for their distinct geographic locations: starting with the China Coast at sea level and moving up to Taiwan, then to Afghanistan, Kenya and finally to the mountains of Bolivia. Each location is examined through five themes: Rural Society, Education, Rural Economy, Women, and Beliefs.

This innovative collection of 16mm films and videos was funded by the National Science Foundation, produced by Norman Miller and directed by some of the finest ethnographic filmmakers of its time.

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A Different Story

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 13:31:00 GMT

A Different Story
Buy Now: $295.00

Was Brazil discovered or was it invaded? Indians describe the invasion and occupation of their land by the Portuguese. An alternative history primer for the state of Acre presents an Indigenous history divide it into four periods: the time of the hut, when Indians lived in health and peace; the time of running, when their land was invaded; the time of captivity, when they were used for forced labor on rubber plantations; and the time of reclaiming rights, in which they have regained some of their land and rights to education and healthcare. A Different Story re-assesses traditional ideas about colonial conquest and emphasizes the importance of history as a tool for taking control over cultural identity.

Films in the Indians in Brazil series:
A Different Story
The First Contacts
From the Other Side of the Sky
Our Languages
Our Rights
Our Territory
Who Are They?

Disclaimer on Naming:
Please be aware that this documentary may include outdated or potentially offensive language. Such terms are not endorsed by DER but are presented in their original context to promote awareness, education, and discussion. Learn more about DER’s efforts to use reparative language and honor the preferred names of Indigenous communities by clicking here.

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Apu Condor

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 13:31:00 GMT

Apu Condor
Buy Now: $295.00

A unique and highly visual documentary that provides a detailed observation of the sacred Peruvian "Yawar Fiesta of the Apu Condor". The Fiesta takes place high in the Peruvian Andes in the tiny village of Cotabambas, an impoverished farming community where all the contradictions that characterize Peru's splintered culture and economy are thrown into relief. Five hundred years after the arrival of Columbus and the Spanish Conquistadores, the indigenous Andinos, descendants of the Incas still live under the feudal control of their Mestizo Landowners, the mixed blood descendants of the Spanish.

The themes of social stratification, ritual reversal and political relationships are an integral aspect of this film which culminates in a dramatic adaptation of the classic Spanish bullfight.

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Latin American Studies Association Film selection, 1994

NAFA 15th International Film Conference, Sweden, 1994

Gottingen International Ethnographic Film Festival, (IWF), Germany, 1994

Society for Visual Anthropology Film Festival, 1994

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Argentinian Lesson

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 13:31:00 GMT

Argentinian Lesson
Buy Now: $320.00

With lush and intimate photography, Wojciech Staroń documents his family's move from Poland to Argentina. Struggling to adapt in a foreign country, his 8-year-old son Janek finds a friend in Marcia, a grounded 11-year-old Argentinean of Polish descent. With a strength and determination well beyond her years, Marcia must help make ends meet while holding her family together.

In this uniquely cross-cultural and universal coming-of-age story, Janek and Marcia go on adventures throughout the Argentinian countryside together finding work and exploring the beauty of nature around them. Janek's eagerness and Marcia's tenacity make them two unforgettable characters in an unconventional love story that sees the innocence of childhood surrounded by the harsh realities of adulthood.

“Enthralling... as rewardingly rich, complex and heartbreaking as any fiction.”
— Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

“Staron's gift for finding magical moments is simply breathtaking, giving the viewer an occasional dose of delicately observed humanity one expects from the great cinematic capturers of ethereal beauty and human foible (Burnette, Malick, Almendros etc.)”
— Brandon Harris, The Filmmaker Magazine

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Spotlight Award, Cinema Eye, 2013

Best Creative Documentary, MakeDox, Macedonia, 2012

Best Documentary Film Award, Chicago Polish Film Festival, USA, 2012

Grand Prize, Let's CEE Documentary Film Festival, Austria, 2012

Best International Medium-Length Film, RIDM, Canada 2012

Golden Horn for the Director of the Best Film, Krakow Film Festival, Poland, 2011

Award of the Polish Association of Cinematographers(PSC), Krakow Film Festival, Poland, 2011

Documentary Fortnight, MoMA, USA, 2012

The Best Director Prize, Festival dei Popoli in Florence, Italy, 2011

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Armand Rouiller, Sledge-maker

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 13:31:00 GMT

Armand Rouiller, Sledge-maker
Buy Now: $295.00

Armand Rouiller, 80, is a mountain peasant, woodcutter, and craftsman. He handcrafts large sledges, rakes and handles for scythes, a craft he learned from his father, who learned it from his own father, and so on. Rouiller gathers timber for his sledges and rakes from the ash, maple, and linden trees in a forest he inherited from his father. He is the last craftsman in French-speaking Switzerland to build sledges and rakes in the old-time way.

"With the curiosity and enthusiasm of an entomologist, Jacqueline Veuve observed the extraordinary way he transforms pieces of wood into rakes and sledges."
— René Dasen, 24 heures

"A most complete work, a precise ethnological approach and perfectly directed."
— Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Films in the Wood Crafts series

Armand Rouiller, Sledge-maker
Arnold Golay, Toy-maker

The Bapst Brothers, Carriers

Claude Lebet, Luthier

François Pernet, Carpenter and Sculptor
Joseph Doutaz & Olivier Veuve, Shingle-makers

A Little Corner of Paradise

Marcellin Babey, Turner
Michel Marlétaz, Cooper

Pink Mountain Sand

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Quality award, (Swiss Federal Office of Culture)

Golden Devil and Special Prize, Swiss Radio and TV Society (SSR)

International Alpine Film Festival, Les Diablerets, Switzerland, 1987

First prize, Stella di Gibellina, Italy, 1988

Leroi-Gourhan Award, 7th Account of Ethnographical Films, Musée de l'Homme, Paris 1988

Official Selection, Aurillac Festival, France

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