Documentary Educational Resources - By Title / D / All Films

Death of the One who Knows

Mon, 9 May 2022 15:10:55 GMT

Death of the One who Knows
Buy Now: $320.00

In the Toraja highlands of Sulawesi (Indonesia), Lumbaa is one of the last masters of ritual speech. After his forced conversion to Pentecostalism, he is compelled to stop all his ritual activity and oratory. Concerned by the disappearance of “those who know”, a young Catholic priest named Yans Sulo sets out in search of the society’s ancient oral genres, seeking to invent new forms that would keep them alive. The two men meet. But it is too late. By recounting the life and death of Lumbaa, the film shows how the intrusion of world religion disrupts a Southeast Asian society.

"This documentary concerns the struggle to keep Aluk Todolo and its rituals alive in the face of government efforts at erasure. There is a beauty, order and moral sophistication to Lumbaa. He gently draws our attention to painful tensions between morality, tradition, religion and daily village life. Rappoport locates his story within a narrative concerning Christianity, colonialism, globalisation and disruption... Rappoport's film documents important and threatened customary knowledge in her focus on this ritual leader and his prowess. Ethnomusicology and documentary cinema are powerful tools in understanding the complex way in which ritual change is a corollary to socio-political contestation. Its brilliance is haunting." – Tanisha Jowsey, The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology

Selected Screenings & Awards

Honorable Mention, Best Documentary, International Council for Traditional Music, 2022

Honourable Mention, Werbner Award for Visual Anthropology, RAI Film Festival, 2021

AAS 2022 Film Expo, USA, 2022

Riga Pasaules Film Festival, 2021

Bayonne Film Festival Haizebegi, 2021

Maison de l'Asie (EFEO), 2021

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

dancedance/RE♦VOLUTION

Tue, 9 Oct 2018 15:11:00 GMT

dancedance/RE♦VOLUTION
Buy Now: $125.00

dancedance/RE♦VOLUTION is an introduction to the vibrant diversity of contemporary dance in South Africa. Rooted in both tradition and the idioms of modern movement, this half-hour documentary introduces new audiences to work ranging from site-specific solos to multi-media physical theater.

The struggle for freedom is ongoing in post-apartheid South Africa. Dancemakers are discovering new opportunities and new language to address issues of race and gender, utilizing fresh approaches grounded in history, memory and personal identity.

Featured Choreographers:

Gregory Maqoma — Headlined the American Dance Festival 2015 with his solo Exit/Exist
Jay Pather — Choreographer of Firebird, which was performed at the Hollywood BowlOscar Buthelezi — First African choreographer to win the prestigious Kurt Jooss Prize for Choreography
Lliane Loots — Founder of JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, Artistic Director Flatfoot Dance Company
Mzo Gasa — Founder and director of the Sibonelo Dance Project
Athena Mazarakis — Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award for "elev(i)ate2" at the NationalArts Festival, South Africa

“South Africans are a nation who dance ... and revolutions need beauty.”— Lliane Loots, Choreograper

SCREENINGS & AWARDS

The Big Muddy Film Festival, Southern IL University, 2018

LA Dance Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2018

InShadow - Lisbon ScreenDance Festival, 2017

Videodança São Carlos, Brazil, 2017

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Democrats

Tue, 9 Oct 2018 15:11:00 GMT

Democrats
Buy Now: $340.00

In the wake of long-time leader Robert Mugabe's contentious 2008 presidential win, Zimbabwe took a historic step forward by convening a bipartisan constitutional committee as the country tried to evolve past its years of corrupt, authoritarian leadership. Two men from rival political parties were appointed to the committee: Paul Mangwana and Douglas Mwonzora, opposites in politics and personality, but both passionate and united in their ambition to deliver a historic new foundation for a reformed nation. Should they fail at securing maximum influence for their respective parties on the provisions in the new constitution, dire consequences loom for each. Democrats was filmed over the course of three years with unprecedented access to the two political rivals overseeing the committee, offering a rare, first-hand account of a country's first steps towards democracy.

Following a bitter war of liberation, Robert Mugabe became president of Zimbabwe in 1980. Under his leadership, the country made educational and economic progress until Mugabe evolved into a more dictatorial leader as opponents were put down and civil rights restricted. In 1999, in light of rising demands for reform, a new party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), rose up to challenge Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party. After a decade of strife, in 2009 the two parties formed a coalition government with Mugabe agreeing to share power with the leader of the MDC, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. It was up to the rival parties? two representatives, Mangwana and Mwonzora, to rise to the daunting challenge of creating a constitution to lead their nation to prosperity and freedom. But with Mugabe increasingly stubborn about stepping down and both constitutional leaders facing death threats, will the nation move forward or erupt into chaos?By documenting the contentious process of drafting a new constitution, Democrats offers a fascinating glimpse at the political mechanics of a modern African country struggling toward democratic change.

“Even the slyest political satire couldn't outdo this riveting docu study of Zimbabwe's troubled coalition government.”
— Variety

“Outstanding, urgent, vivid… Finally a film that deserves to be called necessary.”
— New York Times

“As excellent a documentary about politics as you will ever see.”
— Village Voice

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Best Feature Length Film, Society for Visual Anthropology Film Festival, USA, 2016

Best Documentary Feature, Tribeca Film Festival, USA, 2015

Best Director, One World Human Rights Film Festival, Prague, 2015

Reel Talent Award, Special Jury Mention, CPH:DOX, 2014

Nominee, Best Feature Documentary, Best Production, Cinema Eye, 2015

Audience Award, Budapest Documentary Film Festival, 2015

Best International Documentary, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, USA, 2015

Freedom Award, Tel Aviv Docaviv Int'l Documentary Film Festival, 2015

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Development Communications Workshop Collection

Wed, 5 Sep 2018 11:07:00 GMT

Development Communications Workshop Collection
Buy Now: $1,500.00

The films in the Development Communications Workshop (DevCom) collection are the result of a creative collaboration between social scientists with teaching objectives and veteran filmmakers with great pride in their craft. These films were designed to enrich and support courses on international development.

Unlike most documentaries that develop a story in a linear fashion toward a particular conclusion, these films present multiple points of view and many visual "hooks" that can further broaden discussion. For example, the Harvard Kennedy School commissioned If It Doesn't Rain to open a two-week course on poverty in southern Mexico. After seeing the film, the students were asked, “Are these people poor?” The film's rich content provides a fertile opportunity for them to debate this question and for their teacher to present poverty assessment frameworks.

A central theme of all the films is poverty — its nature and varied approaches to its alleviation. Malawi's Green Revolution explores a massive agricultural outreach to all farmers; its radical redesign into a safety net; subsequent production collapse; then surging production through price subsidies. Lifecycles, also set in Malawi, not only illustrates how HIV/AIDS exacerbates poverty, but also presents uplifting vignettes of individual courage. “It's a Young Country!” examines Turkey's dynamic economy and culture by using a bank's strategic planning deliberations to initiate and structure the story.

Given their classroom enrichment objectives, all the films (with the exception of “It's a Young Country!”) are supported by supplementary special features intended to provide context and grist for further analysis. Each DVD was created with scene selection for the film and its special features for easy classroom use.

For more information on the workshop, visit devcomworkshop.org.

Films in the Development Communications Workshop series

If It Doesn't Rain

If It Doesn't Rain: First Return

It's A Young Country: Turkey and Akbank

Lifecycles

Malawi's Green Revolution

Paths of Hope

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Diary of a Maasai Village series

Wed, 5 Sep 2018 11:07:00 GMT

Diary of a Maasai Village series
Buy Now: $1,360.00

"A rich man in Maasai has children and cows.... and he has wives - many wives."

This series of five films by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies looks at daily life among the Maasai. The films are presented as a diary of a 7-week visit to a single village. The structure is episodic and the content dependent on various events or stories, some of which are developed through more than one film. The tapes can be used independently or together, to give an in-depth sense of Maasai life.

The senior man in the village is the most important Maasai prophet and magician who is known as the Laibon. He is regarded as a wealthy man because he has so many wives and children. He has 13 wives living in the village as well as a large number of children, about 20 daughters-in-law, and 30 grandchildren. All the main characters in the films are somehow related to the Laibon, who was nearly 80 years old when the films were made.

A common thread to the events of all five films is the ever-present anxiety about the state of the herds. These appear to be slowly depleting due to drought, disease and an increasing need to sell livestock for cash. Cash and/or livestock are needed by the Laibon and his kin to trade for wives, to pay off debts and to compensate for previous thefts.

Films in the Diary of a Maasai Village Series

Part 1: The Prophet's Village

Part 2: Two Ways Of Justice

Part 3: Two Mothers

Part 4: Two Journeys

Part 5: Nine Cows And An Ox

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Dodoth Morning

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:05:00 GMT

Dodoth Morning
Buy Now: $295.00

Dodoth Morning was the first film by the pioneering filmmaker, Timothy Asch who is best known for his collaborations with anthropologists such as Napoleon Chagnon, Linda Connor, Patsy Asch, and E. Douglas Lewis. Shot in northeast Uganda in 1961, a year when too much rain threatened to rot the millet the Dodoth people grew to supplement their diet. Primarily a pastoral people, the Dodoth depended on their herds of oxen for food and to determine wealth. With minimal narration the film opens in early morning and follows a headman, his four wives and family through daily tasks. Tension builds and breaks out in a domestic argument between father and son. This video copy was made from the recently discovered and only edited 16mm print known to exist. Tim Asch's work with the Yanomami in Venezuela and with indigenous peoples throughout Indonesia have been used for teaching, shown in festivals and won awards worldwide. DER is pleased to be able to offer this historically significant film to researchers, educators and film historians. Useful for teaching Anthropology, Pastoralism, Film History, Africa, Gender and Kinship.

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Dollars and Dreams

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:05:00 GMT

Dollars and Dreams
Buy Now: $320.00

Dollars and Dreams is a documentary film focused on the pursuits and challenges of numerous West African immigrants as they confront the idea of the American Dream and the reality of the New York experience. Including additional perspective from scholars, authors, and community leaders, the film creates a vibrant portrait of African achievement throughout the city, while exploring the complicated issues African immigrants face as they balance their deep connections to Africa and their enthusiastic commitments to America.

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Don't Fence Me In

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:05:00 GMT

Don't Fence Me In
Buy Now: $295.00

Since 1962, Burma has been ruled by a military junta. Life has deteriorated markedly for its citizens. Despite its former prosperity and its rich resources, it was voted least developed nation by the UN in 1987, and human rights atrocities continue to prevail. Forced from their homes by the government, more than 100,000 people live in refugee camps along the border between Burma and Thailand; hundreds of thousands more hide in jungles on the Burma side. They are the Karen people, one of the largest ethnic groups in Burma.

Don't Fence Me In chronicles the life of 70-year-old freedom fighter Major Mary On and her people's struggle for self-determination. Mary explains how the Karen are fighting for their very survival; the Burmese military's goal is “to wipe the Karen away so if you want to see them you'll have to go see them in the museum. See just an image or picture.” Her charismatic storytelling is accompanied by rare, clandestine footage smuggled out of the Karen refugee camps.

She illuminates the plight of the Karen still inside Burma, having little food and hiding in the jungle, yet proving remarkably resilient. While the Karen have lost their land, their way of life, and many of those who lived and fought beside them for independence, they have not lost their ties to a rich and beautiful history that transcends their present day despair. The film reveals the Karen refugees' spirit and determination to survive as political and historical forces conspire against them. Don't Fence Me In is an eloquent and moving chronicle of human rights abuses that must finally be brought to the attention of the global community.

"Deeply moving and hauntingly beautiful, Don't Fence Me In... tells a universal story of struggle against oppression and the creativity and courage that inspire people to make meaning of their lives, as their most basic rights - including the right to live - are systematically violated." — Ellen Bruno, filmmaker of the award-winning documentary Sacrifice: The Story of Child Prostitutes from Burma

"Don't Fence Me In... provides a steppingstone for discussion and study in Asian studies, sociology, women's studies. It is highly recommended." — Educational Media Reviews Online, Karen Hartman, Rutgers University

"A good introduction to issues concerning Burma's indigenous peoples. It also provides a useful picture of the day-to-day lives of refugees from one of the world's longest running conflicts." – Visual Anthropology

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Grand Jury Award, Best Documentary, Washington DC Independent Film Festival, 2006
Director's Citation, Black Maria Film Festival, various U.S. locations, 2006
Finalist – Short Film & Video Competition, USA Film Festival, Dallas, Texas, 2004

Frame By Frame HBO Documentary Film Series, San Francisco, 2004

Worldwide Short Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, May 2004

Cracow Film Festival, Poland, 2004
26th Annual IFP Market, New York, 2004
FlickerFest International Short Film Festival, Sydney, Australia, 2005
Slamdance Film Festival, Utah, 2005
Intermedia Arts, Minnesota, 2005
Foreign Correspondent's Club of Thailand, 2005
Frameline29, Roxie Cinema, San Francisco, 2005
Association for Asian Studies Conference, San Francisco, 2006
8th Annual Artfest Film Festival, Harrisburg, Pennslyvania, 2006
Society for Visual Anthropology/American Anthropological Association Conference, USA, 2006
Alternative ASEAN Film Festival on Migration, Philippines, 2006
Judges Award & Audience Award, San Diego Women's Film Festival, 2006
Burma Human Rights Day Screening, Int'l Rescue Committee, San Francisco, CA, 2007
Migration Film Festival, Singapore, 2007
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, CA, 2007
National Museum of Women in the Arts Festival of Film & Media Arts, Washington DC, 2007
6th Festival Film Dokumenter - Jogjakarta, Indonesia, 2007
India International Women Film Festival, New Delhi, 2007
Migrant Worker Film Festival, Seoul, Korea, 2008
This Human World - Human Rights Film Festival, Vienna, Austria, 2009

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Down the Project

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:05:00 GMT

Down the Project
Buy Now: $320.00

Sixty years ago, the "projects" were considered to be the most desirable housing stock for low-to-low-middle-income Americans. Today, this same housing has become stigmatized, beset by financial and social problems, and may be phased out.

This film, made in the 1980s, remains the classic portrait of a government program besieged on all sides. In two 30-minute sections, the film presents a concise social history of a housing movement and its opponents, then examines the social dilemmas of the developments these forces produced. Spokespeople include residents, public housing advocates from the 1930s, developers, administrators and politicians.

Down The Project: The Crisis of Public Housing presents the story of two projects that housed working families, both white and black, in the 1940s. In later years, crippled by lower budgets and the needs of poorer populations, they came to be regarded as eyesores, as danger zones. How did these changes occur? How did public housing begin? Which forces lobbied for it and against it? How do the people living in this housing see it?

Visit D to see additional products in this category.

Down To Earth

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:05:00 GMT

Down To Earth
Buy Now: $295.00

This fascinating multidisciplinary social history investigates the contributions of New Mexico's diverse cultures to the state's unique architectural heritage. Today adobe is often associated with wealth and the "Santa Fe Style." But adobe architecture also continues to play a vital role in Native American and Hispanic cultures in New Mexico. Adobe is not just a building material. Its formal and structural elements cannot be divorced from its social, cultural, and environmental functions. Down to Earth explores the increasing pressures of tourism and development and illustrates the relationship between the environment of New Mexico and the continuity of cultural tradition.

Visit D to see additional products in this category.