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All Dressed in White
This delightful documentary explores the complex relationships among religion, ethnicity, and gender by investigating one key symbol: the wedding dress. |
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The Aroma of Enchantment
This thought-provoking and innovative visual essay explores the "idea of America" held by many Japanese -- an idea based in large part on American advertising images from the 1950s. |
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Ball of
Fire: The Angry Goddess This innovative and compelling ethnographic documentary explores issues of gender and experience raised by a dramatic South Indian ritual dance form known as mudiyettu, in which men become possessed by the spirit of the fierce goddess Bhadrakali. |
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Between Two Worlds:
A Japanese Pilgrimage For centuries, pilgrims have come to the Japanese island of Shikoku to trace the 1,000-mile route known as the "Pilgrimage to the 88 Sacred Places of Shikoku," a journey believed to have been first undertaken by Kobo Daishi, founder of Buddhism's Shingon sect in the ninth century. |
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Between Worlds
This unique documentary explores over a period of six years the lives of several Vietnamese Amerasians (children of Vietnamese women and American servicemen) and their families who left Vietnam in 1992 through the Orderly Departure Program. |
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The Bikini Atoll On July 1, 1946, less than a year after atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the U.S. military began a program of 12 years of nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. This poignant documentary places the massive Bikini nuclear experiment in historical context and explores its enduring legacy on Bikini and on the exiled Pacific Island people who once inhabited it. |
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Burma Diary
This universally acclaimed documentary explores the revolutionary movement fighting for democracy in Burma. |
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A Chief in Two Worlds
This unusual documentary focuses on a Samoan resident of Los Angeles and follows him and his family on a dramatic journey to Western Samoa. |
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The China Call This "pioneering piece of filmmaking" (Journal of Asian Studies) uses unique, never-before-shown personal film collections, archival photos, and diaries to explore the often controversial history of American missionaries in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. |
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The Cities in China
Series This classic three-part series explores the Chinese urban experience and captures to an extraordinary degree the sights and sounds of daily Chinese life. The films in the series are Suzhou, Xian, and Beijing. |
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The Cockfight
Shot on location in Bali, this short documentary shows the sport of cockfighting there and breaks it down into three main components. |
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Dani Sweet
Potatoes This classic ethnographic documentary follows the sophisticated process of sweet potato horticulture developed by the Grand Valley Dani, a Papuan culture in the central highlands of Irian Jaya (West New Guinea). |
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Dhaminis
of Jumla: Spirit Possession in Western Nepal This vivid ethnographic documentary explores the ritual practice and social importance of spirit possession in the villages of Jumla, in western Nepal. The film focuses on two women, known as "dhaminis," and examines the ways in which spirit possession makes them the centerpieces of religious life in their communities. |
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Diya
This innovative ethnographic documentary by renowned filmmaker Judith MacDougall follows the life history of an important cultural object through the everyday experiences of the people who make, sell, and use it. |
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Doon School
Chronicles This intimate and groundbreaking study of India's most prestigious boys' boarding school is the most recent work of renowned ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall. |
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The Drum
and the Mask: Time of the Tubuan This fascinating documentary explores a complex ceremony of initiation into a secret and sacred male society among the Tolai people of Papua, New Guinea. |
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The Feast in Dream
Village Documents a ritual feast in a small village on Sumba, the last Indonesian island with a pagan majority. |
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Fighting Festival
The Fighting Festival is a unique and spectacular Japanese festival rarely seen by outsiders. A kind of cross between a Mardi Gras parade and a citywide football game in the streets, it has for 500 years been the focus of the lives of thousands of villagers along the coast of Japan's inland sea. |
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Fish Is Our Life
This unusual documentary provides a fascinating profile of an important segment of the Japanese population rarely seen or studied in the West. |
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Future Wave: Japan
Design Most of us know Japan primarily through its products -- seductive consumer goods whose high-tech, high-fashion styling has taken the world by storm. |
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The Great Ceremony
to Straighten the World Caught between the seduction of prosperity and the threat of cultural disintegration, the people of Bali engage in ceremonies. Through them, the Balinese attempt to maintain balance with God, nature, and one another, and also to turn the recent prosperity from the booming tourist trade into a way of invigorating their culture. |
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Horses of Life and
Death This compelling documentary explores the concepts of life and death and the role of the horse as a messenger between the human and spirit worlds on the island of Sumba, the last Indonesian island with a pagan majority. |
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Iyomande: The Ainu
Bear Festival Documents the most important ceremony of the Ainu people of northern Japan. |
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Keep Her Under
Control: Law's Patriarchy in India This provocative documentary, which explores the role of women in a Muslim-dominated village in Rajasthan, in northern India, is original, compelling, and instructive, and it is sure to stimulate discussion and analysis in any course that studies gender roles. |
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Kembali -- To Return
This award-winning documentary follows Gamelan Sekar Jaya, an ensemble of American musicians and dancers who perform Balinese music, on a visit to Bali to become the first Western group to perform Balinese music for the Balinese. |
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Kings, Lovers,
and Thieves This fascinating documentary provides a rare, behind-the-scenes look at India's improvisational and often bawdy form of folk opera, Nautanki, as well as its rural cousin, Khyal. |
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The Long-Haired
Warriors This provocative documentary introduces a number of Vietnamese women who were active in the National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, and shows how their wartime experiences shaped the rest of their lives. |
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Menri Monastery
This unique look at an extraordinary world focuses on Menri Monastery in Himachel Pradesh, India, the relocated religious home of the Tibetan Bonpo. |
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My Husband Doesn't
Mind If I Disco In the Western media, Tibet is often portrayed as a land of disenfranchised mystics suffocating under the tyranny of Chinese communist rule. |
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Paj Ntaub: Textile
Techniques of the Hmong This wide-ranging, fascinating documentary introduces the culture, history, and traditional weaving techniques of the Hmong people of Southeast Asia. |
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Photo Wallahs Renowned ethnographic filmmakers David and Judith MacDougall explore the many meanings of photography in this profound and award-winning documentary set in India. |
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Public and Private
Realms in Rural Wenzhou, China This unique documentary examines how the privatized market economy in southeastern China has paradoxically led to the emergence of a new public spirit as prosperous peasants and merchants donate money to nongovernmental organizations (called NGOs). |
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The Reincarnation
of Khensur Rinpoche This utterly fascinating and compelling film follows the search of Choenzey, a 47-year-old Tibetan monk who lives in exile in a Buddhist monastery in southern India, to find the reincarnation of his deceased master, Khensur Rinpoche. Choenzey's search and eventual discovery is of an impish but gentle four-year-old who is recognized by the Dalai Lama to be the looked-for reincarnation. |
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Sand Painting:
Sacred Art of Tibet The ancient art of Tibetan sand painting has been preserved in the monasteries of India and Tibet for some 2,500 years. Traditionally practiced in seclusion, this unique art form has only been practiced publicly in the last decades. In this beautifully photographed and fascinating documentary, Tibetan monks from the Dalai Lama's personal monastery, Namgyal, create the mandala of Kalachakra, the most sacred of all Buddhist sand paintings. |
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Serial for Breakfast:
Indian Television in the Satellite Age This two-part documentary explores the impact of global satellite television broadcasts on the electronic mediascape in India. It demonstrates that simplistic characterization of the Indian satellite TV experience as "cultural invasion" or "cultural imperialism" cannot explain the complex changes that have taken place in the 1990s. |
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The Shadow
Circus: The CIA in Tibet Featuring unique archival footage and exclusive interviews with former Tibetan resistance fighters and surviving CIA operatives, this powerful documentary reveals for the first time a hitherto unknown chapter in Tibet's recent history. |
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Skull Art
in Papua New Guinea Associated with banned practices, skull art has become rare and is carried out in secrecy. This remarkable video documents the complete process of skull art in Papua New Guinea, as demonstrated by a master practitioner, Adam Kone. |
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Sixteen
Decisions This remarkable documentary explores the human face of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh's micro-lending experiment of small business loans, usually of $100 or less, that has transformed the lives of millions of Third-World women and their families. |
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The Spirit
of Tibet Filled with rare and dazzling footage shot in Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal, this film explores the wonders of Tibeten art, ritual, philosophy, and sacred dance, as illustrated through the life of one of Tibet's most revered 20th-century religious masters, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. |
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A Stranger in
My Native Land This profound, poetic, and ultimately immensely sad documentary may be the first of its kind about Tibet -- a vivid personal account of loss and disappointment as an exile discovers his country for the first time. Late in 1996 Tenzing Sonam, an award-winning Tibetan filmmaker born and brought up in exile, made his first visit to his homeland. He was accompanied by his wife, Ritu Sarin, an Indian filmmaker. The result may be the most poignant reflection ever put on film on the demise of Tibetan autonomy and culture. |
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Sunflowers This unique exploration of the cultural nature of sexual identity provides a provocative and often humorous portrait of a spirited community of gay men in a rural town in the Philippines. |
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Taksu: Music in
the Life of Bali This sensitive documentary is an American musician's unique portrait of Balinese life, art, and spirituality. |
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A Taste of China
Selected for screening at more than 15 international film festivals, this acclaimed four-part series, by noted producer Sue Yung Li, remains the best introduction for Western audiences to traditional Chinese culture. The four titles in the series are Masters of the Wok, Food for Body and Spirit, The Family Table, and Water Farmers. |
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Tatau: What One
Must Do This beautifully filmed documentary examines the ancient art of Samoan tattooing ("tatau"), its traditional place in Samoan culture, and its current renaissance, both in Samoa and in the large Samoan community in Los Angeles. |
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Tobelo Marriage
This dramatic documentary chronicles a remarkable marriage ritual on a Moluccan island of eastern Indonesia. |
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Tokyo Girls
This riveting documentary explores the little-known world of the mizu shobai -- the "floating water world" of Tokyo bars and clubs -- as experienced by four young North American women who work as highly paid hostesses in exclusive Japanese nightclubs. |
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Traditional Dances
of Indonesia This 12-film series forms an important visual record for anyone interested in traditional Indonesian dance and culture. |
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Treasured Islands:
Robert Louis Stevenson in the Pacific This richly interdisciplinary chronicle traces Robert Louis Stevenson's last five years of life in the South Pacific. |
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Trekking on Tradition
This outstanding production explores the effects of mountain tourism (known as trekking) on a small village in rural Nepal. |
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The Trials of
Telo Rinpoche This absorbing documentary portrait tells the amazing story of Telo Rinpoche, a.k.a. Eddie Ombadykow, a 21-year-old American from Philadelphia whose favorite band is The Smashing Pumpkins. He is also a Buddhist monk who was brought up in a Tibetan monastery in India from the age of seven and who was recognized by the Dalai Lama as an important reincarnate lama, or spiritual master. |
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Trobriand Cricket:
An Ingenious Response to Colonialism One of the world's best-known ethnographic films, this classic documentary depicts the many modifications made by Trobriand Islanders, in Papua New Guinea, to the traditional British game of cricket. |
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Viva Timor
Lorosae: The Untold Story of East Timor's Struggle for Independence
Made with unprecedented behind-the-lines access over a period of several years, this powerful documentary explores the history and program of Falantil and shows how they managed to keep the Indonesian army on the run for more than two decades. |
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Westward to China
This fascinating documentary provides a vivid account of one of the most important periods in Chinese history by recounting the American experience in China during the decade prior to the Sino-Japanese War. |
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With Morning
Hearts This new documentary by renowned ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall continues his long-term study of the Doon School. "With Morning Hearts" focuses on a group of twelve-year-olds during their first year in one of the "houses" for new boys. |
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Working
Sister Seventeen-year-old Xu Li Li is one among hundreds of thousands of young women who leave poor rural farms for urban factory work every year in China. |
| All Dressed in White |
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| This delightful documentary explores the complex relationships among religion, ethnicity, and gender by investigating one key symbol: the wedding dress. The film introduces four women in a Catholic Indian family from Goa and traces their journeys over the last three generations as they migrated from Goa to the pluralistic society of pre- and post-WorldWar II Singapore and then to California in the 1960s and 1990s. Each woman married in a different era and place, and each wedding presented different dilemmas for the women in choosing a wedding dress and in defining their cultural identity in relation to Europeans, Americans, and other Indians. By delving into the personal lives of these women, the video clearly illustrates that their cultural identities are shaped by the values of other social groups with whom they live, and that the intimate decisions they make have a broader significance for the identity of an entire ethnic group. Produced by Ligia Giese and Margaret Dubin. 18 min. Color 1994 Catalog #38293 Sale: video $150, Rental: video $50 |
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A marvelous video that centers on the issue of ethnicity in modern America.... An excellent teaching tool for courses in social anthropology, sociology, and American cultures.-- Jack Potter, Prof. of Anthropology, UC Berkeley 
Society for Visual Anthropology Award American Anthropological Assn. selection Women's Film Festival (NYC) honoree |
| The Aroma of Enchantment |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Charles Lord 55 min. Color 1995 Catalog #38307 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $70 |
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A valuable portrait of contemporary Japan as seen through the eyes of a leading video essayist. Provides provocative, ironic reflections on the reverence with which many Japanese view postwar America. The camera discovers the ghost of General MacArthur's occupation in everything from 50-foot-tall fashion models to recycled ads from 1950s Life magazines for the ideal suburban home. A perfect classroom complement to more conventionally ethnographic studies of other cultures. -- Bill Nichols, Prof. of Cinema, San Francisco State Univ.
Natl. Educational Film Festival Award Hawaii Intl. Film Festival honoree Assn. for Asian Studies honoree Image Forum Festival (Tokyo) honoree Atlanta Film Festival honoree Museum of Modern Art (NY) honoree |
| Ball of Fire: The Angry Goddess | |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Sarah Caldwell A nine-minute non-narrated opening segment provides a taste of the sights and sounds of the ritual, allowing viewers to formulate their own first impressions and questions. In the following sequences, images and interviews present village life, myths of the Bhadrakali cult, the artists who perform mudiyettu, related agricultural symbolism, and the relevance of the martial arts. Wives of the performers express their opinions about the goddess and the ritual arts through interviews. The final 20-minute sequence once again presents the rituals of mudiyettu, this time fully explicated by the performing artists in voice-overs. Visual cutaways during the performance sequence re-introduce critical themes, providing a social metacommentary on the powerful drama of the ritual. "Ball of Fire" will stimulate discussion and analysis in a wide variety
of courses in anthropology, religion, Asian studies, women's studies,
cultural psychology, and performance studies. It was produced by Sarah
Caldwell, Dept. of Religion, California State Univ., Chico. In Malayalam,
with English subtitles. Prof. Caldwell has published a related article
entitled "Bhagavati: Ball of Fire," in Devi: Goddesses of India, ed. J.
Hawley and D. Wulff, Univ. of California Press, 1996; and a book, "Oh
Terrifying Mother: Sexuality, Violence, and Worship of the Goddess Kali,"
from Oxford Univ. Press, Delhi, 1999. |
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 "This film provides powerful images, rich segments of intrviews, and sequences of ritual which are wisely 'interpreted' through judicious editing rather than through wordy narration. This leaves to the student the task of thinking -- sometimes of thinking hard -- about the meaning of the filmed events and responding with his or her own repertoire of interpretive skills." -- Carolyn Heinz, Prof. of Anthropology, California State Univ., Chico "This film should become an ethnographic classic! It is unusual in chronicling transgendered ritual roles for men in a community in which goddess worship is exclusively a male prerogative. It overturns the usual Western/feminist assumptions about Goddess stimulating women's empowerment and the general association of women with Goddess worship. The film encompasses the objectives of both an art film and a documentary in that it clearly communicates to students and other nonspecialists the nature and dynamics of trance possession rituals through images without relying on obvious narration. This film is highly recommended for introductory comparative and world religions courses. -- Kathleen O'Connor, Visiting Asst. Prof., Religious Studies, Univ. of California, Davis
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| Between Two Worlds: A Japanese Pilgrimage |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Joanne Hershfield For centuries, pilgrims have come to the Japanese island of Shikoku to trace the 1,000-mile route known as the "Pilgrimage to the 88 Sacred Places of Shikoku," a journey believed to have been first undertaken by Kobo Daishi, founder of Buddhism's Shingon sect in the ninth century. This thoughtful documentary is a visual meditation on the phenomenon of pilgrimage and, to a lesser extent, on the processes of ethnographic filmmaking. It combines images of traditional and modern Japan, excerpts from the writings of Kobo Daishi, and commentary by pilgrims, everyday Japanese, and the filmmakers themselves to explore the meaning and persistence of "pilgrimage" in contemporary industrial Japan. By examining the effects that rapid change has had on this ritual journey, the film asks: Why do people still undertake pilgrimages to "sacred" places? Produced by Joanne Hershfield and Susan Caperna Lloyd. |
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Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| Between Worlds |
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| This unique documentary explores over a period of six years the lives of several Vietnamese Amerasians (children of Vietnamese women and American servicemen) and their families who left Vietnam in 1992 through the Orderly Departure Program. Each of the families was sent to a refugee camp in the Philippines for six months of ESL and cultural orientation before being resettled in the United States. The film details their experiences in the camp, including many of the preparatory lessons such as how to go shopping and how to use a telephone. After they arrive in different regions of this country, the film follows their lives for five more years as they struggle to learn English, find jobs, pursue their educations, and, for one Amerasian, to be re-united with his American father. This deeply moving portrait of the struggles of recent immigrants -- particularly women and children -- to create new lives for themselves in America may be the best depiction available on video of the difficult process of becoming American. It is an incisive historical document and a profound emotional experience. It will reward viewing in a wide variety of courses: in women's studies, Asian and Asian American studies, history, sociology, anthropology, and American studies. Produced by Shawn Hainsworth. 57 min. Color 1998 Catalog #38442 Sale: video $225, Rental: video $70 |
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 By filming with sensitivity over a long period of time, the filmmaker allows us to see something that is ordinarily invisible: people changing their identities. Beginning as Vietnamese, encountered in a refugee camp, the subjects of this film little by little acquire the habits, language, and dress of Americans. They are a mirror of ourselves and how we were formed, taking on new identities while retaining old ones. The process is magical, mesmerizing, difficult, and heartbreaking, and the film captures it as it is, with loving attention to detail and empathy for the people involved. -- Alfred Guzzetti, Osgood Hooker Prof. of Visual Arts, Harvard Univ. This is the most perceptive depiction of the Vietnamese Amerasian experience ever to appear on video. The film is a model of warmth and intimacy and it gives voice to people who have been ignored in both America and in Vietnam. The stories it relates provide viewers with an insighful perspective on Amerasians and a deeper understanding of their struggles to find new lives and new identities in the U.S. This film will generate thought and discussion and prove valuable in virtually any educational setting. -- Prof. Minh-Hoa Ta, Acting Chair for Asian American Studies, City College of San Francisco, and Assoc. Dir., Vietnamese American Studies Center, San Francisco State Univ. New England Film Festival honoree East Lansing Film Festival honoree Big Muddy Film Festival honoree Victoria Film Festival honoree |
| The Bikini Atoll |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Nick Versteeg The film covers a 50-year period, from the forced exodus of the Bikinians to the current clean-up and resettlement efforts. It includes archival footage of the nuclear tests, interviews with scientists who developed the bombs used at Bikini, and first-hand accounts from Bikinians who were forcibly displaced to other islands. The film relates the political squabbles between the Army and Navy in the midst of the testing, shows the devastating effects of the series of nuclear explosions, and examines the conflicting visions of the future of Bikini and its native people. The film also includes spectacular underwater footage of the large naval "atomic graveyard" (now the basis of a scuba-diving resort run by Bikinians) left behind by the testing, and documents the $90 million decontamination and repopulation program's successes and failures. This outstanding documentary will provoke discussion in a variety of classes in history and in Asian and Pacific Islands studies. Produced by Nick Versteeg. 47 min. Color 1998 Catalog #38449 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $70 |
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 A wonderfully informative account of the human side of the Bikini story, including not only the human side of the native peoples who were roughly displaced, but also the humans involved in the nuclear tests. This documentary is an important resource for anyone interested in the history of the Pacific Islands. -- Dr. W. Talbert, Los Alamos National Laboratory A first-rate production that examines the plight of the atoll and its native residents. As a nuclear physicist and teacher, familiar with the subject, I found the telling of the story to be compelling and the production outstanding. It deserves to be seen by a very wide audience. -- Dr. Erich Vogt, Prof. Emeritus of Physics, Univ. of British Columbia |
| Burma Diary | |
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| This powerful and universally acclaimed documentary
explores the revolutionary movement fighting for democracy in Burma
and depicts how young people, in particular, are affected by the human
rights abuses of Burma's dictatorial military government, the State
Law and Order Restoration Council. This regime forcibly overthrew Burma's
free 1990 election, when the Burmese people voted overwhelmingly for
the National League of Democracy, the party of nonviolence advocate
and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Burma Diary" focuses on a young man, Tint Aung, who in college
was active in the protest movement, but who has since been driven
by the oppressive regime into exile in the jungle along the border
of Burma and Thailand. As the film chronicles four harsh years of
Tint Aung's struggle to survive, it provides a passionate and at times
heartbreaking study of the hopes of and the obstacles facing the Burmese
democracy movement. Produced by Jeanne Hallacy. |
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 "A marvelous introductory film on contemporary issues in Burma. It captured my students' attention immediately because it focused on a young man from the same age group as their own. Students could identify with him and understand the extraordinary risks that he was taking. While many students knew nothing about Burma at the onset of the film, it helped them to understand the political, economic, and social issues there, and sparked a genuine interest to learn more about the country." -- Laurene Wu McClain, Dept. of Social Sciences, City College of San Francisco "A superb documentary. It was informative, fascinating, and thought-provoking, and it moved everyone in the class, including myself." -- Hanna Siurua, Chairperson, School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London
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| A Chief in Two Worlds |
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| This unusual documentary focuses on a Samoan resident of Los Angeles and follows him and his family on a dramatic journey to Western Samoa. There he undergoes a formal bestowal ceremony and is invested with the traditional Samoan chieftainship of the matai system. The video also examines his new role in the Samoan community of Los Angeles following his return. This is a superb introduction to Samoan culture and a vivid profile of a man coming to terms with two different cultural traditions. It is also a remarkable study of cultural change and resilience and the role of traditional cultural and political structures in new transnational contexts. By Micah Van der Ryn (see also Tatau: What One Must Do). 52 min. Color 1993 Catalog #38229 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $65 |
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 This video provides an excellent example of the strength of cultural bonding. It illustrates how Samoans in Los Angeles maintain strong ties with their home culture by means of feasting, visiting, heirarchy, and kinship - all topics that I include in my introductory anthropology course, in which I would find use for this film. -- Prof. Laura Nader, Dept. of Anthropology, UC Berkeley
Assn. for Asian Studies honoree American Anthropological Assn. selection |
| The China Call |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Film History Foundation 58 min. Color 1994 Catalog #38283 Sale: video $225, Rental: video $70 |
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Places each stage of China mission development squarely within its larger historical context. This careful framing... makes the film a valuable teaching tool. -- Journal of Asian Studies
Hawaii Intl. Film Festival honoree Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| The Cities in China Series |
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This series is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution Save More Than 10% Special Series Price: $375 |
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American Film Festival Awards Selected for screening at more than a dozen film festivals worldwide |
| Suzhou |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution Known for centuries as the center of Chinese culture and aesthetics, this Yangzi delta city has often been called the Venice of the East because of its many canals and bridges. This poetic portrait of the city leads the viewer through markets and teahouses, sweet shops and bookstores, rice paddies and fish stalls, and two of Suzhou's exquisite gardens. |
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Perhaps the finest, certainly the most artistic documentary available on a Chinese city. -- Choice |
| Xian |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution 28 min. Color 1981 Catalog #30032 Sale:video $150, Rental: $70 |
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| Beijing |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution 45 min. Color 1981 Catalog #30030 Sale: video $150, Rental: $60 |
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| The Cockfight |
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| Shot on location in Bali, this short documentary shows the sport of cockfighting there and breaks it down into three main components. The first is the matching of the cocks to determine which will compete against one another. The second is the betting, during which the spectators decide the odds for the match and how much is to be wagered. The third is the fight itself, which may have three different outcomes: death, surrender, or tie breaker. No narration, though there are descriptive slates between sections. Produced by Jud T. Marrs. 13 min. Color 1996 Catalog #38367 Sale: video $125; Rental: video $50 |
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This film gives visual substance to Clifford Geertz's seminal article on the Balinese Cockfight, and will be invaluable to anyone who uses the article in undergraduate anthropology classes. -- Karl G. Heider, Prof. of Anthropology, Univ. of South Carolina Clear, accurate, vivid, and admirably straightforward! I found the film very helpful in recalling the immediacy of the many cockfights I have seen in Bali, and it should be of equal value to students and scholars interested in gaining a sense of what a cockfight in Bali is as a concrete event, whether to evaluate existing descriptions of it or to develop ones of their own. -- Prof. Clifford Geertz, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton
Assn. for Asian Studies honoree Northwest Regional Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies honoree |
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Dani Sweet Potatoes |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Karl Heider – University of South Carolina Anthropology This classic ethnographic documentary follows the sophisticated process of sweet potato horticulture developed by the Grand Valley Dani, a Papuan culture in the central highlands of Irian Jaya (West New Guinea). Produced by noted anthropologist and filmmaker Karl Heider. 19 min. Color 1974 Catalog #37385 Sale: video $150, Rental: video $45 |
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| Dhaminis of Jumla: Spirit Possession in Western Nepal | |
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| This vivid ethnographic documentary explores
the ritual practice and social importance of spirit possession in the villages
of Jumla, in western Nepal. The film focuses on two women, known as "dhaminis,"
and examines the ways in which spirit possession makes them the centerpieces
of religious life in their communities. Testimony by each dhamini provides
insight into the ways they help their communities maintain social and cosmological
balance.
The film documents each of the women in distinct rituals that illustrate the spectrum of ritualized spirit possession in the region. In the first ritual, a family and friends gather inside a crowded temple for a healing seance. The second ritual offers a compelling look at the more elaborate full-moon rituals of the area. Here too, the dhamini becomes possessed, but the events that unfold are much different. Whereas the ritual events within the temple, such as healing and sacrifice, were relatively methodical, in the more elaborate outdoor ritual they gradually crescendo into a feverish dance, with multiple participants possessed by their respective gods entering into a ritual circle. The film ends as the intensity of the ritual gives way to the more social elements of the festival, as the youth of the area sing and dance into the night. This remarkable film will stimulate discussion and analysis in a variety
of disciplines, including Asian studies, cultural anthropology, comparative
religion, and women's studies. It was produced by Townsend Middleton.
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 "An absorbing ethnographic film on fascinating religious complexes in the remote Jumla district of Nepal. It will be of great interest to students of spirit possession, traditional healing, and caste in general, as well as of the complex ways local religious beliefs merge with broader trans-regional religious structures in South Asia. With marvelous biographical and performative detail, the film reveals how dhamini find their calling, the nature of their performances, and the diverse and critically important functions they perform in society. The film will be of great use in the classroom, since it demonstrates in such compelling fashion the lived realities of possession, local gods, and the importance of religion in communities whose worlds are quite different from our own." -- David Germano, Prof. of Religious Studies, Univ. of Virginia "We have here an important addition to our knowledge of indigenous shamanism. This documentary rates with the famous film, N/um Tchai, about the !Kung people. It will become one of the rare -- and very much in demand -- pieces that are available on indigenous shamanism and ritual. The film vividly demonstrates to students of anthropology how it is that spirit possession carries so much weight and how the possessed body's authority actually changes social relations in their communities. I recommend the film in the highest terms." -- Edith L. B. Turner, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Virginia "A simultaneously realistic and sensitive work. One need not be a specialist
in Nepal or even an Asianist to find it informative and thought-provoking.
The film will be appealing and helpful to the student of religious phenomena
generally, especially as these touch on a community's political life.
Persons interested in the role of women in religion, and in supposedly
patriarchal cultures and customs more broadly, should find it particularly
attractive." -- Paul Babbit, Center for South Asia Studies, Univ. of Virginia
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| Diya | |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Berkeley Media LLC A diya is a small terracotta oil lamp used throughout India in religious ceremonies. The film begins with a family of potters as they make diyas in the increasingly frantic days before Diwali, the "Festival of Lights." The lamps are produced on a potter's wheel, are taken to be sold in the bazaar, and are then used in the Diwali puja ceremonies. Afterwards, they are discarded and return to the earth. Although the potters are proud of their work, they often wish for a different and less arduous existence for their children. In a postscript, the film returns to the potter family and the unexpected revelation that these children will remain in school, ending seven generations of their family's life as potters. This beautiful film is keenly observed and richly infused with the sights
and sounds that make the lives of diya potters distinctive and meaningful.
"Diya" will stimulate discussion and reflection in a variety of classes
in social and cultural anthropology, Asian and Indian studies, and visual
anthropology. In Hindi, with English subtitles. |
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| Doon School Chronicles | |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Berkeley Media LLC Sometimes called "the Eton of India," Doon School has nevertheless developed its own characteristic style and presents a curious mixture of privilege and egalitarianism. The school was established by a group of Indian nationalists in the 1930s to produce a new generation of leaders who would guide the nation after Independence. Since then it has become highly influential in the creation of the new Indian elites and has come to epitomize many aspects of Indian postcoloniality. Shot over a two-year period, the film explores the social aesthetics and ideology of the school through its rituals, the physical environment it has created, and its effects upon several boys of different ages and temperaments. The film is divided into ten "chapters," each headed by a text taken from school documents. This narrative structure lends great cohesiveness to the film and at the same time facilitates classroom use and helps focus discussion on the key themes and issues explored. "Doon School Chronicles" will take its place among the classics of ethnographic cinema. It is essential viewing for a wide array of classes in cultural anthropology, Asian and Indian studies, visual anthropology, education and childhood studies, and post-colonial studies. An excellent accompaniment to the film is the book, "Constructing Post-Colonial India: National Character and the Doon School," by anthropologist Sanjay Srivastava (Routledge, 1998). See also With Morning
Hearts. |
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| The Drum and the Mask: Time of the Tubuan | |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Caroline Yacoe 30 min. Color 2000 Catalog #38478 Sale: video $175, Rental: video $50 |
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 "A wonderful addition to the film repertoire on Oceanic cultures and Melanesia. Provides a rare insight into a Melanesian culture that has adopted western traditions while maintaining the core of their traditional belief systems. The film features interviews with practicing indigenous members of the society as well as the local expatriate Catholic priest. Another great feature of the film is the inclusion of both urban and rural scenes, emphasizing the duality of contemporary Melanesian lifestyles. Highly recommended!" -- Jackie Lewis-Harris, Prof. of Anthropology, Univ. of Missouri "Offers a rare and unusual glimpse of traditional ceremony and art in the South Pacific. The drama of the Tolai initiation ceremony, narrated by the participants themselves, captures the sacredness of daily human experiences and the spiritual strength of the Melanesian peoples. The Tolai's strong reverence for and closeness to the natural world is well-captured by the video, which vividly illustrates a unique way of life and its cultural expressions. At the Bishop Museum, we use the video to set the context for the study of artifacts in our Pacific collections. It brings the objects to life for children and adults alike." Richard Duggan, Chair, Exhibits Dept., Bishop Museum, Honolulu "This was a great success in my undergraduate course on Pacific cultures. It provided the students with a visually stimulating and well-explained exploration of a Melanesian rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. We really enjoyed the video!" -- Vicki Torsch, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Vermont "A fantastic curriculum resource for courses in cultural and social anthropology, art history, and ethnic studies. It vividly brings to life the cultural importance of art (in this case, masks) used in Pacific Island initiation rituals. This visually dramatic production demonstrates how traditional Pacific Island ceremonies remain vital today. For all those who think traditional culture and the arts of Oceannia are dead... think again!" -- Tom Barlow, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning
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| The Feast in Dream Village |
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| Documents a ritual feast in a small village on Sumba, the last Indonesian island with a pagan majority. The feast, whose purpose is to revive the fertility of the village's fields and protect the health of its residents, is directed by traditional priests who are hired by the event's sponsor. The film shows the preparations for the feast, the invocations of the spirits, and the performances of numerous sacred rituals. It focuses, however, on the conflict that develops between the head priest and the feast's sponsor over who will control the ceremonies. By Laura Scheerer Whitney and Janet Hoskins, Prof. of Anthropology, USC. Teaching notes by Prof. Hoskins. 27 min. Color 1989 Catalog #37895 Sale: video $195, Rental: $50 |
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This video will be a joy to those faculty and students who use A. Rosman and P.G. Rubel's The Tapestry of Culture because for the first time... viewers get a first-hand look at a crisis-derived rite of intensification. This is the kind of conflict that we rarely see or hear about in ritual analysis. Recommended for undergraduate and graduate students as well as Indonesian specialists. -- Choice
American Anthropological Assn. selection Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| Fighting Festival |
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| The Fighting Festival is a unique and spectacular Japanese festival rarely seen by outsiders. A kind of cross between a Mardi Gras parade and a citywide football game in the streets, it has for 500 years been the focus of the lives of thousands of villagers along the coast of Japan's inland sea. This acclaimed video shows preparations for and highlights of this colorful event, which remains vital to the villagers' sense of identity in a changing world. By Keiko Ikeda. 30 min. Color 1985 Catalog #37151 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $50 |
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Among the best ethnographic films yet to appear on any aspect of Japanese society. -- Theodore C. Bestor, Columbia Univ., in the American Anthropologist
San Francisco Film Festival Award American Film Festival Red Ribbon American Anthropological Assn. selection |
| Fish Is Our Life |
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| This unusual documentary provides a fascinating profile of an important segment of the Japanese population rarely seen or studied in the West. It focuses on the small businessmen-proprietors who work the 1,100 family-owned businesses at Tsukiji Market, Tokyo's largest wholesale fish market. With its many small wholesalers and its seven large auction houses, Tsukiji is a small city in itself, with its own unique culture, work hours, and traditions. The video captures the vitality and earthy humor of a variety of people who work in the market, and examines how they, like all Japanese, are increasingly affected by the global market economy and by changes in the larger Japanese culture. With its emphasis on working-class and petit bourgeois Japanese, this video will enhance all courses on Japanese culture or society, as well as those on the anthropology of work. By Peregrine Beckman. 28 min. Color 1994 Catalog #38267 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $50 |
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Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| Future Wave: Japan Design |
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| Most of us know Japan primarily through its products -- seductive consumer goods whose high-tech, high-fashion styling has taken the world by storm. Through unprecedented access to top designers and executives in the fields of electronics, furnishings, and fashion, this entertaining documentary shows how modern Japanese design has helped create a Japanese consumer lifestyle that is being exported around the world. Discussion guide. Produced by David Rabinovitch; written by Katherine McCoy, former director of the Industrial Design Society of America. 27 min. Color 1988 Catalog #37485 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $50 |
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Takes the viewer into the heart of Japanese design. -- Douglas Davis, Newsweek
Natl. Educational Film Festival Award |
| The Great Ceremony to Straighten the World |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Berkeley Media LLC 55 min. Color 1994 Catalog #38281 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $60 |
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A wonderfully sensitive, thoughtful, and respectful observation of a rare event.... Raises timely issues concerning the tensions between the commercial and the spiritual, the modern and the traditional, the observer and the observed. -- Gordon Chang, Prof. of East Asian Studies, Stanford Univ.
Assn. for Asian Studies honoree American Anthropological Assn. selection |
| Horses of Life and Death |
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| This compelling documentary explores the concepts of life and death and the role of the horse as a messenger between the human and spirit worlds on the island of Sumba, the last Indonesian island with a pagan majority. The film follows two major ceremonial events: a large-scale equestrian jousting battle held to celebrate fertility and the harvest, and an elaborate funeral ritual that concludes with a procession led by the dead man's own horse, which carries his soul off to the afterlife. By Laura Scheerer Whitney. 25 min. Color 1991 Catalog #38104 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $50 |
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Precise, dramatic, and superbly visual, this film will prove valuable for courses in general anthropology, Indonesian studies, and comparative religion. -- Prof. Clifford Geertz, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton
Assn. for Asian Studies honoree American Anthropological Assn. selection American Film Festival honoree |
| Iyomande: The Ainu Bear Festival |
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| Documents the most important ceremony of the Ainu people of northern Japan. Also shows aspects of Ainu daily life in the 1930s: houses, boats, ornate swords, religious artifacts, and the elaborately tattooed mouths of the older women. A rare anthropological record, with authentic music. By Neil Gordon Munro. 26 min. B&W 1970 Catalog #37377 Sale: video $95, Rental: $50 |
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| Keep Her Under Control: Law's Patriarchy in India |
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| This provocative documentary, which explores the role of women in a Muslim-dominated village in Rajasthan, in northern India, is original, compelling, and instructive, and it is sure to stimulate discussion and analysis in any course that studies gender roles. The film focuses on the dramatic story of a woman, named Hurmuti, who refuses to live by the moral and legal codes of the village's Islamic patriarchy. Hurmuti is the eldest wife in an extended family, but she has had a long-term -- and well-known -- affair with another man in the village. The film examines her conflicts with her extended family and with the all-male Islamic Village Council over her own conduct and over her insistence on the right to arrange the marriages of her pre-pubescent daughters. As Hurmuti's fascinating story unfolds it is interwoven with scenes that illustrate the process of growing up female in the village: the play of children; the talk and the duties of adolescent girls; marriage customs; dowry issues; relationships with mothers-in-law; rights to land ownership; and even spirit possessions. Viewers will experience a wide range of emotions, grapple with an array of stimulating questions, and in the end be forced to consider how Hurmuti's life options would have been different if she had been born male. The film is based on ethnographic research carried out in Rajasthan over the past two decades by the producer, Erin Moore, of the Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Southern California. An in-depth Instructor's Guide sheds additional light on the issues covered in the film and provides background information on Indian and Muslim social and legal customs. 52 min. Color 1998 Catalog #38435 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $70 |
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 Brings a social drama vividly to life.... Infused with a profound understanding of the dynamics of social conflicts and the predicaments of Indian women, this film will captivate students and scholars of anthropology, gender studies, and South Asia. -- Isabelle Nabokov, Asst. Prof. of Anthropology, Princeton Univ. An engaging depiction of an unusually independent village woman's resistance to the constraints of family control. It will be sure to provoke discussion on women's roles and options in rural India, the intersection of multiple legal systems, and the dynamics of change. -- Serena Nanda, Prof. of Anthropology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice Offers a vivid portrait of family, community, and gender relations in a Muslim-dominated Indian village. The film succeeds in demonstrating the ways that patriarchal hegemony is reproduced through custom, socialization, and ritual, in addition to sometimes being directly resisted by women. Courses in women's and gender studies will benefit from the ways that the film portrays the dynamic process of 'patriarchal bargains' in the village: the film explodes the myth of the passive 'traditional third-world woman,' while at the same time demonstrating the stubborn persistence of patriarchy. -- Michael Messner, Prof. of Sociology and Gender Studies, Univ. of Southern California
Society for Visual Anthropology Award American Anthropological Assn. selection Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| Kembali -- To Return |
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| This informative, highly entertaining documentary follows Gamelan Sekar Jaya, an ensemble of American musicians and dancers who perform Balinese music, on a visit to Bali to become the first Western group to perform Balinese music for the Balinese. The film captures the everyday activities that form the culture of Bali and imparts a keen awareness of how the seamless fabric of Balinese life and art is reflected in the interlocking rhythms of its music. Produced by Jim Mayer, Lynn Adler, and John Rogers. 46 min. Color 1991 Catalog #38220 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $60 |
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National Educational Film Festival Award Chicago Intl. Film Festival Award Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| Kings, Lovers, and Thieves |
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| This fascinating documentary provides a rare, behind-the-scenes look at India's improvisational and often bawdy form of folk opera, Nautanki, as well as its rural cousin, Khyal. These forms of traveling roadside folk theater are particularly significant in that they have survived and remain popular despite India's increasingly strong attachment to the cinema and to television. Their continued popularity is shown to be a manifestation of current social, political, and cultural influences, as performers take traditional mythological themes and update them to appeal to contemporary audiences. The film interweaves scenes of performances, interviews with noted performers and with spectators, and images of the Indian landscape to document these traditional Indian performing arts. It also explores how cultural tensions, inherent to a society imagined as traditional yet challenged by the contradictions of modernity, raise questions about the definition and longevity of cultural artifacts such as Nautanki and Khyal. Produced by Bob Madey. 35 min. Color 1997 Catalog #38393 Sale: video $175, Rental: video $50 |
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 A beautifully executed film depicting a way of life that is no longer as prevalent as it once was. The performers we see are marvelous, modern-day practitioners of an ancient art form that has thrived over the millenia. Juxtaposing this film with Paris Is Burning led my students to a lively discussion of performance art across cultures. -- Prof. Richard Rinke, Dept. of Anthropology, San Francisco State Univ. An insightful look into a rarely documented (let alone filmed) traditional Indian performance genre. It's not only informational, but also enlightening. -- Prof. Sudipto Chatterjee, Dept. of Drama and Asian Studies Program, New York Univ. This visually compelling piece constitutes the only filmic representation of two Indian folk theater forms. This theater functions as a site in which traditional gender roles continue to be played out in the face of modernity. The film will provide instructors with fascinating material to study constructions of gender as an interesting contrast to Kabuki and other forms of gender-crossing around the world. -- Maggie Sale, Undergraduate Dir., Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Columbia Univ.
Assn. for Asian Studies honoree American Anthropological Assn. selection American Museum of Natural History "Celebrate India" honoree |
| The Long-Haired Warriors |
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| Vietnamese women have a long and legendary tradition of fierce warriorship -- a tradition exemplified in recent history by their wholehearted participation in the struggles against the French, the South Vietnamese Regular Army, and the American military. Ultimately, they shared in all those victories, but none came without painful losses and sorrows. This provocative documentary introduces a number of Vietnamese women who were active in the National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, and shows how their wartime experiences shaped the rest of their lives. A highlight of the film is an emotional visit with four former prisoners to the infamous Con Dao prison camp where, from 1968 to 1975, they were among 600 women -- some as young as 15 years old -- kept in "tiger cages" and subjected to frequent torture and abuse by the American-supported South Vietnamese military forces. From disparate perspectives, these women universally express the conviction that their stories can provide a common thread of compassion to bind the wounds that divide people in the U.S. and Vietnam. They feel a bond with American wives and mothers who have also suffered profound losses. This engaging film examines the lives of some of America's former enemies and illuminates some surprising parallels and contrasts between their world and the world of the American filmmaker who seeks to discover their stories. It will stimulate discussion in a variety of courses in women's studies, Asian studies, and history. Produced by Mel Halbach. 60 min. Color 1998 Catalog #38444 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $70 |
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 This impressive film illuminates the role played by women who fought for the National Liberation Front during the American War in Vietnam. Its use of footage from the Vietnam Film Archives as well as its vivid oral histories brings the subject alive for today's students. In my classes the film has stimulated excellent discussions and motivated my students to do original research of their own. -- Sandra C. Taylor, Prof. of Asian Studies, Dept. of History, Univ. of Utah Told primarily from the point of view of women in the Viet Cong, this is a well-crafted film, suitable for a wide range of classes in women's studies. -- Cynthia Stark, Prof. of Philosophy and Women's Studies, Univ. of Utah This important work adds a great deal to our knowledge of the American war in Vietnam. The usually overlooked woman's perspective contributes an important piece to the puzzle regarding who was involved in that conflict. And the filmmaker's decision to use footage from his own family's background in Wisconsin tends to confirm my view that that war was about Vietnam and the United States -- we cannot understand one without the other. -- Bill Cobb, Prof. of Asian Studies, Utah Valley State College
Denver Intl. Film Festival honoree Athens Intl. Film Festival honoree South Beach (Miami) Film Festival honoree Taos Talking Pictures Festival honoree |
| Menri Monastery |
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| This unique look at an extraordinary world focuses on Menri Monastery in Himachel Pradesh, India, the relocated religious home of the Tibetan Bonpo. The Bonpo are indigenous pre-Buddhist Tibetans whose cultural roots are more than 9,000 years old. The 900-year unbroken lineage of this monastery provides continuity to the refugee population. The monastery and its associated orphanage together comprise some 120 monks and boys who will determine this ancient religion's future. The film includes scenes of rarely performed ceremonies as well as ritual chanting, worship with music, meditation, and fire offerings; historical footage also shows rituals performed in Tibet. By Roslyn Dauber. 25 min. Color 1993 Catalog #38247 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $50 |
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Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| My Husband Doesn't Mind if I Disco |
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| In the Western media, Tibet is often portrayed as a land of disenfranchised mystics suffocating under the tyranny of Chinese communist rule. In reality, after 40 years of living under the political and economic changes introduced by the Chinese, most Tibetans have learned to negotiate their existence drawing from both traditional Tibetan values and the newer ideologies of the state. This compelling documentary explores the impact of this process of negotiation on the lives of the women of one community in eastern Tibet. The video examines the effects on the women of their exposure to feminism under the Maoists as well as the degree to which older cultural attitudes regarding gender relations remain in place. Produced by Nina Egert. 28 min. Color 1995 Catalog #38302 Sale: video $175, Rental: video $50 |
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A wonderful find! This unique film provides an insightful and multifaceted view of women's lives in a changing Tibet. It is well-informed, articulate, and entertaining: ideal for classroom viewing in a variety of disciplines. -- Anne Carolyn Klein, Prof. of Religious Studies, Rice Univ.
Assn. for Asian Studies honoree American Anthropological Assn. selection |
| Paj Ntaub: Textile Techniques of the Hmong |
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| This wide-ranging, fascinating documentary introduces the culture, history, and traditional weaving techniques of the Hmong people of Southeast Asia. Following the Vietnam War, most Hmong were forced to flee their native Laos. Since 1975, many have immigrated to the United States from refugee camps in Thailand. Several thousand have settled in Providence, Rhode Island, and it is from this group that the four women artists profiled here were chosen by their peers to demonstrate the techniques of batik, applique, cross-stitch, chain-stitch, and the more recent "story cloth" style of weaving. This video serves to preserve the traditional Hmong textile arts for future generations and to introduce the Hmong culture to students of all cultural backgrounds. It will be of interest to high school and college courses in multi culturalism, cultural anthropology, women's studies, textile arts, and crafts. Produced by Joyce Smith. 39 min. Color 1996 Catalog #38366 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $60 |
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A very useful and much needed addition to the existing body of films and videos on Southeast Asians in the U.S., too few of which examine traditional arts and crafts. -- Peter Allen, Prof. of Anthropology, Rhode Island College
Natl. Educational Film Festival Award Assn. for Asian Studies honoree Rhode Island Film & Video Festival honoree |
| Photo Wallahs |
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| Renowned ethnographic filmmakers David and Judith MacDougall explore the many meanings of photography in this profound and penetrating documentary. The film focuses on the photographers of Mussoorie, a hill station in the Himalayan foothills of northern India whose fame has attracted tourists since the 19th century. Through a rich mixture of scenes that includes the photographers at work, their clients, and both old and new photographs, this extraordinary film examines photography as art and as social artifact - a medium of reality, fantasy, memory, and desire. This film is perfect for introducing students to the complexity of social and anthropological observation. 60 min. Color 1992 Catalog #38223 Sale: video $225, Rental: $75 |
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 There is now an interest in making films that do not simply deliver a statement about a topic but open it up in richer and more productive ways. These are films that develop complex networks of connections and relationships. In a sense they are meant as structures for generating meaning. That is certainly our intention in Photo Wallahs. We want it to be a resource for a range of observations, ideas, and possibilities. -- David MacDougall, interviewed in Visual Anthropology Review Exceptional... and remarkable. I found the film thought-provoking, particularly regarding the issues of universals in photography versus unique cultural presentations and representations. -- Joanna Cohan Scherer, Smithsonian Institution, in American Anthropologist
Royal Anthropological Institute Commendation Society for Visual Anthropology Award Assn. for Asian Studies honoree Bilan du Film Ethnographique (Paris) honoree Margaret Mead Film Festival honoree Berlin Film Festival honoree Bombay Intl. Film Festival honoree |
| Public and Private Realms in Rural Wenzhou, China |
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| This unique documentary examines how the privatized market economy in southeastern China has paradoxically led to the emergence of a new public spirit as prosperous peasants and merchants donate money to nongovernmental organizations (called NGOs). The NGOs examined here include a lineage association, a deity temple, a private school, an old people's association, and a Catholic church. There are extensive interviews with a wide range of Chinese, as well as contemporary scenes of daily life, a rural market, and a factory. Produced by Mayfair Yang. 52 min. Color 1995 Cat. #38304 Sale: video $150, Rental: video $60 |
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I have used this with great success in an undergraduate core course I teach. It gives students from all backgrounds an excellent, intimate glimpse of everyday life in the People's Republic of China. I recommend it highly for use in undergraduate courses. -- James L. Watson, Prof. of Anthropology, Harvard Univ.
American Anthropological Assn. selection Assn. for Asian Studies honoree |
| The Reincarnation of Khensur Rinpoche |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Berkeley Media LLC Without sentimentality, this thought-provoking film captures the moving relationship that develops between the erstwhile disciple and his young master. The film's exemplary combination of intimacy with its subjects and intellectual detachment will stimulate discussion, analysis, and interpretation in a variety of courses in cultural anthropology, Asian and Tibetan studies, Buddhist studies, and comparative religion. It was produced by Tenzing Sonam and Ritu Sarin in 1991, but not released to American educational audiences until now. 49 min. Color 1999 Catalog #38441 Sale: video $195, Rental: video $70 |
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 The film is simultaneously intellectually fascinating and emotionally moving. It provides a view of some of the more arcane aspects of the Tibetan practice to recognize the reincarnation of deceased religious masters, including a variety of rituals, meetings with the Dalai Lama, and rare footage of the Tibetan state oracle possessed by the deity. But it also offers a close glimpse of the intimate social interactions of the small group of monks who lovingly raise the young incarnate lama and gently encourage him to inhabit his role of religious teacher. This is an excellent teaching tool and a terrific work of filmmaking by a sympathetic and highly informed pair of directors. -- Janet Gyatso, Prof. of Religion, Amherst College
Margaret Mead Film Festival honoree Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival honoree Cinema du Reel, Paris, honoree Amsterdam Intl. Film Festival honoree Tibetan American Foundation Tibetan Film Festival honoree Selected for screening by more than a dozen major film festivals worldwide |
| Sand Painting: Sacred Art of Tibet | |
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This title is no longer distributed by UC Extension. For distribution information, contact: Berkeley Media LLC The ancient art of Tibetan sand painting has been preserved in the monasteries of India and Tibet for some 2,500 years. Traditionally practiced in seclusion, |
