7 Best Ethnographic Films You Must Watch

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Khuraijam Roger Singh
Nov 08, 2024

Dead Birds (1963)

Robert Gardner's film shows the ritual warfare cycle of the Dugum Dani people who live in the Baliem Valley in present-day Highland Papua province on the western half of the island of New Guinea in Indonesia.

Cannibal Tours (1988)

The film is about a number of affluent European and American tourists and ecotourists as they travel from village to village along the middle Sepik River in Papua New Guinea.

Forest of Bliss (1986)

One of the most holy regions of India is Benares, where filmmaker Robert Gardner chronicles day-to-day life and shows the people are living and how they struggle to meet day needs.

Reassemblage (1982)

A film by Trinh T. Minh-ha is shot in Senegal and tells the story of the dwellings and everyday life of the Sereer people and focuses especially on the lives of the village women.

Leviathan (2012)

The North American fishing industry, tells the challenging and frequently hazardous life of commercial fishermen are exemplified by the experiences of the crew on a trawler based in Massachusetts.

Shadows and Illuminations (2010)

Based on material drawn from 12 years of person-centered research follows a portrait of Nyoman Kereta, a rural Balinese man in his late sixties who, by psychiatric standards, suffers from a psychotic-like illness.

A Wife Among Wives (1981)

An ethnographic documentary produced by filmmakers Judith and David MacDougall, the film focuses on the women of the Turkana village in Kenya and their roles, as well as marriage rituals and dynamics.

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