Asia

Small Man of the Forest

Hugh Hartford, 2004, 37 mins

Murray Collins leaves his city life in search of a bipedal ape. On his journey to highland Sumatra, he meets an academic, three farmers, two conservationists and a shaman, all of whom advise him on his search for the Orang Pendek, the 'small man of the forest'.

RAI, Oxford 2005.

A Small Light

Julia Yezbick, 2004, 32 mins

Through following the daily life of a home for the elderly in Kathmandhu, Nepal, run by Catholic nuns but situated beside the cremation ghats of Pashupathinath Hindu temple, this film explores cross-religious views on old age, death and karma.

Mostra, Rio de Janeiro 2005.

The Most Admired Man

Julia Berg, 2002, 29 mins.

'Wise'? 'Serene'? 'A Sage'? Mythologized as the Daoist physician from the Jade Dragon Mountain, Dr Ho receives hundreds of visitors in search of the 'Real China' every year. But what lies behind the doctor and his fame?

Supported by the One World Broadcasting Trust.
Bilan, Paris, 2003; Beeld, Amsterdam 2003; Commended, RAI, Durham 2003; NAFA, Tartu 2004; Commended, Göttingen 2004; Commended, Rassegna, Nuoro, 2004.

Ravi and Bhajay

Rachel Webster, 2002, 26 mins

Street boys Ravi and Bhajay lead a tough life on the pavements of Mumbai in India. To get away from it, they visit the nearby holy city of Ujjain with the film-maker. But the call of life on the streets is still strong.

Supported by the One World Broadcasting Trust.
JVC Student Prize, RAI, Durham, 2003. Also screened on Doordarshan television channel, India.

Join Me in Shambala

Anya Bernstein, 2001, 30 mins

Once brutally persecuted under the Soviet regime, Buddhism is re-emerging in Siberia. But with a past where Lamas were killed in prisons and temples burnt to the ground, there are few masters left to pass on the tradition. Whether or not the faith survives depends on an incarnate Tibetan Lama, scholar and meditational master who travels to remote villages to reawaken Buddhism.

See www.cinetrance.com for further information
NextFrame International Film Festival, Philadelphia 2002; Russian Festival of Anthropological Films, Salekhard 2002; Bilan, Paris 2002; AAA, New Orleans 2002; Best Scientific Documentary, Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology FF, Estonia 2002; DC Independent Film Festival, Washington 2003; RAI, Durham 2003; International Festival of Cinema and Religion, Trento 2003; Heard Museum Indigenous Film Festival, Phoenix 2004; Asia Film Festival, Finland 2004.
Distributed in the USA by Documentary Educational Resources, see www.der.org

Those Who Care

Hetti Lavaulx-Vrécourt, 2001,30 mins

In an isolated area of Ladakh lives an amchi - a local herbal doctor. It is summer - a short season in the Indian Himalayas and the only period of the year when food harvesting is possible. The amchi manages to devote his time both to this intense process as well as to caring for the local community.

Pushy Women

Caro MacDonald, 2001, 23 mins

The modern Japanese woman has the world at her feet: she can pursue any career, wear whatever she likes, and spend her leisure time however she likes - even playing sumo. This film follows five young wrestlers as they endure the hardships necessary to succeed in the unusual world of female sumo wrestling.

Call for Grace

Laetitia Merli, 2000, 30 mins

During Mongolia's seventy years of domination by the Soviet Union, shamanism, like many aspects of Mongolian tradition, was forbidden by the Communist authorities, and went into decline. Since the early 1990s, however, it has been undergoing a revival, eater to regain its place in Mongolian cultural identity. This film explores the life of the shaman-master Tomor, at his centre in Ulaan Baatar.

Bilan, Paris 2001; Festival de Poitiers; Festival de Caen; RAI, Durhma 2003; NAFA, Tartu 2004; Moscow University Ethnographic FF 2004.

Guiyang Beautiful Flavour Barbecue

Richard Hughes, 2000, 30 mins

In the teeming cities of the largest country on earth, 20 years of economic reform have brought new opportunity, new energy, and new dangers. This film follows one family's efforts to navigate the choppy waters of the new China as they run a restaurant in Kunming, Yunnan Province.

Bilan, Paris, 2001; Commended, Rassegna, Nuoro 2002.

A Little Bit of Freedom

Lorna Kirk, 1998, 30 mins (Hi8)

Three Nepalese women are living under the same roof. A low caste servant girl, Nani, a high caste married woman, Sarita, and her mother-in-law, Ama. A volatile mixture of entrapment, duty and tradition.

Mostra, Rio de Janeiro, 1999; Göttingen 2000.

Yukhagir Stories

Rane Willerslev, 1997, 30 mins, (Hi-8)

The Yukhagirs are one of the small indigenous peoples of Northern Siberia. This film explores life in the village Nelemnoye, and what it means to be a Yukhagir.

Göttingen 1998; Russian Ethnographic FF, Salekhard 1998; RAI, London 1998; Astra, Sibiu 1998. Also screened by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), 1999.