Browse Titles - 198 results
Exploring Gender Equality Issues in Samoa, Part 2
produced by Steven Percival, fl. 2002 (Sāmoa: Tiapapata Art Centre, 2013), 26 mins
This film continues the discussion on gender roles in Samoan society with a particular focus on the fa'a-matai, the traditional chiefly system of governance that is male-dominated. The historical context of Samoa's elections that incorporates the fa'a-matai into the formal electoral process for parliamentary elect...
Sample
produced by Steven Percival, fl. 2002 (Sāmoa: Tiapapata Art Centre, 2013), 26 mins
Description
This film continues the discussion on gender roles in Samoan society with a particular focus on the fa'a-matai, the traditional chiefly system of governance that is male-dominated. The historical context of Samoa's elections that incorporates the fa'a-matai into the formal electoral process for parliamentary elections is also articulated.
Field of Study
Asian Studies
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Steven Percival, fl. 2002
Author / Creator
Steven Percival, fl. 2002
Date Published / Released
2013
Publisher
Tiapapata Art Centre
Topic / Theme
Samoan, Cultural norms, Leadership roles, Gender status, Gender roles, Samoans
Copyright Message
Copyright 2013 Tiapapata Art Centre
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Ford Transit
directed by Hany Abu-Assad, 1961-; produced by Bero Beyer, 1970-, VPRO Television and Augustus Film (Israel-Palestine: Cinephil, 2002), 1 hour 21 mins
Rajai, a Palestinian “service” taxi driver ferries his passengers between East Jerusalem and Ramallah for 3 shekels a ride. En route, he either gives you insight into the daily challenges faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation, or he drives you crazy. Or both. His take on the Intifada, suicide bombings...
Sample
directed by Hany Abu-Assad, 1961-; produced by Bero Beyer, 1970-, VPRO Television and Augustus Film (Israel-Palestine: Cinephil, 2002), 1 hour 21 mins
Description
Rajai, a Palestinian “service” taxi driver ferries his passengers between East Jerusalem and Ramallah for 3 shekels a ride. En route, he either gives you insight into the daily challenges faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation, or he drives you crazy. Or both. His take on the Intifada, suicide bombings and life in general is mirrored in his passengers — which include prominent Palestinian political and cultural figures, and more tha...
Rajai, a Palestinian “service” taxi driver ferries his passengers between East Jerusalem and Ramallah for 3 shekels a ride. En route, he either gives you insight into the daily challenges faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation, or he drives you crazy. Or both. His take on the Intifada, suicide bombings and life in general is mirrored in his passengers — which include prominent Palestinian political and cultural figures, and more than one delightful cameo appearance in this blurry document of fact and fiction.
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Field of Study
Asian Studies
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Bero Beyer, 1970-, VPRO Television, Augustus Film
Author / Creator
Hany Abu-Assad, 1961-
Date Published / Released
2002
Publisher
Cinephil
Topic / Theme
Palestinians
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2002 Film Platform
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Fukushima: Memories of the Lost Landscape
directed by Yojyu Matsubayashi; produced by 3 JoMa Films (Hamden, CT: ZAKKA Films, 2011), 1 hour 50 mins
The Enei district of Minami Soma town lies within the 20 km exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In early April 2011, immediately after the devastating tsunami and nuclear meltdown forced people to evacuate the area, filmmaker Yoju Matsubayashi rushed here with relief goods. From a chan...
Sample
directed by Yojyu Matsubayashi; produced by 3 JoMa Films (Hamden, CT: ZAKKA Films, 2011), 1 hour 50 mins
Description
The Enei district of Minami Soma town lies within the 20 km exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In early April 2011, immediately after the devastating tsunami and nuclear meltdown forced people to evacuate the area, filmmaker Yoju Matsubayashi rushed here with relief goods. From a chance meeting with city councilor Kyoko Tanaka, he began making this film. Living together with the evacuees in school classrooms designat...
The Enei district of Minami Soma town lies within the 20 km exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In early April 2011, immediately after the devastating tsunami and nuclear meltdown forced people to evacuate the area, filmmaker Yoju Matsubayashi rushed here with relief goods. From a chance meeting with city councilor Kyoko Tanaka, he began making this film. Living together with the evacuees in school classrooms designated as temporary refuge centers, he captured an extraordinary period in the lives of the local people. Interspersed with humorous episodes and deep emotions, the film delves into memories of a local culture that has been taken away by the tragedy.“The series of disasters in March 2011 made me realize that I had been ignorant of the local areas which had been next to the nuclear power plants. At the same time it meant that I had seen myself as an uninvolved bystander. What I regretted was that I hadn’t been imaginative enough to understand the risk of nuclear power plants. Living in Tokyo, our lives had depended on the electricity generated in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants. In that sense, I was one of the wrongdoers: we were apt to shift the responsibility onto the government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company, but I thought our unconcern also had contributed to the scale of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Our overwhelming unconcern had supported a handful of people who hunted for advantage before the accidents. I shot this documentary film because I thought it would be one of the ways to take on this responsibility.”–Yoju Matsubayashi
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
3 JoMa Films
Author / Creator
Yojyu Matsubayashi
Date Published / Released
2011
Publisher
ZAKKA Films
Topic / Theme
Disaster victims, Internally displaced persons, Nuclear energy, Japanese
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2011 ZAKKA Films
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Ganges: River to Heaven
directed by Gayle Ferraro, fl. 2000; produced by Gayle Ferraro, fl. 2000, Aerial Productions (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 2005), 52 mins,
Source: www.berkeleymedia.com
Source: www.berkeleymedia.com
This extraordinary documentary explores with unparalleled intimacy one of the most cherished of Hindu religious aspirations: to die in the city of Varanasi, on the banks of the sacred Ganges, in the faith that dying here assures liberation from the cycle of earthly life. In Varanasi (also called Kashi), the power...
Sample
directed by Gayle Ferraro, fl. 2000; produced by Gayle Ferraro, fl. 2000, Aerial Productions (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 2005), 52 mins,
Source: www.berkeleymedia.com
Source: www.berkeleymedia.com
Description
This extraordinary documentary explores with unparalleled intimacy one of the most cherished of Hindu religious aspirations: to die in the city of Varanasi, on the banks of the sacred Ganges, in the faith that dying here assures liberation from the cycle of earthly life. In Varanasi (also called Kashi), the power of Ganga, the Hindu mother-goddess of the Ganges River, is strongest. Each dawn she calls her children to the ghats, the steps leading...
This extraordinary documentary explores with unparalleled intimacy one of the most cherished of Hindu religious aspirations: to die in the city of Varanasi, on the banks of the sacred Ganges, in the faith that dying here assures liberation from the cycle of earthly life. In Varanasi (also called Kashi), the power of Ganga, the Hindu mother-goddess of the Ganges River, is strongest. Each dawn she calls her children to the ghats, the steps leading down to the water's edge. The young and strong purify themselves in the river's polluted waters. The old and the infirm, too weak for rituals, wait for death. In time, Ganga carries their souls, released from the bondage of reincarnation, to heaven. Their bodies, as ash afloat her crests or flesh submerged in her depths, return to the river. Shot in a hospice for the dying and on the ghats of Varanasi, the film follows four families' struggles to grant a loved one's final wish: to go to heaven. In their common quest the families become a fraction of the hordes of Hindus drawn to the city's holy promise of freedom from reincarnation. As the clans prepare for death, the citizens of Varanasi manage life -- praying for health, dumping industrial waste, begging for pocket change, bathing their children, selling to tourists, monitoring fecal chloroform levels, cremating their mothers -- along the banks of the Ganges. The four families' preparations go virtually unnoticed along the river, where death is a daily part of life. 'Ganges: River to Heaven' investigates the inextricable bond between the sacred river and its people with remarkable sensitivity and depth. From the ghat workers gathering wood for the next cremation, to the chemists gathering water samples for contamination-testing, each perspective sheds new light on India's evolving society and its unchanging veneration of the Ganges. The film also examines many viewpoints on the death process: the families who bring their beloved dying to Kashi Labh Mukti Bhavan, a hospice for the dying; the proprietors of the hospice and their understanding of the service they provide; and the workers and proprietors of the cremation grounds where the bodies are brought for final rites. Keenly observed and filled with unforgettable imagery of ceremonies, rituals, and daily life and death, 'Ganges: River to Heaven' sheds a profoundly revealing light on the sacred river, polluted from years of overuse, and wonders if the natural force strong enough to sculpt the peaks of the Himalayas and the beliefs of a nation will survive the adoration of generations to come. This illuminating film will engage and challenge students and generate thought and discussion in a wide variety of courses in Asian and Indian studies, cultural anthropology, religion, death and dying, and environmental studies. It was produced by award-winning filmmaker Gayle Ferraro (see also 'Anonymously Yours' and 'Sixteen Decisions').
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Field of Study
Asian Studies
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Gayle Ferraro, fl. 2000, Aerial Productions
Author / Creator
Gayle Ferraro, fl. 2000
Date Published / Released
2005
Publisher
Berkeley Media
Topic / Theme
Hinduism, Religious beliefs, Death, Hospices, Hindustani
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2005 Berkeley Media
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The Gaze
directed by Mani Kaul, 1944-2011; performed by Shekhar Kapur, 1945-, Asha Dandavate, fl. 1991 and A.A. Baig, fl. 1991 (India: National Film Development Corporation Ltd), 1 hour 25 mins
Based on 'The Meek One', a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 40-year-old antique shop owner and money lender recounts his first meetings with his 17-year-old wife, when she pawned her items at his shop. As the film progresses, their marriage is revealed to be an unhappy one with his wife growing increasingly di...
Sample
directed by Mani Kaul, 1944-2011; performed by Shekhar Kapur, 1945-, Asha Dandavate, fl. 1991 and A.A. Baig, fl. 1991 (India: National Film Development Corporation Ltd), 1 hour 25 mins
Description
Based on 'The Meek One', a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 40-year-old antique shop owner and money lender recounts his first meetings with his 17-year-old wife, when she pawned her items at his shop. As the film progresses, their marriage is revealed to be an unhappy one with his wife growing increasingly distant and contemptuous of him. Their relationship gets more complicated with each quarrel and consequent reconciliation, even driving h...
Based on 'The Meek One', a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 40-year-old antique shop owner and money lender recounts his first meetings with his 17-year-old wife, when she pawned her items at his shop. As the film progresses, their marriage is revealed to be an unhappy one with his wife growing increasingly distant and contemptuous of him. Their relationship gets more complicated with each quarrel and consequent reconciliation, even driving his wife to point a gun to his head. Sadly, it is ultimately she herself who gets destroyed. A languidly-paced drama that is a departure from the average Indian narrative film, told largely through the internal monologue of the husband. Festivals: Festival des 3 Continent Nantes, France; Fribourg Film Festival; Hongkong International Film Festival; Lisbon Film Festival; Rotterdam Film Festival; London Film Festival; Locarno Film Festival; Seattle Film Festival; Birmingham Film Festival.
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Date Written / Recorded
2011-03-24
Field of Study
Asian Studies
Content Type
Performance
Performer / Ensemble
Shekhar Kapur, 1945-, Asha Dandavate, fl. 1991, A.A. Baig, fl. 1991
Contributor
Mani Kaul, 1944-2011
Author / Creator
Mani Kaul, 1944-2011, Shekhar Kapur, 1945-, Asha Dandavate, fl. 1991, A.A. Baig, fl. 1991
Date Published / Released
1990
Publisher
National Film Development Corporation Ltd
Topic / Theme
Indian, Marriage, Family relationships, Indians (Asian)
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1990 Used by permission of National Film Development Corporation.
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The Good Woman of Bangkok
directed by Dennis O'Rourke, 1945-2013; produced by Dennis O'Rourke, 1945-2013 (Cairns, Queensland: Camerawork Pty, 1991), 1 hour 22 mins
The Good Woman of Bangkok is a no-holds-barred look at the profession of prostitution and is filmed by legendary documentarist Dennis O'Rourke. He turns the camera on a young woman named Aoi, who allows O'Rourke to both film her and be her paid lover, in one of the most personal and multi-layered documentaries of...
Sample
directed by Dennis O'Rourke, 1945-2013; produced by Dennis O'Rourke, 1945-2013 (Cairns, Queensland: Camerawork Pty, 1991), 1 hour 22 mins
Description
The Good Woman of Bangkok is a no-holds-barred look at the profession of prostitution and is filmed by legendary documentarist Dennis O'Rourke. He turns the camera on a young woman named Aoi, who allows O'Rourke to both film her and be her paid lover, in one of the most personal and multi-layered documentaries of O'Rourke's canon. Born in a small Thai village and responsible to support her family, Aoi was drawn to prostitution as a source of inc...
The Good Woman of Bangkok is a no-holds-barred look at the profession of prostitution and is filmed by legendary documentarist Dennis O'Rourke. He turns the camera on a young woman named Aoi, who allows O'Rourke to both film her and be her paid lover, in one of the most personal and multi-layered documentaries of O'Rourke's canon. Born in a small Thai village and responsible to support her family, Aoi was drawn to prostitution as a source of income. Her career choice has an undeniable impact on her self-esteem and her outlook on life and love, and she candidly addresses both, lending the documentary a raw and authentic voice. O'Rourke is never seen on camera, but is the voice interviewing Aoi through the film, and she addresses him on-screen many times, adding a complex layer not typically seen in documentary film. Further blurring the lines of documentarist and participant, O'Rourke offers to buy her family farm, freeing her from the economic necessity to prostitute herself, but in a postscript to the film, O'Rourke returns a year later, and Aoi is still working in a massage parlor, denying herself and the film of a Hollywood happy ending. O'Rourke himself described the film as "...a metaphor for capitalism, here played out across the borders of race and culture, and about prostitution as a metaphor for all relations between men and women." He addressed his involvement in the film by saying, "I have exposed myself in order to force the audience to reconsider the whole nature of documentary film practice. Under the thrall of our separate desires, we are all implicated in some way."
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Dennis O'Rourke, 1945-2013
Author / Creator
Dennis O'Rourke, 1945-2013
Date Published / Released
1991
Publisher
Camerawork Pty
Topic / Theme
Prostitutes, Prostitution, Thai
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1991 by Camerawork Pty Ltd
×
The Great Ceremony to Straighten the World
directed by Jann Pasler, 1951-; produced by Jann Pasler, 1951- (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 1994), 56 mins
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 t...
Sample
directed by Jann Pasler, 1951-; produced by Jann Pasler, 1951- (Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media, 1994), 56 mins
Description
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. This insightful documentary depicts one of Bali's most important ceremonies, one not enacted for nearly 100 years. The ce...
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. This insightful documentary depicts one of Bali's most important ceremonies, one not enacted for nearly 100 years. The ceremony addresses a modern world gone seriously out of balance; it is also meant to remind the Balinese of their history and to engage them in its re-enactment. The video captures highlights of the ceremony while Balinese of varying backgrounds comment on its religious, environmental, cultural, and political meaning. The video will stimulate discussion and analysis in courses in cultural anthropology, religion, Asian and Balinese studies, and ethnomusicology. It was produced by Jann Pasler, Prof. of Music, University of California, San Diego.
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Field of Study
Asian Studies
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Jann Pasler, 1951-
Author / Creator
Jann Pasler, 1951-
Date Published / Released
1994
Publisher
Berkeley Media
Topic / Theme
Folklore, Religious rites and ceremonies, Music, Balinese
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1994 Berkeley Media
×
Hawaiian Voices: Bridging Past To Present
directed by Eddie Kamae, 1927-; produced by Rodney A. Ohtani, fl. 1998 and Myrna Kamae, fl. 1970 (Honolulu, HI: Hawaiian Legacy Foundation, 1998), 59 mins
This award-winning 1 hr documentary honors the role of kupuna (elders) in preserving Hawaiian culture. It focuses on the legacies of 3 respected Hawaiian elders whose lives bridged the transition from older times into the late 20th century. They are Ruth Makaila Kaholoa‘a; Lilia Wahinemaika‘i Hale; & Reverend...
Sample
directed by Eddie Kamae, 1927-; produced by Rodney A. Ohtani, fl. 1998 and Myrna Kamae, fl. 1970 (Honolulu, HI: Hawaiian Legacy Foundation, 1998), 59 mins
Description
This award-winning 1 hr documentary honors the role of kupuna (elders) in preserving Hawaiian culture. It focuses on the legacies of 3 respected Hawaiian elders whose lives bridged the transition from older times into the late 20th century. They are Ruth Makaila Kaholoa‘a; Lilia Wahinemaika‘i Hale; & Reverend David “Kawika” Ka‘alakea. Each is a living archive whose memories & perspectives need to be shared as a way of bringing the heali...
This award-winning 1 hr documentary honors the role of kupuna (elders) in preserving Hawaiian culture. It focuses on the legacies of 3 respected Hawaiian elders whose lives bridged the transition from older times into the late 20th century. They are Ruth Makaila Kaholoa‘a; Lilia Wahinemaika‘i Hale; & Reverend David “Kawika” Ka‘alakea. Each is a living archive whose memories & perspectives need to be shared as a way of bringing the healing wisdom of the past into the often fragmented world of the present.
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Date Written / Recorded
1998
Field of Study
Asian Studies
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Myrna Kamae, fl. 1970, Eddie Kamae, 1927-, Rodney A. Ohtani, fl. 1998
Author / Creator
Eddie Kamae, 1927-, Myrna Kamae, fl. 1970
Date Published / Released
1998
Publisher
Hawaiian Legacy Foundation
Topic / Theme
Hawaiian, Hawaiian people, Cultural ethos, Cultural norms, Cultural identity, Cultural change and history, Haitians
Copyright Message
Copyright 1998 Hawaiian Legacy Foundation
×
Highlands Trilogy, 1, First Contact
directed by Bob Connolly, 1945- and Robin Anderson, 1948-2002; produced by Robin Anderson, 1948-2002 and Bob Connolly, 1945-, in Highlands Trilogy, 1 (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1983), 52 mins
This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New...
Sample
directed by Bob Connolly, 1945- and Robin Anderson, 1948-2002; produced by Robin Anderson, 1948-2002 and Bob Connolly, 1945-, in Highlands Trilogy, 1 (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1983), 52 mins
Description
This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea in search of gold, they carried a movie camera. Thus they captured on film their unexpected confrontation with thousands of Ston...
This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea in search of gold, they carried a movie camera. Thus they captured on film their unexpected confrontation with thousands of Stone Age people who had no concept of human life beyond their valleys. This amazing footage forms the basis of First Contact. Yet there is more to this extraordinary film than the footage that was recovered. Fifty years later some of the participants are still alive and vividly recall their unique experience. The Papuans tell how they thought the white men were their ancestors, bleached by the sun and returned from the dead. They were amazed at the artifacts of 20th century life such as tin cans, phonographs and airplanes. When shown their younger, innocent selves in the found footage, they recall the darker side of their relationship with these mysterious beings with devastating weapons. Australian Dan Leahy describes his fear at being outnumbered by primitive looking people with whom he could not speak. He felt he had to dominate them for his own survival and to continue his quest for gold. First Contact is one of those rare films that holds an audience spellbound. Humor and pathos are combined in this classic story of colonialism, told by the people who were there. College Adult This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea in search of gold, they carried a movie camera. Thus they captured on film their unexpected confrontation with thousands of Stone Age people who had no concept of human life beyond their valleys. This amazing footage forms the basis of First Contact. Yet there is more to this extraordinary film than the footage that was recovered. Fifty years later some of the participants are still alive and vividly recall their unique experience. They were amazed at the artifacts of 20th century life such as tin cans, phonographs and airplanes. When shown their younger, innocent selves in the found footage, they recall the darker side of their relationship with these mysterious beings with devastating weapons. Australian Dan Leahy describes his fear at being outnumbered by primitive looking people with whom he could not speak. He felt he had to dominate them for his own survival and to continue his quest for gold. First Contact is one of those rare films that holds an audience spell-bound. Humor and pathos are combined in this classic story of colonialism, told by the people who were there.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Robin Anderson, 1948-2002, Bob Connolly, 1945-, James Leahy, Daniel Leahy, 1912-1991, Richard Oxenburgh, fl. 1969-1982
Author / Creator
Bob Connolly, 1945-, Robin Anderson, 1948-2002
Date Published / Released
1983
Publisher
Filmakers Library
Series
Highlands Trilogy
Speaker / Narrator
Richard Oxenburgh, fl. 1969-1982
Person Discussed
Daniel Leahy, 1912-1991, James Leahy, Michael Leahy, 1901-1979
Topic / Theme
Papua New Guinean, Imperialism, Tribal and national groups, Cultural identity, Intercultural communication, Cultural change and history, Gold mines and mining, Anthropology, Cultural adaptation, Ethnography, Ethnic Studies, Papua New Guineans
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1983. Used by permission of Filmakers Library. All rights reserved.
×
Highlands Trilogy, 1, First Contact: Filmmaker Interviews
directed by Bob Connolly, 1945- and Robin Anderson, 1948-2002; produced by Robin Anderson, 1948-2002 and Bob Connolly, 1945-, in Highlands Trilogy, 1 (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1983), 38 mins
This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New...
Sample
directed by Bob Connolly, 1945- and Robin Anderson, 1948-2002; produced by Robin Anderson, 1948-2002 and Bob Connolly, 1945-, in Highlands Trilogy, 1 (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 1983), 38 mins
Description
This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea in search of gold, they carried a movie camera. Thus they captured on film their unexpected confrontation with thousands of Ston...
This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea in search of gold, they carried a movie camera. Thus they captured on film their unexpected confrontation with thousands of Stone Age people who had no concept of human life beyond their valleys. This amazing footage forms the basis of First Contact. Yet there is more to this extraordinary film than the footage that was recovered. Fifty years later some of the participants are still alive and vividly recall their unique experience. The Papuans tell how they thought the white men were their ancestors, bleached by the sun and returned from the dead. They were amazed at the artifacts of 20th century life such as tin cans, phonographs and airplanes. When shown their younger, innocent selves in the found footage, they recall the darker side of their relationship with these mysterious beings with devastating weapons. Australian Dan Leahy describes his fear at being outnumbered by primitive looking people with whom he could not speak. He felt he had to dominate them for his own survival and to continue his quest for gold. First Contact is one of those rare films that holds an audience spellbound. Humor and pathos are combined in this classic story of colonialism, told by the people who were there. College Adult This is the classic film of cultural confrontation that is as compelling today as when it was first released over 20 years ago. When Columbus and Cortez ventured into the New World there was no camera to record the drama of this first encounter. But, in 1930, when the Leahy brothers penetrated the interior of New Guinea in search of gold, they carried a movie camera. Thus they captured on film their unexpected confrontation with thousands of Stone Age people who had no concept of human life beyond their valleys. This amazing footage forms the basis of First Contact. Yet there is more to this extraordinary film than the footage that was recovered. Fifty years later some of the participants are still alive and vividly recall their unique experience. They were amazed at the artifacts of 20th century life such as tin cans, phonographs and airplanes. When shown their younger, innocent selves in the found footage, they recall the darker side of their relationship with these mysterious beings with devastating weapons. Australian Dan Leahy describes his fear at being outnumbered by primitive looking people with whom he could not speak. He felt he had to dominate them for his own survival and to continue his quest for gold. First Contact is one of those rare films that holds an audience spell-bound. Humor and pathos are combined in this classic story of colonialism, told by the people who were there.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Interview
Contributor
Robin Anderson, 1948-2002, Bob Connolly, 1945-, James Leahy, Daniel Leahy, 1912-1991, Peter Thomson
Author / Creator
Bob Connolly, 1945-, Robin Anderson, 1948-2002
Date Published / Released
1983
Publisher
Filmakers Library
Series
Highlands Trilogy
Person Discussed
James Leahy, Daniel Leahy, 1912-1991, Peter Thomson, Michael Leahy, 1901-1979
Topic / Theme
Papua New Guinean, Imperialism, Tribal and national groups, Cultural identity, Intercultural communication, Cultural change and history, Gold mines and mining, Anthropology, Cultural adaptation, Ethnography, Ethnic Studies, Papua New Guineans
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1983. Used by permission of Filmakers Library. All rights reserved.
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