New Releases - March 2008
From Honey to Ashes color, 48 minutes
An intimate portrait of an indigenous Paraguayan community after contact with the developed world, and their efforts to chart a collective future in a context shaped by deforestation, NGO activity, anthropologists and evangelical Christianity. This film contributes to the visual anthropology of lowland South America by putting a human face to critical questions about contact, indigeneity and modernity.
The Last Kamikaze: Testimonials from WWII Suicide Pilots color, 55 minutes
This video explores the minds of former teenage suicide bombers who participated in the suicide operations during WW II. Now in their 70s and 80s, these individuals reflect upon their past and talk candidly about their lives, issues related to patriotism, propaganda, spirituality, and on-going turmoil in the Middle East.
The Last Rites of the Honourable Mr. Rai color, 47 minutes
A groundbreaking and in-depth study of a Hindu cremation that allows the viewer to actually experience and participate in a cremation ceremony along the Ganges River.
Today the Hawk Takes One Chick color, 72 minutes
Jane Gillooly’s film captures day-to-day life in a rural society on the threshold of simultaneous collapse and reinvention. The Lubombo region of Swaziland suffers from the world’s highest prevalence of HIV and the lowest life expectancy. This observational film is told from the poignant perspective of three grandmothers (gogos) who have become instrumental in defining a new world order in the fight against the spread of HIV. As the stakes of each day heighten, gogo Albertina asks: “What will happen when all the gogos are dead?”
Walking Pilgrims (Arukihenro) color, 73 minutes
Shot over a period of nine months and based on ethnographic survey methods, this film reveals the motives, aims and desires of modern Japanese people as they follow a Buddhist pilgrimage. Presenting the pilgrimage as a microcosm, Walking Pilgrims (Arukihenro) offers profound insights into the religious and socio-cultural background of modern Japanese society whilst at the same time pointing to the universal human quest for self-knowledge.
Posted on March 21st, 2008 in New Releases |
