Documentary News and Resources

Focusing on documentary news from DER and around the world brought to you by dedicated documentary professionals and some trusty sidekicks.

Subscribe to our new RSS feed!


New Releases - September 2009

The Left Eye of God: Caodaism Travels from Vietnam to CaliforniaThe Left Eye of God: Caodaism Travels from Vietnam to California color, 58 minutes
Caodaists worship the left eye as an Asian synthesis of eastern and western traditions. In this film, they tell their stories of exile, anti-colonial struggle, and building immigrant congregations in California. Footage of rituals and temples, and archival images combine to provide a personal perspective on a largely unknown mystical tradition.

Horses of Life and DeathHorses of Life and Death color, 26 minutes
This film explores the gender-driven rituals and festivities during the New Year celebration in the Indonesian Island of Sumba. Within the celebration, the masculine fierceness and violence of the Pasola, a traditional jousting battle with hundreds of horses and riders, contrasts with the Sumbanese belief that fertility and life come from female spirits. Employing the both male and female narrators, Horses of Life and Death creates an objective look about the gendered perspective of traditional rituals.

The Feast in Dream VillageThe Feast in Dream Village color, 27 minutes
This engaging film documents a week-long ritual to restore fertility after a fire and famine has plagued a Sumbanese village. The film focuses on a challenge to the authority of the spirits and ancestors, offering insight into the transformations of Sumbanese society in the 1980s. This small-scale drama shows a pagan community feeling pressures which would eventually lead to an increased number of conversions to Christianity by the dawn of the 21st century.

Posted on September 3rd, 2009 in New Releases |

Documentary Educational Resources is powered by WordPress
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).

Download Our Catalog
Email Newsletter

Support DER