RAI FILM FESTIVAL 2017: full programme now online

The programme includes 35 contemporary ethnographic documentaries competing in four main prize categories, 11 special out-of-competition screenings and a wide range of workshops, masterclasses and gala events.

Among the many highlights there is a selection of films on migration, with a focus on the Mediterranean route into Europe. Lampedusa in Winter is a portrait of the small, remote Italian island and its inhabitants, fishermen and migrants; Those Who Jump (which premiered at Berlinale) is filmed by a Malian man living in a camp on the border between Morocco and Spain who, with many others, regularly attempts to jump the high wire fence that separates him from Europe.

Japan features prominently with two acclaimed titles: The Day the Sun Fell, a Locarno Premiere by Swiss-Japanese Aya Domenig, about the bombing of Hiroshima and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima; and Ama-san, a delicate and visually enchanting celebration of the female abalone divers who fish in the Pacific Ocean with no aid from air tanks or any other tools to enable underwater breathing.

The Cinema Travellers, which was received with great acclaim at Cannes Film Festival, is our own ‘Cinema Paradiso’. It is an affectionate but melancholy ode to a vanishing phenomenon in rural India: the travelling cinema, and a life affirming celebration of the art form itself.

Hugh Brody will speak about his life and career during the Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony in his honour; Jean Rouch's centenary will be celebrated with the screening of Moi, un noir and a round-table with a group of international speakers.

Special attention has been given to career paths in Visual Anthropology. We offer a forum with distributors and commissioners, chaired by Andre Singer, and a workshop on career options for Visual Anthropologists (Life after MAVIS). 

Join us for this and much, much more.