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Founded in 1968, our mission is to promote thought-provoking documentary film and media for learning about the people and cultures of the world.

Richard Leacock & Valerie Lalonde: The Paris Years 1989 to 2009 5 DVD Set

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Richard Leacock & Valerie Lalonde:
The Paris Years 1989 to 2009


A 5-DVD set of 11 films made by documentary luminary Richard Leacock with his great love and creative collaborator Valerie Lalonde. In 1989, the then-new Video-8 cameras delivered them from working with film, and allowed them to shoot more freely to capture the beauty, charm, and poignancy of life itself. Read more

A Media Archaeology of Boston

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A Media Archaeology of Boston


Using the Boston region as a laboratory for exploring different modes of urban representation across both history and media, Media Archaeology exhibits a carefully-selected excavation of the city's spaces through a montage of short films, photographs, postcards, and soundscapes of the larger metropolitan area. Read more

The One and the Many

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The One and the Many


The Nath Yogis of Northern India are Tantrik, Aghori, holy seekers who desire to find the One amongst the many and return to the source of all things. Continuing his journey of discovery from The Lover and the Beloved, Rajive McMullen goes deeper into Tantra, presenting the story of his own guru, the great Guru Gorakh Nath. Read more

Framing the Other

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Framing the Other


In southern Ethiopia, Mursi women are known for placing large plates in their lower lips and wearing enormous, richly decorated earrings, which has recently begun to attract ethnotourism. This insightful and honest film portrays the interaction between and private thoughts of a Mursi woman and a Dutch tourist. Read more

DER film project receives NEA Grant

IN THE NEWS

VITFF Pays Tribute to George Stoney


In October, DER co-sponsored a panel at The Vermont International Film Festival examining the work and legacy of pioneering documentary filmmaker George C. Stoney. The 2-hour panel discussion explored Stoney's influence on documentary filmmaking practices and ethics, and his role in the development of early public access media. Read more

Films of Jorge Prelorán

COMING SOON

Films of Jorge Prelorán


A cinematic icon in his native Argentina, Jorge Prelorán was a pioneer in the field of ethnographic documentary film and a professor at UCLA. DER is proud to announce our forthcoming collection of his works, including Imaginero (Hermógenes Cayo), Zulay, Cochengo Miranda, Zerda's Children, and others. Read more

Mallamall

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Mallamall


Globalization is causing India's marketplace culture to undergo rapid change. The growing middle-class desires a western lifestyle in which malls take precedence over street vendors. How will this affect the traditional economy on which so many people depend? Read more

The Newcomers

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The Newcomers


This film by George Stoney follows economically threatened Appalachian people as they migrate to cities to find work. It examines the community's struggles with the perennial issues of immigration and learning to live with people from different backgrounds. Read more

Stori Tumbuna

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Stori Tumbuna


Conceived as an opportunity for the Lak to tell their stories in their way, Stori Tumbuna takes its structure from the traditional mythologies of the region. Unlike films told from the perspective of an outsider, this film presents a collaborative account that privileges the Lak point of view and ethos. Read more

Smokin' Fish

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Smokin' Fish


Cory Mann, a quirky Tlingit businessman, decides to spend a summer at his family's traditional fish camp in Juneau, Alaska. By turns tragic, bizarre, or just plain ridiculous, Smokin' Fish chronicles one man's attempts to navigate between the modern world and an ancient culture. Read more

John Marshall Retrospective at DocsDF

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Funeral Season


Travelogue and ethnography meet in this comedic ghost story about a Canadian Jew wandering through an African culture where 'the dead are not dead.' A lightness can be found in this subjective film which imaginatively and symbolically turns the gazes of two different worlds upon each other. Read more

Unity Through Culture

NEW RELEASE

Unity Through Culture


Unity looks at a group of Baluan islanders in the South Pacific who wish to revive old cultural practices such as log drumming and penis dances in an attempt to attract international tourism and revolt against '70 years of cultural oppression' by Christianity. Read more

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