COVID-19 Update
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NEW RELEASE
Wax Print
Curious about the origins of the bold patterned fabrics she’d always had around her growing up, filmmaker Aiwan Obinyan sets off on a journey of discovery. From the villages of Indonesia to the cotton fields of America; from European industrial mills to the bustling markets and sewing schools of West Africa, she uncovers the fascinating story of how one fabric came to symbolize a continent, its people, and their struggle for freedom.
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RESOURCES
Indigenous Studies Film Initiative
Our Indigenous Studies Film Initiative is a commitment to decolonize and indigenize the DER film collection and improve access to our catalogue for Indigenous audiences through the creation of an interactive map, application of reparative language to subject categories, and outreach and collaboration with communities depicted in our collection.
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NEW RELEASE
Mundo
Matilde is elderly alpaca herder who lives high in the high plains along the borders of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. For many in the Aymara community, to which Matilde belongs, the magnificent landscape surrounding them has been reshaped by evangelical notions, introduced by Spanish campaigns over the past few decades. Now Matilde trusts more in Heaven than in Earth, which she has come to regard as Satan’s domain.
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NEW RELEASE
Sankara Is Not Dead
After Burkina Faso’s 2014 popular uprising, the young poet Bikontine travels along the country’s only rail line to meet his fellow citizens and learn about their dreams and disappointments while confronting his poetry with the realities of a rapidly shifting society. His journey ultimately reveals the enduring political legacy of former president Thomas Sankara, known as the “African Che Guevara.”
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FILMMAKER INTERVIEWS
Mixing Time and Space: A Conversation with Steven Feld
Steven Feld’s “Voices of the Rainforest” provides viewers extraordinary access to the complex human and non-human soundscape of Papua New Guinea’s Bosavi rainforest. Alice Apley “sat down” with Steve and, over email, discussed the making of the film.
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NEW RELEASE
The Healer and the Psychiatrist
On the South Pacific Island group of Vava’u, the traditional healer Emeline Lolohea treats people affected by spirits. One day away by ferry, the only Tongan Psychiatrist Dr Mapa Puloka has established a public psychiatry well known across the region. Though they have never met in person, this film creates a dialogue between them on the nature of mental illness and spiritual affliction.
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FEATURE
COVID-19 Micro-Ethnographies
COVID-19 has turned our world upside down, its impact reaching across the globe, affecting individuals in virtually every nation on the planet. This curated collection of short, stylistically diverse micro-ethnographies provides a window into the personal experiences of DER filmmakers from around the world during these extraordinary times.
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EVENTS
DER50: Tim Asch Symposium at USC
In November 2018, the USC School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California held a day-long symposium on the work of Timothy Asch, an event which also helped celebrate DER’s 50th anniversary.
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EVENTS
The Cinema of Patience: Reflecting on N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman
As part of DER’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University hosted a film screening & panel discussion on N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman.
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NEWS
DER Featured in WBUR's The ARTery
A recent feature in WBUR’S The ARTery takes a look back at 50 years of DER’s history and reflects on the influence its founders have had on documentary cinema.
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My Rembetika Blues
Mary Zournazi -
Following the Thread
Kathy Brew, Roberto Guerra -
Wax Print
Aiwan Obinyan -
Mundo
Ana Edwards -
Sankara Is Not Dead
Lucie Viver -
A Year in the Field
George Gmelch, Dennis Lanson -
The Healer and the Psychiatrist
Mike Poltorak -
The Buddha Mummies of North Japan
Shayne Dahl, Satoshi Watanabe -
Forsaken Fragments
Robert Gardner -
Life is a Very Strange Thing
Les McLaren, Annie Stiven -
A Long Way Home
Luc Schaedler -
Voices of the Rainforest
Steven Feld -
Mother, Daughter, Sister
Jeanne Hallacy -
Sittwe
Jeanne Hallacy -
Sweetheart Dancers
Ben-Alex Dupris -
Oyate
Dan Girmus -
Crying Earth Rise Up
Suree Towfighnia -
Survivors
WeOwnTV
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J.B. Jackson and the American Landscape
Janet Mendelsohn -
West of the Tracks
Wang Bing -
The Uprising of ’34
George Stoney, Judith Helfand, Susanne Rostock -
Mission Hill and the Miracle of Boston
Richard Broadman -
Modest Scarring
Randy Bell -
Argentinian Lesson
Wojciech and Małgorzata Staroń -
Hello Photo
Nina Davenport
Founded in 1968, our mission is to champion the creation, circulation, and preservation of documentary film and media that amplifies underrepresented voices, and inspires understanding about people, cultures, and identities



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