: This is a chronologic list of representative anthropologically-minded films and filmmakers: *

Alfred C. Haddon Alfred Cort Haddon, Sc.D., FRS, FRGS FRAI (24 May 1855 – 20 April 1940, Cambridge) was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist. Initially a biologist, who achieved his most notable fieldwork, with W.H.R. Rivers, C.G. Seligman ...

– UK **Torres Strait Expedition, 1898 *

Edward S. Curtis Edward Sherriff Curtis (February 19, 1868 – October 19, 1952) was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people. Sometimes referred to as the "Shadow Catcher", Curtis traveled ...

– US **

In the Land of the Head Hunters ''In the Land of the Head Hunters'' (also called ''In the Land of the War Canoes'') is a 1914 silent film fictionalizing the world of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples of the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Cana ...

, 1916 *

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...

- US **Fieldwork Footage, 1928 **Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort South Carolina, May 1940 *

Percy Powell-Cotton Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton, FZS, FRGS, FRAI, JP (20 September 1866 – 26 June 1940)Thanet Gazette, 'Obituary of Major Percy Powell-Cotton', 28 June 1940 was an English explorer, hunter, most noted for the creation of the Powell- ...

- UK ** Crafts in the Cameroons, 1931 ** Gorilla Drive, Cameroons, 1931 ** Osonigbe Juju House and Benin Brass Cutting, 1931 * Robert J. Flaherty – US ** Nanook of the North, 1922 ** Moana, 1926 **

Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...

, 1931 **

Man of Aran ''Man of Aran'' is a 1934 Irish fictional documentary (ethnofiction) film shot, written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty about life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters living in premodern conditions, d ...

, 1934 **

Louisiana Story ''Louisiana Story'' is a 1948 American black-and-white drama film directed by Robert J. Flaherty. Although it has historically been represented as a documentary film, the events and characters depicted are fictional and the film was commissioned ...

, 1948 *

José Leitão de Barros José Leitão de Barros (22 October 1896 – 29 June 1967) was a Portuguese film director and playwright. Among his most famous films are '' Maria do Mar'' (1930), the second docufiction after '' Moana'' (1926) by Robert Flaherty, the first ...

– Portugal ** Maria do Mar, 1930 ** Ala-Arriba!, 1942 *

Jean Epstein Jean Epstein (; 25 March 1897 – 2 April 1953) was a French filmmaker, film theorist, literary critic, and novelist. Although he is remembered today primarily for his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's ''The Fall of the House of Usher'', he directe ...

– Poland ** L'or des mers (The ocean's gold), 1932 *

Diana and Antoinette Powell-Cotton Diana Powell-Cotton (1908–1986) and Antoinette Powell-Cotton (1915–1997) were English sisters who worked together as anthropologists. Early life Diana was born in 1908 and Antoinette in 1913. They were two of the four children of Percy ...

- UK ** Angola: Dombondola Potter, 1936 ** Angola: Scenes from a household (Dombondola), 1936 *

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Co ...

- US **

Trance and Dance in Bali ''Trance and Dance in Bali'' is a short documentary film shot by the anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson during their research on Bali in the 1930s. It shows female dancers with sharp ''kris'' daggers dancing in trance, eventually ...

(

), 1937 * Jean Rouch – France **

Les Maîtres Fous ''Les maîtres fous'' (; "The Mad Masters") is a 1955 short film directed by Jean Rouch, a well-known French film director and ethnologist. It is a docufiction, his first ethnofiction, a genre he is considered to have created. Historical backg ...

(

The Mad Masters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

), 1954 **

Moi, un noir ''Moi, un noir'' (, "Me, a Black erson; also released as ''I, a Negro'') is a 1958 French ethnofiction film directed by Jean Rouch. The film is set in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Synopsis The film depicts young Nigerien immigrants who left their c ...

, 1958 **

Chronique d’un été ''Chronicle of a Summer'' (French original title: ''Chronique d'un été'') is a 1961 French documentary film shot during the summer of 1960 by sociologist Edgar Morin and anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch, with the technical and aesthetic ...

(Chronicle of a Summer), 1961 **

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

, 1954–1967 **

Petit à petit Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans * ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua * Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four * Petit Gâteau *P ...

, 1972 * Lionel Rogosin – US ** On the Bowery, 1957 ** Come Back, Africa, 1957 *

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

– US ** The Hunters, 1957 ** N!ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman, 1980 ** A Kalahari Family, 1951–2000 *

António Campos António Campos (29 May 1922 – 8 March 1999) was one of the pioneer filmmakers of visual anthropology in Portugal. Mainly using pure documentary techniques, he shot ethnographic films and tried docufiction. As well as in fictional films, he u ...

– Portugal ** A Almadraba atuneira (Tuna net), 1961 **

Vilarinho das Furnas Vilarinho da Furna (alternately called ''Vilarinho das Furnas'') was a former-village, located in the civil parish of Campo de Gerês, in the municipality of Terras de Bouro, in the northern Portuguese district of Braga. Located on margins of Ri ...

, 1971 ** Histórias selvagens (Savage stories), 1978 ** Falamos de Rio de Onor (Let’s talk about Rio de Onor) ** Gente da Praia da Vieira (The people of Praia da Vieira), 1976 ** Terra fria (Cold land), 1992 *

Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wo ...

– Portugal **

Acto da Primavera The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an international organization aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin. Its member states are: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venez ...

( Act of Spring), 1963 *

Michel Brault Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928 – 21 September 2013) was a Canadian cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National ...

– Canada **

Pour la suite du monde ''Pour la suite du monde'' (also known as ''For Those Who Will Follow''; ''Of Whales, the Moon, and Men'', or ''The Moontrap'' in English) is a 1963 Canadian documentary film directed by Michel Brault, Marcel Carrière and Pierre Perrault. It was ...

, 1963 **

Orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(Les Ordres) 1975 **

The Paper Wedding ''The Paper Wedding'' (french: Les noces de papier) is a 1989 made for television Canadian film directed by Michel Brault.Charles-Henri Ramond"Noces de papier, Les – Film de Michel Brault" ''Films du Québec'', February 2, 2009. It was entered i ...

(Les Noces de papier), 1990 *

Pierre Perrault Pierre Perrault (29 June 1927 – 24 June 1999) was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada, although largely unknown outside of Québec. In ...

– Canada **

, 1963 * Robert Gardner – US ** Dead Birds, 1964 **

The Nuer ''The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People'' is an ethnographical study by the British anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard (1902–73) first published in 1940. The work examined the polit ...

, 1970 **

Rivers of Sand ''Rivers of Sand'' is a 1973 documentary film by Robert Gardner that portrays the Hamar people of southwestern Ethiopia. See also * List of American films of 1973 A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: Peo ...

, 1975 ** Sons of Shiva, 1985 ** Forest of Bliss, 1986 * David MacDougall and Judith MacDougall – Australia ** To Live with Herds, 1968/1972 ** Nawi, 1968/1970 **

The Wedding Camels ''The Wedding Camels'' is an ethnographic film directed by David MacDougall and Judith MacDougall, filmed in 1974 and released in 1980 (108 min., Turkana with English subtitles), that examines the negotiations and cultural practices that surround t ...

, 1974/1977 ** Lorang's Way, 1974/1979 **

A Wife Among Wives ''A Wife Among Wives'' is a 1981 ethnographic documentary produced by filmmakers Judith and David MacDougall. It is about the dynamics of polyamorous marriage in a small Turkana village in Kenya. The film premiered at the 1981 Margaret Mead Film ...

, 1974/1981 ** Three Horsemen, 1978/1982 ** Stockman's Strategy, 1982/1984 ** Collum Calling Canberra, 1982/1984 ** Doon School Chronicles, 1997-1998/2000 **

Diyas Zarina Diyas ( kk, Зари́на Ди́ас; born 18 October 1993) is a Kazakh professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as No. 31 in the world by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Diyas has won one WTA singles title, at the ...

, 1997/2000 * Tim Asch – US **

The Feast ''The Feast'' (Welsh: ''Gwledd'') is a 2021 Welsh folk horror film directed by Lee Haven Jones and written and produced by Roger Williams. The film stars Annes Elwy, Nia Roberts and Julian Lewis Jones. It premiered at the Official Selection of ...

, 1969 ** Yanomamo: A Multidisciplinary Study, 1971 ** Magical Death, 1974 **

The Ax Fight ''The Ax Fight'' (1975) is an ethnographic film by anthropologist and filmmaker Tim Asch and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon about a conflict in a Yanomami village called Mishimishimabowei-teri, in southern Venezuela. It is best known as an ico ...

, 1975 ** A Man Called "Bee": Studying the Yanomamo, 1975 ** A Balinese Trance Seance, 1979 ** Jero on Jero: A Balinese Trance Seance Observed, 1980 ** Jero Tapakan: Stories From the Life of a Balinese Healer, 1983 ** The Medium is the Masseuse: A Balinese Massage, 1983 ** The Water of Words: A Cultural Ecology of an Eastern Indonesian Island, 1983 ** Spear and Sword: a Ceremonial Payment of Bridewealth, 1989 ** Releasing the Spirits, 1990 ** A Celebration of Origins, 1992 *

António Reis António Ferreira Gonçalves dos Reis, known as António Reis (27 August 1927 – 10 September 1991), was a Portuguese film director, screenwriter and producer, poet, sculptor and ethnographer. He was married to Margarida Cordeiro, co-director of ...

and

Margarida Cordeiro Margarida Cordeiro (born 1939) is a Portuguese psychiatrist and film director from Mogadouro. The art concepts developed by her and her husband António Reis are called The School of Reis. Filmography * Jaime Jaime is a common Spanish and Port ...

– Portugal **

Trás-os-Montes Trás-os-Montes () is a geographical, historical and cultural region of Portugal. Portuguese for "behind the mountains", Trás-os-Montes is located northeast of the country in an upland area, landlocked by the Douro and Tâmega rivers to south a ...

, 1976 ** Ana, 1984 *

Noémia Delgado Noémia Delgado (7 June 1933 – 2 March 2016) was a Portuguese television and film screenwriter, film editor and director. Background She was the daughter of Luís Delgado (21 August 1900 – 8 December 1986) and wife Judite da Conceição d ...

– Portugal **

Máscaras ''Máscaras'' ( en, Masks) is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by RecordTV. Created by Lauro César Muniz. It premiered on April 4, 2012 and ended on October 2, 2012. Plot Otávio is a thriving cattle breeder in Mato Grosso do Sul. ...

(Masks), 1976 *

Bob Connolly Bob Connolly is an Australian film director, cinematographer and author. He is best known for his documentaries produced over the past 30 years, including '' The Highlands Trilogy'' and ''Rats in the Ranks''. More recent films include '' Facing ...

and Robin Anderson **

First Contact First contact may refer to: *First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch *First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another ...

, 1983 ** Joe Leahy’s Neighbors, 1988 ** Black Harvest, 1991 *

Dennis O'Rourke Dennis O'Rourke (14 August 1945 – 15 June 2013) was an Australian cinematographer and documentary filmmaker. Early life and education Dennis O'Rourke was born on 14 August 1945 in Brisbane. For most of his childhood, Dennis O'Rourke lived i ...

– Australia ** Yumi Yet – Independence for Papua New Guinea, 1976 ** Ileksen – Politics in Papua New Guinea, 1978 ** Yap ... How Did you Know We’d Like TV, 1980 ** The Shark Callers of Kontu, 1982 **

Couldn't Be Fairer ''Couldn't Be Fairer'' is a 1984 Australian documentary film directed by Dennis O'Rourke and narrated by Aboriginal activist Mick Miller, which paints a disturbing portrait of Indigenous life in Queensland. The title of the film references a 1 ...

, 1984 ** Half Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age, 1985 **

Cannibal Tours ''Cannibal Tours'' is a 1988 documentary film by Australian director and cinematographer Dennis O'Rourke. While it borrows heavily from ethnographic modes of representation, the film is a biting commentary on the nature of modernity. The fil ...

, 1988 ** The Good Woman of Bangkok, 1991 **

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the , Cunnamulla had a population of 1,140 people. Geography Cunnamulla ...

, 2000 ** Land Mines -- A Love Story, 2004 *

John Melville Bishop John Melville Bishop (born April 4, 1946, in North Dakota) is a contemporary, U.S., documentary filmmaker known for the breadth of his collaborations, primarily in the fields of anthropology and folklore. He has worked with Alan Lomax, John Marshall ...

- US ** Rhesus Play, 1977 ** YoYo Man, 1978 ** The Land Where The Blues Began, 1979 ** New England Fiddles & New England Dances, 1983 ** The Last Window, 1987 ** Himalayan Herders, 1997 ** Hosay Trinidad (1999) **

Oh What A Blow That Phantom Gave Me Oh, OH, or Oh! is an interjection, often proclaiming surprise. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Oh!'' (Girls' Generation album), 2010 * ''Oh!'' (ScoLoHoFo album), 2003 * ''OH (ohio)'', by Lambchop, 2008 * ''Oh!'', an E ...

, 2003, (with Harald E.L. Prins) ** Oss Tales, 2007 ** John Bishop Short Films, (14 films 1975-2007) * Pedro Costa – Portugal ** Casa de Lava (Down to Earth), 1994 **

Ossos ''Ossos'' (English: "Bones") is a 1997 Portuguese film directed by Pedro Costa. The film was shot in the Fontainhas district of Lisbon (also known as "Estrela d'Africa"), where disadvantaged dwellers and immigrants from former Portuguese colonie ...

(Bones), 1997 ** No Quarto da Vanda (In Vanda’s room), 2000 ** Juventude em Marcha (Colossal youth), 2006 * Flora Gomes –

Guiné-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...

Po di Sangui ''Po di Sangui'' (Tree of Blood), is a 1996 Bissau-Guinean– French drama film directed by Flora Gomes and produced by Jean-Pierre Gallepe. The film stars Dulceneia Bidjanque in lead role along with Djuco Bodjan, Dadu Cissé, Adama Kouyaté and ...

, 1996 **

Nha Fala ''Nha Fala'', English title: ''My Voice'' is a 2002 internationally co-produced musical film directed by Bissau Guinean director Flora Gomes. The movie stars Fatou N'Diaye (sometimes as Ndiaye), Ángelo Torres, Jean-Christophe Dollé and Bia Gomes ...

, 2002 *

Ziba Mir-Hosseini Ziba Mir-Hosseini ( fa, زیبا میرحسینی; born 3 April 1952) is an Iranian-born legal anthropologist, specialising in Islamic law, gender and development. She received her PhD in anthropology from Cambridge University and is the author o ...

and

Kim Longinotto Kim Longinotto ( Sally Anne Longinotto-Landseer; born 8 February 1948, London) is a British documentary film maker, well-known for making films that highlight the plight of female victims of oppression or discrimination. Longinotto has made mo ...

- Iran/UK **

Divorce Iranian Style ''Divorce Iranian Style'' is a 1998 documentary film directed by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini which chronicles the legal battles of three Iranian couples as they seek divorce in the Iranian court system. The film documents three couples a ...

, 1998 **Runaway, 2001 *

Ruth Behar Ruth Behar (born 1956) is a Cuban-American anthropologist and writer.Ruth Beh ...

- Cuba/US **

Adio Kerida ''Adio Kerida: Goodbye my Dear Love'' is a 2002 documentary by American anthropologist Ruth Behar that follows her trip to Cuba, which her family left when she was four. She searches for memories from her past and investigates the dwindling Sep ...

(Goodbye Dear Love) 2002 *

Fernando Meirelles Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (; born 9 November 1955) is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for co-directing the film '' City of God'', released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films, which ...

– Brazil **Cidade de Deus, ('' City of God''), 2002 *Randy Olson **

Flock of Dodos ''Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus'' is a documentary film by American marine biologist and filmmaker Randy Olson. It highlights the debate between proponents of the concept of intelligent design and the scientific evidence ...

, 2006 **Oh, What a Blow that Phantom Gave Me! 2003 (with John Bishop) *

Harjant Gill Harjant Gill is an Indian documentary filmmaker and teaches visual anthropology at Towson University. His films explore topics related to gender, sexuality, religion and belonging in India and among Indians in diaspora. Personal life Gill was ...

- US / India **Milind Soman Made Me Gay, 2007 **Roots of Love, 2011 **Mardistan/Macholand, 2014 **Sent Away Boys, 2016 *

Véréna Paravel Véréna Paravel (born 21 April 1971 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland) is a French anthropologist and artist who works in film, video, and photography. Biography Verena Paravel was born in 1971. She is an anthropologist, artist and filmmaker who wor ...

and Lucien Castaing-Taylor- France/UK ** Leviathan, 2012 **somniloquies, 2017 **Caniba, 2017 * Robert Lemelson – US ** 40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian Tragedy, 2009 ** Afflictions: Culture and Mental Health in Indonesia Film Series, 2010 / 2011 *** Shadows and Illuminations, 2010 *** Family Victim, 2010 *** The Bird Dancer, 2010 *** Kites and Monsters, 2011 *** Memory of My Face, 2011 *** Ritual Burdens, 2011 ** Jathilan: Trance and Possession in Java, 2011 ** Ngaben: Emotion and Restraint in a Balinese Heart, 2012 ** Standing on the Edge of a Thorn, 2012

References

{{reflist Anthropology visual Anthropology documentary films