: 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 – 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, Can ...

, 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. The most popular of her four n ...

- 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 Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...

– US ** Nanook of the North, 1922 ** Moana, 1926 ** Tabu, 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 ...

, 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 Por ...

– 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 - 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 C ...

- 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 Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was characterized b ...

– 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 backgr ...

( The Mad Masters), 1954 ** Moi, un noir, 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 aestheti ...

(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, 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, 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 ...

– Portugal ** Acto da Primavera ( 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, 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 ...

(Les Ordres) 1975 ** The Paper Wedding (Les Noces de papier), 1990 * Pierre Perrault – Canada ** Pour la suite du monde, 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 David MacDougall (born November 12, 1939) is an American-Australian visual anthropologist, academic, and documentary filmmaker, who is known for his ethnographic film work in Africa, Australia, Europe and India. For much of his career he co-pro ...

and

Judith MacDougall Judith MacDougall (born 1938) is an American visual anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, who has made over 20 ethnographic films in Africa, Australia and India. For many of the films, she worked with her husband, David MacDougall, also an ...

– Australia ** To Live with Herds, 1968/1972 ** Nawi, 1968/1970 ** The Wedding Camels, 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, 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 o ...

and Margarida Cordeiro – Portugal ** Trás-os-Montes, 1976 ** Ana, 1984 * Noémia Delgado – Portugal ** Máscaras (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 '' Facin ...

and Robin Anderson ** First Contact, 1983 ** Joe Leahy’s Neighbors, 1988 ** Black Harvest, 1991 * Dennis O'Rourke – 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, 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 f ...

, 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 Cunnamul ...

, 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, 2003, (with Harald E.L. Prins) ** Oss Tales, 2007 ** John Bishop Short Films, (14 films 1975-2007) *

Pedro Costa Pedro Costa (born 30 December 1958) is a Portuguese film director. He is best known for his sequence of films set in Lisbon, which focuses on the lives of the impoverished residents of a slum in the Fontainhas neighbourhood. Biography After com ...

– 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 colonies ...

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

Po di Sangui ''Po di Sangui'' (Tree of Blood), is a 1996 Bissau-Guinean–French drama film directed by Flora Gomes Flora Gomes is a Bissau-Guinean film director. He was born in Cadique, Guinea-Bissau on 31 December 1949 and after high school in Cuba, he ...

, 1996 ** Nha Fala, 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 - Cuba/US ** Adio Kerida (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, whic ...

– Brazil **Cidade de Deus, ('' City of God''), 2002 *Randy Olson ** Flock of Dodos, 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 Lucien Giles Castaing-Taylor (born 10 January 1966, Liverpool, United Kingdom) is a British anthropologist and artist who works in film, video, and photography. Biography Castaing-Taylor received his B.A. at Cambridge University and his PhD at t ...

- France/UK **

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

, 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