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Film Prizes

The Royal Anthropological Institute is pleased to announce that the following Film Prizes have been awarded at the 10th International Festival of Ethnographic Film, Manchester, 27 June - 2 July 2007

RAI Film Prize
Every Good Marriage Begins with Tears. Simon Chambers. 2006, 63 mins UK
Commendations: A Hospice in Amsterdam. Steef PM Meyknecht, 2005, 62 mins, Netherlands. The Agouti's Peanut. Paturi Paraná, Komoi Paraná, 2005, 51 mins, Brasil.

Basil Wright Film Prize
SchoolScapes. David MacDougall, 2007, 77 mins, Australia
37 Uses of a Dead Sheep. Ben Hopkins, 2006, 85 mins, UK
Commendation: The Bimo Records. Yang Rui, 2006, 90 mins China.

Material Culture and Archaeology Film Prize
A Life With Slate. Dipesh Kharel. 2006, 59 mins, Nepal/Norway (student film).
Commendations: The Devil's Mills. János Tari, 2006, 56 mins, Hungary. Living Through Things. Anna Waddell, 2005, 32 mins, UK

Blackwell Student Film Prize
Sona and her Family. Daniela Rusnoková. 2006, 37 mins, Slovakia

Intangible Culture Film Prize (Music Dance Performance)
Vjesh / Singing. Rosella Schillaci, 2007, 58 mins. Italy

MUP Audience Prize
Sona and her Family. Daniela Rusnoková. 2006, 37 mins, Slovakia



About the Film Prizes

Royal Anthropological Institute Film Prize

This prize of £500, awarded biennially since 1980, will be given to "the most outstanding film on social, cultural and biological anthropology or archaeology". This is the grand prix of the Festival and is conventionally awarded to a film in the classical ethnographic documentary tradition.

Basil Wright Film Prize

This prize is also of a value of £500 and has been offered biennially since 1986. Funds have been provided by Robert Gardner, the North American filmmaker. This prize will be awarded for "a film in the ethnographic tradition, in the interest of furthering a concern for humanity in order to acknowledge the evocative faculty of film as a way of communicating their concern to others". Particular value will be attached to innovative styles or forms of film-making.

The above two prizes will be adjudicated by the following panel of judges:

Sylvia Caiuby Novaes – Laboratory of Sound & Image in Anthropology (LISA), University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Lucien Castaing Taylor – Media Anthropology Lab & Film Study Center, University of Harvard.
Michael Yorke – independent film-maker, RAI Film Committee

Blackwell Student Film Prize

Awarded for the first time in 1990, and sponsored by Blackwell Publishing, since 2005, this is of a value of £250. It will be given to the most outstanding film in the ethnographic tradition made by a student enrolled in a bona fide educational institution. In assessing the short-listed films, the judges will consider the budget constraints, technical resources, and professional input available to the students, as well as their anthropological relevance.

This prize will be adjudicated by the following panel of judges:

Peter Crawford – Visual Anthropology Programme, University of Tromsø, Norway and Intervention Press, Åarhuus, Denmark.
David Teigeler - Sheffield International Documentary Festival

Material Culture and Archaeology Film Prize

Awarded biennially since 1990, this prize reflects both the RAI's commitment to archaeology as well as anthropology, as well as the developing interest in material culture in recent years

This prize will be adjudicated by Howard Morphy, Research School of Humanities, Australian National University

Intangible Culture Film Prize (Music - Dance - Performance)

This prize was created specifically for the 2007 Festival in response to the large number of films submitted that dealt with music, dance and performance that it would have been difficult to acknowledge under other prize categories. By referring to it by the UNESCO designation 'Intangible Culture', it is offered as a sort of companion prize to the Material Culture & Archaeology award, and will be equally of a value of £250

This prize will be adjudicated by the following panel of judges:

Sara Cohen – Institute of Popular Music, University of Liverpool
Gary Kildea – documentary film-maker, Australian National University

MUP Audience Prize

The audience will be able to vote for the best film in the Festival, regardless of whether it has been shortlisted for one of the prizes or has been scheduled in any of the 'Special Interest' screenings. This prize is sponsored by Manchester University Press and the winner will be offered the value of £100 in books published by the Press.

Any enquiries should be directed to:

Susanne Hammacher, Film Officer
The Royal Anthropological Institute
50 Fitzroy Street
London W1T 5BT
United Kingdom
Email: film@therai.org.uk
Phone: +44 (0)20 7387 0455

FORMAN LECTURE 2007

From the Making of an Englishman to the Last King of Scotland

Kevin MacDonald In Conversation

Opening Night - Wed 27 June

BEYOND TEXT CONFERENCE!
Castaways Projects

On Sunday 1st of July, the author Caryl Phillips will do a reading and take part in a lunchtime discussion with anthropologist Steven Feld and the artist Virginia Ryan, about their exhibition 'Castaways' which is being staged at the Whitworth art gallery. Read more

Beyond Text Conference

Conference Programme and Timetable Now Online! Visit the conference page for details!

The Festival gratefully acknowledges sponsorship from:
Blackwells Logo
Manchester University Press