You may be interested in the following event, organised by the Louis
Le Prince
Centre in ICS at the University of Leeds, as part of the Royal
Anthropological
Society's 11th International Festival of Ethnographic Film. This is
to be held
at Leeds Metropolitan University 1st - 4th July. The Festival's home page
(which has details of venue and booking) is at:
http://raifilmfest.org.uk/film/festival/2009/home
This event is the first in a series of collaborative events hosted
by the Louis
Le Prince Centre for Film, Photography & Television at the Institute of
Communications Studies, University of Leeds and the Leeds International Film
Festival. It is funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund.
Taiwanese Ethnographic Documentaries
The morning session is an introduction to recent Taiwanese ethnographic
documentaries and will include a screening of Wang Chung-Sung's evocative
film The Rhythm in Wulu Village. (2003). It will be introduced by
Professor Gary
Rawnsley, Director of the Institute of Communications Studies and Professor
of Asian International Communications, University of Leeds.
Synopsis: Wulu Village is a Bunun indigenous settlement located in a remote
eastern mountainous region of Taiwan. The Bunun are famous among Taiwan's
indigenous groups for their polyharmonic choral singing, and almost all Bunun
songs are in this style. In 1952, Japanese musicologist Takatomo presented
the Bunun song "Tribute to Having a Good Harvest" (also known "Pasibutbut,"
a song in the style of an octophonic chorus) To The United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation. With its complex
polyharmonic arrangement, "Pasibutbut" overturned Western musicologists'
theory that music was originally monotone, progressed to bitonality,
and finally
achieved polytonality.
Similar to many other indigenous peoples around the world, the Bunun are now
faced with the danger that their culture and traditions will gradually
disappear. Fearing that such indigenous cultures will eventually be lost,
director Chun-hsiung Wang came to Wulu, trying to find answers to his many
questions by interviewing local people. Over the course of filming these
interviews, the director found his beliefs challenged and his heart moved.
Colonialism and the Archive
The second half of the day is dedicated to examining the role of archival
collections of colonial cinema in the representation and historicisation of
colonialism. It will also consider the current status of these films
and what role
they now play in the construction of national identities and
colonial histories.
The afternoon session will explore this theme through two guided screenings
and a concluding round table discussion chaired by Professor Nicholas Pronay,
Emeritus Professor in the Institute of Communications, University of Leeds.
Screening 1: Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire
Members of this AHRC funded project will introduce a selection of films from
the British Film Institute, Imperial War Museum and British Empire and
Commonwealth Museum.
Screening 2: Colonial Films in the Nederlands Film Archive.
Archivist Nico De Klerk will present a selection of films from the
Nederlands Film
Archive Collection. The presentation will focus on the work of filmmaker J.C.
Lamster and his association with the Colonial Institute.
Roundtable discussion (Chair: Prof. Nicholas Pronay)
An invited panel discusses the issues raised in the presentations with the
audience.
Louis le Prince Centre The Centre was established in 2002 to provide a focus
for research covering the interdisciplinary relationships between history,
theory and practice in the production and consumption of cinema,
photography and television. The Centre facilitates and encourages
collaborative research and also organises symposia and media events. It is
based at the Institute of Communication Studies at the University of Leeds
(contact: (s.e.popple /at/ leeds.ac.uk)).
The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is the largest film festival in
England outside London. Held in November at various venues of Leeds, it
shows over 200 films from around the world. It mixes commercial and
independent work with a special focus on short films. It is now in its 23rd
year.
