Asian Studies
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KĀLE AND KĀLESensory Ethnography Lab Asian Studies Anthropology 2014 Directed by Women
In exploring the lives of two wandering Nepali musicians, an uncle and nephew, Kāle and Kāle (pronounced kah-lay) exposes the rootless occupation of the Gaine caste and communicates both its joys and pitfalls – domestic, economic and spiritual – in their daily lives.
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MONSOON-REFLECTIONSWomen's Studies Sensory Ethnography Lab Labor Studies Asian Studies Anthropology 2014 Directed by Women
Drawing its title from a poem by the renowned Nepali poet Lekhnath Paudyal, which depicts the monsoon season as sublime and blissful, “joyous from start to finish,” filmmaker Stephanie Spray captures the melancholy and grit of two strong-willed female field hands (passengers in Spray and Velez’ Manakamana) as they carry out their arduous routines; a deeply felt reflection on labor, gender, and fleeting pleasures in rural Nepal.
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THE YELLOW BANK2014 Sensory Ethnography Lab Asian Studies Anthropology
A short documentary that captures the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, The Yellow Bank takes you on a contemplative boat ride across the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China. The film uses the eclipse as a catalyst to explore the way weather, light, and sound affect the urban architectural environment during this extremely rare phenomenon.
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SONGHUASensory Ethnography Lab Labor Studies Environmental Studies Asian Studies Anthropology 2014
In northeastern China, the Songhua River has for generations served as a vital center – for leisure, commerce, and most importantly, drinking water –
for the people of Harbin. Filmed only one year after a major chemical spill in its waters, Songhua depicts the enduring and complex relationship between
the city’s residents and their "mother river," and considers the environmental implications of the waterway’s condition.
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DEMOLITION / CHAIQIAN (拆 - 迁)Sensory Ethnography Lab Asian Studies 2014 Sociology Urban Studies Labor Studies
Focusing on a vast demolition site in the center of Chengdu, the Sichuan capital in western China, a bustling site emblematic of the rapid growth and development occurring throughout the country, J.P. Sniadecki’s Demolition is a wonderfully patient and revealing portrait of the migrant laborers who work and live in its shadow.
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MANAKAMANAAsian Studies Cinema Studies Anthropology Cultural Studies 2014 Sensory Ethnography Lab Directed by Women
Produced by the directors of Sweetgrass and Leviathan, Manakamana is an exhilarating, one-of-a-kind documentary experience. Filmed entirely inside the narrow confines of a cable car, high above a jungle in Nepal, that transports villagers to an ancient mountaintop temple, it is an acute ethnographic investigation into culture, religion, technology and modernity.
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CELLULOID MANArt History Cinema Studies Asian Studies 2014
An enthralling journey through the history of Indian cinema, Celluloid Man is a portrait of P.K Nair, the legendary founder-director of the National Film Archive of India. Featuring extensive interviews and film clips, this is a gorgeous cinematic tribute to 'India's Henry Langlois' and to the importance of preservation.
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YUMENAsian Studies Anthropology Performing Arts Cinema Studies 2014 Sensory Ethnography Lab
A collaboration between two Chinese artists, Xu Ruotao and Huang Xiang, and acclaimed American filmmaker J.P. Sniadecki, Yumen is a documentary-fiction hybrid that tells the story of a ghost town, a once-thriving oil-rich community in China's western Gansu province, through a series of wandering characters and inventive vignettes. Produced with the support of SEL
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YOUR DAY IS MY NIGHTAsian-American Studies Asian Studies American Studies Urban Studies Women's Studies New York City 2014 Directed by Women Immigration
Blending autobiographical monologues, intimate conversations, and staged performances, Lynne Sachs' Your Day Is My Night documents the lives of Chinese immigrants sharing a "shift-bed" apartment in the heart of New York City's Chinatown, offering a deeply felt portrait of the Asian-American immigrant experience.
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PEOPLE'S PARKAnthropology Asian Studies Cinema Studies Cultural Studies 2014 Sensory Ethnography Lab Directed by Women
Produced at Harvard's groundbreaking Sensory Ethnography Lab (Sweetgrass, Leviathan, the upcoming Manakamana), People's Park is an exhilarating single shot documentary that immerses viewers in an unbroken journey through an urban park in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, offering a fresh gaze on public interaction, leisure and self-expression in China.
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ELEMENTALEnvironmental Studies Native American Studies Asian Studies 2013 Directed by Women
A powerful and unusually intimate portrait of modern environmental activism, Elemental captures the stories of three eco-warriors, separated by oceans, but united by their deep connection with nature and commitment to confront some of the most pressing ecological challenges of our time.
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RESTORING THE LIGHTAnthropology Asian Studies Disabilities Health Economics Cultural Studies Children & Young Adult 2013 Medicine Directed by Women
A heart-wrenching documentary, Restoring the Light observes the work of a dedicated ophthalmologist who operates a non-profit mobile eye clinic in one of China's poorest regions, as well as the lives of his patients. It captures the adversities and hopes of a population that has been left behind in the wake of China's dizzying economic boom.
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THE DAY HE ARRIVESCinema Studies Asian Studies Narrative Films 2012
A heartbreaking and hilarious film of repeating patterns and circumstance, The Day He Arrives, from the celebrated Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo, is a meditation on relationships, filmmaking, and the unknowable forces that govern our lives. An official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.
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PLANET OF SNAILAsian Studies Health Disabilities Literature Performing Arts 2012
Winner of the prestigious Best Documentary prize at the International Film Festival Amsterdam, Planet of Snail is a mesmerizing, critically-acclaimed documentary about an accomplished young poet who can no longer hear or see and his relationship to the world around him.
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SUN, MOON, STARS: INDONESIA TRILOGYSoutheast Asian Studies Anthropology Cultural Studies Political Science Islamic Studies Religion & Spirituality Sociology Asian Studies 2012
A landmark documentary trilogy, Sun, Moon, Stars captures the tumultuous changes taking place in Indonesia by following three generations of a single Jakarta family for over a decade. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich, it offers an unparalleled, vibrant portrait of the world's fourth most populous nation; and home to the largest Muslim community.
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POSITION AMONG THE STARSSoutheast Asian Studies Anthropology Cultural Studies Political Science Islamic Studies Religion & Spirituality Sociology Asian Studies 2012
For over a decade, noted filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich followed the lives of an Indonesian family in Jakarta. In this final film of his acclaimed Sun, Moon, Stars trilogy, Helmrich confronts the most important issues facing the country's fast-changing society: corruption, conflict between religions, gambling addiction, the generation gap, and the widening disparity between rich and poor.
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SHAPE OF THE MOONSoutheast Asian Studies Anthropology Cultural Studies Political Science Islamic Studies Religion & Spirituality Sociology Asian Studies 2012
The end of the Suharto regime ushered in an era of rapid sociopolitical upheaval in Indonesia. In this second installment of the Sun, Moon, Stars trilogy, filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich returns to the Sjamsuddin family to intimately capture the changes taking place in their country, including the troubling rise of Islamic fundamentalism.
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THE EYE OF THE DAYSoutheast Asian Studies Anthropology Cultural Studies Political Science Islamic Studies Religion & Spirituality Sociology Asian Studies 2012
Against a backdrop of social unrest that led to the ouster of Indonesia's long-time dictator President Suharto,
The Eye of the Day begins filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich's award-winning trilogy Sun, Moon, Stars.
It introduces us to an ordinary family living in the slums of Jakarta; a family Helmrich would return to and document
for more than a decade.
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A PERFECT SOLDIERPeace & Conflict Asian Studies 2011 Southeast Asian Studies
An extraordinary and inspiring documentary about one man's journey from child soldier to international hero. A Perfect Soldier tells the story of Aki Ra, who as a young boy was taken by the Khmer Rouge and forced to plant hundreds of landmines in the Cambodian countryside. As an adult, he has devoted his life to removing them, one landmine at a time. In 2010, he was named one of CNN's Top 10 Heroes of the Year.
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BHOPALIEnvironmental Studies Health Disabilities Criminal & Law Asian Studies 2011
On December 2, 1984, forty tons of poisonous gas leaked from a Union Carbide (DOW Chemical) pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killing over 20,000 people. Today, hundreds of thousands continue to suffer from chronic diseases and disabilities. Bhopali is an invaluable examination of the world's worst environmental disaster.
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