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Symposium 2010

Future Past: Cultural Heritage and Collaborative Ethnographic Film Work

Saturday May 15 to Tuesday May 18, 2010

Cultural heritage, collaborative ethnographic work, and ethnographic film work are discussed theoretically and methodologically again and again. However, this happens mainly separately from each other. In the context of intangible cultural heritage its documentation with film is of particular value. Nowadays, archival film material is sought after by the members of the respective cultures. New material is created by many people, amongst others by anthropologists and people of the respective cultures themselves. Having these diverse sources of material at hand the question of validity immediately arises. Which contribution can anthropology make? How important is the collaboration with local representatives, how does it work, and with which results? Which contribution can “indigenous filmmaking” offer in this context? And, who decides whether or not an event, an expression, or a performance is an element of the cultural heritage?

Different examples of collaborative ethnographic film work from various parts of the world will be examined in the context of the contemporary culture heritage discourse. The aim is to achieve a deeper insight into the processes of creating cultural heritage, in using film, and in thus documenting intangible cultural heritage.

The symposium is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (Volkswagen Stiftung) and the Wenner Gren Foundation. It is organised by the University of Göttingen and the Förderinitiative Visuelle Ethnographie e.V. (FIVE). Intervention Press will publish the papers of the conference.

The symposium is organised by Prof. Dr.Regina Bendix (University of Gööttingen), Prof. Dr. Peter Crawford (Intervention Press), and Dr. Rolf Husmann and Dr. Beate Engelbrecht (both University of Göttingen>, Göttingen International Ethnographic Film Festival GIEFF and FIVE).

Preliminary programme:

15.05.09

film screenings

afternoon (13.30-17.00)

(selected films of the Göttingen International Ethnographic Film Festival on cultural heritage) see festival programme

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16.05.09

film screenings

morning (09.30-12.30)

(work in progress, film excerpts from the projects to be discussed)

Giovanni Kezich / Antonella Mott / Michele Trentini

One day in Palù del Fersina (Italy) (in collaboration with Leo Tolleri and Claudia Marchesoni, Bersntoler Kulturinstitut)

Phurba Tshering Bhutia

Ongdala: The Initiation of a Young Monk (Sikkim)

Jakhadtè Somchai Jayò

Images Returning Home - One (Thailand)

Mouadjamou Ahmadou

Nomads Under Pressure (Cameroon)

José Jiménez

Acteal. 10 Years of Impunity and How Many More? (Mexico)

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16.05.09

afternoon (14:00-19.00)

Key note lecture

Sharon Sherman

Collaborative Ethnographic Films and the Negotiation of Cultural Identities

An Indian View on Ethnographic Film Work

Anjali Monteiro / K.P. Jayasankar

In-visible, In-camera : Notes on the Elusive Reflexive in Filming Cultural Practices

Mexico: Collaboration Between Indigenous Organisations and Committed Anthropologists

José Alfredo Jiménez and Axel Köhler

Beyond Cultural Heritage and Ethnographic Film: Issues in Collaboration Between Indigenous Organisations and Committed Visual Anthropologists

Brazil: Collaborative Filmmaking

David Hernández Palmar

Collaborative Ethnographic Film Work

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17.05.09

morning (09.00-12.30)

Europe: Carnival King of Europe

Giovanni Kezich

Carnival King of Europe. A Research Project about Carnivals and Winter Fertility Rituals Across Different Areas of Europe

Belgium: The Carnival of Binche

Markus Tauschek

Filming Heritage - Producing Value. Ethnographic Perspectives on the Constitution of ICH 

Reef Islands: Cultural Heritage and Collaborative Ethnographic Film Work

Peter I. Crawford / Nathaniel Menigi

The Reef  Islands Ethnographic Film Project

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17.05.09

afternoon (14:00-1900)

Indonesia: Visual Anthropology in Indonesia

Tanete Pong Masak

Toraja Cultural Heritage Through Visual Anthropology

Beate Engelbrecht

Cultural Practices, Copyright, and Ethics. Experiences From Co-operative Film Work in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Aryo Danusiri

The God, The Bad and The Gift: Participatory Approach and Media

Thailand: Images Returning Home

Carina zur Strassen

Friends and Partners in Ethnography. The Self-governed Terms of an Intercultural Cooperation

Rolf Husmann

IRaVE  - Image Return and Visual Empowerment. A Concept and Its Practical Application in Thailand

Sikkim: Documenting Culture with Film

Anna Balikci- Denjongpa / Phurba Tshering Bhutia

The Sikkim Video Archive: A Collaborative Effort Between Anthropologist, Indigenous Filmmaker and the Local Community

18.05.09

morning (09.30-12.30)

Ethiopia: South Omo Research Center

Ivo Strecker

Evocations of Time, Place and People.
Film and the
Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Felix Girke

Heritage Behaviour': Thoughts on Collaboration in Film-making

Ethiopia: Mursi – Cultural Heritage in Focus

Ben Young / Olisarali Olibui

“Film the Tourists not the Lip Plates”; Collaborative Filming on ‘Shooting With Mursi’

18.05.09

afternoon (14:00-17:00)

Cameroon: Developing a Visual Anthropology Network in Ngaoundere/Maroua

Lisbet Holtedahl / Amadou Adamou

Collaborative Efforts in Anthropological Research and Film Making: Challenges and Benefits

Mouadjamou Ahmadou

Visual Anthropology as a Means of Targeting a Wide Audience for Cultural Education in Cameroon

Final Discussion