Ethnographic filmfest explores tourism and documentary
Culture vultures, film fans and scholars alike will not want to miss this year’s edition of the Ethnographic Film Festival of Montreal (FFEM) Jan. 27 to Feb. 2.
The film festival is a collaborative effort of the sociology and anthropology departments from Concordia, McGill, Université de Montréal and now Université Laval, which is participating for the first time.
Each university hosts a day of screenings, guest lecturers and discussions. The event is now in its third year and will feature more than 35 films plucked from the far corners of the globe.
“Most of our submissions came from India and Mexico, so those countries are primary contributors,” said Sarah Butler, a Concordia Anthropology student who is on the organizing committee.
Another organizer, Mariann Köves, said that they focused on student-produced films, most of which are 30 minutes to an hour long.
Given the enormous breadth of ethnography, the study of human cultures, Butler said organizers grappled with the question of what makes an ethnographic film.
“The lines between ethnographical films and documentaries are hard to determine,” she said.
As scholars, ethnographers try to take an objective position with regard to their subjects, although there is still much debate on how this can be achieved while using a traditionally creative medium.
Butler said one “hot-button” topic in anthropology right now is the culture of tourism. In their efforts to get closer to the cultures they wish to explore, vacationers are often unwittingly pushed further away.
This theme is explored in The Culture Show, in which the Chinese village of Xianren transforms itself into a model tourist attraction. It will be screened at Concordia’s De Sève Cinema on Jan. 29 at 5:20 p.m.
Ethnographers must work quickly to document cultural shifts, before they become as passé as the pager, portable CD player or Ugg boots.
“Culture is always changing. The second you make an ethnographic film it’s already history. It’s over. It’s so fleeting,” Butler said.
The FFEM touches down in the De Sève Cinema on Jan. 29 from 12:30 to 10 p.m.
For full listings of events, visit http://anthro.umontreal.ca/varia/ffem06/