Professional Foreigner, The: Asen Balilci and Visual Ethnography

Synopsis: Asen Balikci has been a leading figure in making ethnographic films for many decades. In a series of talks between Balikci and filmmaker Rolf Husmann in different locations, the life and work of Asen Balikci are shown and discussed: the film takes us from Asen’s youth in Istanbul to his career in Canada where he became famous for making the Netsilik Eskimos Series, to filming in Afghanistan and then turning to two other activities of his: as a networker for the Commission on Visual Anthropology (CVA) and as a teacher of Summer Schools in Siberia and Bulgaria. His film work among the Bulgarian Pomak and his still ongoing work in Sikkim (India) conclude the film which is not only the portrait of a famous expert in Visual Ethnography, but also more generally touches upon vital issues of ethnographic filmmaking.
Language: English
Country: United States
Year of release: 2009
Year of production: 2009
Subjects: Anthropology; Film & television production; Media studies
Keywords: anthropology in the media; ethnographic filmmaking; Balikci, Asen

Name: Royal Anthropological Institute
Contact: Susanne Hammacher (Film Officer)
Email: film@therai.org.uk
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Phone: 020 7387 0455
Fax: 020 7388 8817
Address: 50 Fitzroy Street
London
W1T 5BT
Notes: The Institute sells more than 250 anthropology and ethnology titles on video and DVD, including some produced by students and staff of the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology. There is also a large library of internationally produced film and video productions from which items may be borrowed within the UK.

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