On the basis of a social anthropological case study, this film documents the birth practices of the Bunong in Mondulkiri province, located in the northeast of Cambodia. Social, economic and political changes are transforming the province tremendously and are affecting villagers´ beliefs, perceptions and habits regarding pregnancy, delivery and early motherhood. Traditional midwives, pregnant women, mothers and their families give a personal insight into their present decision-making strategies, which are at the crossroads between tradition and modernity.

Directors: Tommi Mendel, Brigitte Nikles

Tommi and Brigitte both studied Anthropology at the University of Zurich. Currently Brigitte is working in Mondulkiri in Cambodia to establish a Bunong Cultural Centre and Tommi is working on his PhD with the means of Ethnographic Film.

Production: Tigertoda productions, Zurich, Switzerland

Camera, Edit: Tommi Mendel

The movie was projected on various world film festivals (selection):

NAFA International Ethnographic Film Festival, Aarhus, Denmark 2010

International Festival of Visual Anthropology Mediating Camera, Moscow, Russia 2010

Cambodia International Film Festival, Phom Phen, Cambodia 2010

International Festival of Ethnological Film, Belgrade, Serbia 2010

Contro-Sguardi International Anthropological Film Festival, Perugia, Italy 2010

Athens Ethnographic Film Festival, Greece 2010

Language of dialogues: Bunong, Khmer

Language of subtitles:Czech,  English

Věra Fialová was born at the end of the First World War as the out-of-wedlock child of a Czech woman and a Polish man, a Russian prisoner of war. In an old suitcase she keeps her old letters and pictures from the First and Second World Wars. Her memoirs, accompanied by songs from her family repertoire, capture the "small history" - the life story of an "ordinary woman" against the backgraound of the great historical events of the 20th century.

An edited document taken as part of ethnological field research in 2007 and 2009. The Film was produced as part of the research project of the Institute of Ethnology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. Prague "Cultural Identity and Cultural Regionalism in the Process of Shaping European Ethnic Patterns" (reg. number AV0Z90580513).

The director Jiřina Kosíková (*1952) works as ethnologist at the Institute of Ethnology at the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, v.v.i. Prague - Department Brno. Specialisation: Visual Anthropology. Use of video recording as an ethnological field research method and technique.

Production:Institute of Ethnology at the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Veveří 97, 602 00 Brno

Edit and script: Petr Baran

Camera: Jiřina Kosíková

Language of dialogues: Czech

Language of subtitles: English

In Tamil Culture the parents are traditionally responsible to find a suitable marrige partner for their children. “Love warriages” exist as well, but are less accepted in society. Sri Lanka people, who migrate to Europe, often continue the tradition of the “arranged marriage”. That means, that young Tamils, who grew up in a western society, get confronted with contrasting ideals concerning marriage.

The ethnographic documentary “Arranged love” discusses, based in three portraits, different ways of young Sri Lankan couples to deal with that issue. The film shows different point of views, what conflicting situations can emerge and what opinions the couples hold on western ways of love amd marriage.

Director, production, camera, edit: Sarah Bregy

Born in 1981 in Switzerland. 2003-2010 she studied at the University of Zurich in Cultural Anthropology, Cinema Studies and Political Sciences.

Language of dialogues: Swissgerman, Tamil

Language of subtitles:Czech,  English