3 student films show why we need to celebrate Audiovisual Heritage Day
From Roma standing up for their rights in Ghent, to the comeback of African fashion in Ghana. The documentaries from Visual Ethnography students showcase the beautifully diverse world we live in. On UNESCO Audiovisual Heritage Day, they show why it's so important to document.
Preserving history
Moving images and sound recordings are an important record of our lives in this world, able to convey a sense of time, culture and identity. For future generations, audiovisual documents are necessary to be made and to be preserved.
Filming all over the world
During this year’s Visual Ethnography course, eight Master students of Anthropology of Media and Visual Culture filmed documentaries all over the world. From Indonesia to Belgium, to Ghana and Mozambique. Using the unique visual approach to anthropological themes that the Leiden School of Visual Ethnography is renowned for. A quick sneak peek of this year’s work with three student trailers.
Unity: Dress-scapes of Accra
By Mara Lin Visser
In Accra, the capital of Ghana, African print seems to be emerging on the fashion scene. In the mosaic film Unity: Dress-scapes of Accra, Anthropology student Mara Lin Visser follows Allan, a fashion designer and his wife Cynthia and shows the way African wear is used in the expression of culture.
Positioning Roma
By Koosje de Pooter
In this film, Koosje de Pooter follows chairmen Tibor Moco and Martin Balogh, part of Roma self-organisations in Ghent, who call themselves Roma activists. They try to actively negotiate the position of their community in the Belgian city.
Living Art
By Tina Krüger
Tina Krüger's Living Art is a captivating journey into the art practices and aesthetics of seven young contemporary artists in Maputo, Mozambique.
The full documentaries of the Master students screened on October 13th in the Boerhaave Building in Leiden.
What is Audiovisual Heritage Day?
UNESCO World Day of Audiovisual Heritage is dedicated to the importance of preserving sound recordings and moving images. Unique audiovisual testimonies of economic, political and social development have always been vulnerable to accidental or deliberate destruction, but are so important to preserve for future generations. With Audiovisual Heritage Day, UNESCO hopes to shed light on this importance.