Lucy Special: Open City beams into the 12th International RAI Festival of Ethnographic Film 24-25th June

Still from the work of Melissa Llewelyn-Davies

I see from the brochure of the forthcoming RAI film festival that an interesting conversation is ongoing between the Open City and RAI film fests. The conversation takes the form of a screening exchange, reflective of wider interest both within and without the discipline regarding the identity, place and situation of ethnographic film within the documentary genre. It’ll be interesting to see how it develops.

The RAI showed films at the Open City this weekend and, in exchange, the Open City adds extra flavour to the RAI festival pot in the form of Open City screenings. On the 24^th (2-7pm) the ‘Gypsies In Film’ includes the ‘Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ which should provoke some interesting debate/discussion from an anthropologically-minded audience. The 25^th brings ‘The Maasai Saga (1974-1994)’ considering the body of work produced by director Melissa Llewelyn-Davies with the Maasai people and including a session in conversation with her. Two very different offerings from this other gem of a documentary film fest but ones that serve to add even more variety to that on offer on the regular festival schedule, considered in previous postings. The festival is being held at various venues at University College London between 23^rd-26^th June and details on screenings and bookings can be found at www.raifilmfest.org.uk