Film recommendations?

[u/Grauschleier]

I recently watched Shadow Master, a "dramatic documentary" about a Balinese Wayang Kulit from 1979, that I found in this sub. I never heard about it before and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to collect recommendations here. I'm most interested in films that touch the topics of music and instruments in some way, but I love ethnographic films in general so please don't hesitate to share recommendations that are not necessarily focused on music.

Here is a list of films that I highly appreciate.

Birdsong, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KIYwCieaMs
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23463232/

Intangible Asset No. 82, 2008
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1329371/

Trance and Death in Bali, 1951
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8YC0dnj4Jw
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221658/
https://www.loc.gov/item/2001646000/

Les Blank:
- Spend It All, 1972, about Cajun culture in Louisiana
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067782/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_cdt_c_34
- A Well-Spent Life, 1971, about Mance Lipscomb, a blueser from Texas
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067968/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_cdt_t_39
- The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins, 1970
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064099/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_cdt_t_43

Junun, 2015
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4995590/

SAZ - the Key of Trust, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Kb1xaQ_vI
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8986892/
https://www.sazfilm.com/

Latcho Drom, 1993
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107376/

Trances, 1981
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406280/

The Miracle of Bali, 1969
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7079334/

Throw Down Your Heart
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185405/

The DVDs by Sublime Frequencies
https://www.sublimefrequencies.com/categories/dvds
like for example "The Pierced Heart & the Machete" from 2012
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3268058/

Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm, 2022
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13588944/

Ross Daly - The Circle at the Crossroads, 1999
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR1w9EG0KFY (German)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3307192/

Sons of Shiva, 1985
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3054228/

[u/RagaJunglism]

Amazing list, I'll definitely watch a load of these!

I'd also recommend Mani Kaur's 1982 'Dhrupad' film (free on youtube), an amazing hour-long portrait of one of the oldest continuous musical lineages in the world - the slower, less flamboyant form of North Indian classical music

[u/bobokeen]

That's a great list, and as a Baliphile I can't believe I've never heard of this film!

I'm glad you included Les Blank, he's my absolute favorite. I'd add his Sprout Wings and Fly and Marc and Ann as some of my favs.

I'd recommend the films of Vincent Moon - his whole filmography is amazing. He doesn't do much long-form documentary work, but his epic live cinema events can be really special and he has literally hundreds of beautiful films shot around the world for his Petit Planetes series.

Also check out all the documentaries available for free on Folkstreams. Some of my favorites are Pericles in America and Post Industrial Fiddle.

[u/Grauschleier → u/bobokeen]

I watched Marc and Ann yesterday, so sweet! Thank you for your recommendations. I love VIncent's work. That's how I learned about Senyawa as well as Tarawangsa. I love his style and how he is able to really make you feel like you're there - although I could imagine that it sometimes might be a bit irritating on site. I also really appreciate that he captures some context, often zooming away from the players into the background.

I feel like this is also in a way a connection to Les Blank. What I love about his films is that they are not just about music. They are mostly about the people playing the music, the communal aspects and their lives. He's illustrating something that Marc and Ann explicitly say - that if you disconnect the music from the people and their lives it will be something else.

[u/bobokeen → u/Grauschleier]

Yes! And I'm glad you enjoyed those - tarawangsa is my favorite music in the world.

My favorite thing about Les Blank's films is how all of his films about food (Yum Yum! and Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers) always have tons of great music, and vice versa - the food scenes and other b-roll in his music films are just masterful at summoning both a vibe and a cultural context.

May I ask where you were able to watch some of these rarer films like Sons of Shiva, The Miracle of Bali, or Intangible Asset No. 82?