Screening of “The city roof were so near that even a sleepwalking cat could pass over Runik without ever touching the ground” (Petrit Halilaj, 27 min, 2017) in NMNH’s Q?rius Theater
Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship Petrit Halilaj interviews people living in the village of Runik, an area he grew up in and which is famous for important Neolithic settlements. Following the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s, the village’s Neolithic artifacts became displaced and those that remained in Belgrade’s Natural History Museum became inaccessible. Halilaj explores the legacy of this displacement and value of this heritage for villagers today. This film features the Albanian language. Halilaj will be present to discuss his film.
Recovering Voices Ethnographic Film Series
This series draws on the collections of the National Anthropological Film Collection (NAFC) which forms part of the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives, and is devoted to preserving, documenting, and providing access to anthropological moving image materials. Begun in 1975, the NAFC collections are a unique repository for anthropological films and video that document cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as the history of ethnographic filmmaking and related amateur expeditionary and travel filmmaking in the 20th century. Founded in 1968, Documentary Educational Resources (DER) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “promote thought-provoking documentary film and media for learning about the people and cultures of the world.” The NAFC serves as the archival repository for many of the historic films that DER distributes. We are grateful for their partnership.
These screenings are free and open to the public. Following each film will be time for discussion.
