Pikisi kwaiyai! (pictures tonight!): The screening and reception of ethnographic film in the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea

Andrew J. Connelly

doi:10.1111/taja.12144

Pikisi kwaiyai! (pictures tonight!): The screening and reception of ethnographic film in the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea

Andrew J. Connelly^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ethnographic films hold great historical value for the communities in which they were filmed, yet people in source communities often lack access to them. Visitors engaging in 'visual repatriation' of ethnographic film can enrich both sides of the ethnographic exchange. I review my experiences screening ethnographic films with Trobriand Islanders, their reactions, and the various ways in which local communities regain ownership of these films, including re-narration and renaming. My findings reiterate how source communities' reception of, and uses for, ethnographic film can sharply differ from the filmmakers' original agenda.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3-29
Number of pages	27
Journal	The Australian Journal of Anthropology
Volume	27
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/taja.12144
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2016

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abstract = "Ethnographic films hold great historical value for the communities in which they were filmed, yet people in source communities often lack access to them. Visitors engaging in 'visual repatriation' of ethnographic film can enrich both sides of the ethnographic exchange. I review my experiences screening ethnographic films with Trobriand Islanders, their reactions, and the various ways in which local communities regain ownership of these films, including re-narration and renaming. My findings reiterate how source communities' reception of, and uses for, ethnographic film can sharply differ from the filmmakers' original agenda.",

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Pikisi kwaiyai! (pictures tonight!): The screening and reception of ethnographic film in the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea

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