Festivals/Customs Films

A travelogue study of Cajun and Creole music and culture, circa 1972: a mythical land, its people, their ancient French language and most of all their wonderful musical…

Alan Lomax's wonderful documentary about the bayous of Louisiana which have combined French, German, West Indian, native American and hillbilly ingredients into a unique cultural…

In 1979 Keir Cline shot footage at the Tenth Annual National Hollerin’ Contest in Spivey’s Corner, a small crossroads community in southeastern North Carolina. The festival had…

Shot on location in Palermiti and the Boston area of Massachusetts, MY TOWN/MIO PAESE shows the family, cultural and religious ties between immigrants and their paesani in…

In the 1970s, the Highwoods Stringband’s unique blend of musical brilliance, exuberance, sparkling wit, and eclectic repertoire introduced tens of thousands of delighted listeners…

Family Across the Sea shows how scholars have uncovered the remarkable connections between the Gullah people of South Carolina and the people of Sierra Leone.

The Farmall Promenade is an eight member, all male troupe of farmers who, as four male-'female' square dancing couples, perform across the Midwest. They have a passion for the…

The annual rattlesnake bagging contest at this tiny Appalachian festival includes a parade, a fair, firefighters’ contests, and a greased pig chase. A George Hornbein/Ken Thigpen…

Documents one of the most important traditions of Boston's Italian-Americans: the annual celebration of the Feast of the Madonna del Soccorso, popularly known as the Fisherman's…

This video tells how and where Arkansas ballad singer Almeda Riddle began her 10 year stint of singing old ballads all over the country. In an informal manner, folk musician Starr…

The Language You Cry In tells an amazing scholarly detective story reaching across hundreds of years and thousands of miles, from 18th century Sierra Leone to the Gullah people of…

Every spring for more than 75 years musicians from all over the country gather in the foothills of North Carolina at Fiddler's Grove. Susan and Donna Campbell's hour-long…

A portrait of the Portuguese-American dairy-farming community in the Chino Valley of southern California. This is one of the first films ever to document the experiences and…