
RAI FILM Festival 2025
Thu 12 - Sun 15 June
The RAI FILM Festival is a biennial event providing a leading showcase for the best in groundbreaking and innovative anthropological documentary filmmaking from around the globe. Organised by the Royal Anthropological Institute since 1985, the festival has created a vital space where cinema, academia, and public dialogue intersect.
The 19th RAI FILM Festival will take place Wed 11 - Sun 15 June here at Watershed and Arnolfini, and will mark the 40th anniversary of this unique celebration of anthropology and filmmaking. With premieres, filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, and a unique mix of cinema and academia, it is an intimate and global gathering.
Head to the RAI's website for the full programme.
Upcoming screenings & events in this season
Canuto's Transformation
classified 18 (CTBA) S RAI FILM Festival
Rooted in Indigenous storytelling, this powerful film is created by and for its community, offering a rare perspective from within.
The Women's Olamal
classified 18 (CTBA) RAI FILM Festival
Filmed in Loita, a Maasai region split between Kenya and Tanzania, the documentary follows the lead-up to a spectacular women-centred fertility ceremony that—while celebrated as a traditional practice—is complicated by intergenerational tensions, the politics of gender, and the borders drawn up across the land.
Marching in the Dark
classified 18 (CTBA) S RAI FILM Festival
Marching in the Dark has emerged as one of the most acclaimed documentaries of the year, making waves across the global festival circuit.
I Walk While Glaciers Melt + Heaven Rain Flows Sweetly
classified 18 (CTBA) RAI FILM Festival
A double-bill screening of I Walk While Glaciers Melt and Heaven Rain Flows Sweetly.
Through the Lens: A Discussion with Bruce Parry on TV, Anthropology, and the Changing Dynamics of Storytelling.
RAI FILM Festival
In conversation with the Chair of the RAI Film Committee Judith Aston, Bruce Parry reflects on his BBC series Tribe, questioning how television can adapt — ethically and creatively — to changing times, and what lessons can be drawn from engagement with multifarious ways of living and storytelling.
Blueberry Dreams
classified 18 (CTBA) S RAI FILM Festival
Be among the first in the UK to experience the bold new wave of Georgian cinema with this striking premiere.
The Other Profile
classified 18 (CTBA) S RAI FILM Festival
French filmmaker Armel Hostiou discovers a fake Facebook profile using his photos, inviting women in Kinshasa to audition for a non-existent film.
Avant-Drag!
classified 18 (CTBA) S RAI FILM Festival
Avant-Drag! offers an exhilarating look at ten Athenian drag performers who deconstruct gender, nationalism, belonging, identity, while facing police brutality, transphobia and racism.
Bibiru + Forbidden Dogs
RAI FILM Festival
Join us for a special double-bill screening of Bibiru: The Panema Dog and The Forbidden Dogs—two powerful films exploring the bonds between humans and dogs across very different cultural and political landscapes.
£5.00 - £12.00 + booking fee.
Includes: Bristol Festival + Online Festival + Online Academic Conference
For those who don’t want to miss a thing
- General Public: £295
- RAI Members: £265
- RAI Fellows: £230
- Concession*: £150
- Participants from low-income countries*: £120
Includes: Bristol Festival + Online Festival
The full film programme, in person and online
- General Public: £160
- RAI Members: £150
- RAI Fellows: £140
- Concession*: £120
- Participants from low-income countries*: £90