Documentary Educational Resources

Documentary Educational Resources Distribution and fiscal sponsorship for educational documentary, ethnographic, and non-fiction films

Distribution, fiscal sponsorship, & production of educational documentary, ethnographic & non-fiction films from around the world.

04/10/2026

COMING SOON – GOODBYE, CAPTAIN relates the story of Brazil's indigenous Gavião people and their efforts to maintain their language, livelihood, and identity throughout a half-century of upheavals.

https://store.der.org/goodbye-captain-p1088.aspx

At the center of this historical narrative is "Captain" Krôhôkrenhum Jopaipairé, leader of the Gavião community in the south of Pará. Krôhôkrenhum shares the history of his people and details his commitment to restoring the community’s cultural traditions.

Woven throughout this history is the relationship between the captain and Vincent Carelli, who began filming the community using a VHS camera in 1987. The film opens with Carelli’s return of an audio-visual archive to the Gavião community and the promise of fulfilling Krôhôkrenhum’s wish to maintain the memory of his people.

Our new Filmmakers In Conversation series continues on Tuesday, March 10th with a discussion of the film FRAMING THE OTH...
03/09/2026

Our new Filmmakers In Conversation series continues on Tuesday, March 10th with a discussion of the film FRAMING THE OTHER. We hope you will join us!

https://events.humanitix.com/der-community-circle-event-2-or

Filmmakers In Conversation:
Making FRAMING THE OTHER
with filmmakers Willem Timmers and Ilja Kok
and Professor Pegi Vail (Anthropology, NYU)
Tue, Mar 10, 4:00 PM EST

This online event is presented by the DER Community Circle membership program.

📣 Thrilled to announce the series kickoff event for our public programming initiative, part of our new Community Circle ...
03/04/2026

📣 Thrilled to announce the series kickoff event for our public programming initiative, part of our new Community Circle membership program. We hope to see you there!

Filmmakers In Conversation: COTTON ROAD, from production to the classroom
with director Laura Kissel and professor Daniel Ostergaard
Thu, Mar 5, 4:00 PM EST

Register to attend:
https://events.humanitix.com/in-conversation-cotton-road-from-production-to-the-classroom

Become a member of the DER Community Circle! https://www.der.org/membershipJoin our community of film enthusiasts, docum...
03/03/2026

Become a member of the DER Community Circle! https://www.der.org/membership

Join our community of film enthusiasts, documentary filmmakers, and global citizens in supporting a living archive of ethnographies and documentaries from around the world.
As a member of DER, you will help ensure ongoing access to these crucial resources for generations to come.

All DER members enjoy access to:
• Sneak peeks of selected new releases
• Curated program of DER films updated quarterly
• Exclusive access to virtual filmmaker Q&A sessions
• Free admission to online events
• Member newsletter
• 20% discount on home DVDs

Join today to get started!

NEW RELEASE – CO-HUSBANDhttps://store.der.org/co-husband-p1094.aspxFilmmaker Ganesh Panday's documentary examines the pr...
02/01/2026

NEW RELEASE – CO-HUSBAND
https://store.der.org/co-husband-p1094.aspx

Filmmaker Ganesh Panday's documentary examines the practice of fraternal polyandry among Nepal’s indigenous Humlo people. This marital system, closely linked to the caravan trade in which men frequently travel for months at a time, has allowed families to share resources, build larger support system, and prosper economically. But with the decline of this form of work, will this kinship structure continue to exist?

“A deeply human and visually stunning exploration of love, duty, and family in the high Himalayas, offering a rare glimpse into the intimate rhythms of fraternal polyandry. More than an ethnographic study, it’s a moving portrait of resilience and connection that expands our understanding of what kinship can mean in South Asia and in the world.” – Prof. Harjant Gill, Towson University, and President, Society for Visual Anthropology

Ganesh Panday
35 min, 2020
in Nepali and Humlo with subtitles in English

01/30/2026

COMING SOON – THE SONG OF AIDA is a portrait of resilience amid persistent marginalization and cultural constraints.

https://store.der.org/the-song-of-aida-p1092.aspx

The film follows Aida, a Roma woman living in a Roma camp in Bari, Italy, from adolescence to adulthood as she pursues independence. Her journey reveals the obstacles she faces both from her traditionally patriarchal community and an Italian society marked by strong anti-Roma sentiment. Shot over a twenty-year period, this longitudinal view allows viewers to embrace Aida’s struggle as she finds her voice and independence.

Giovanni Princigalli
90 min, 2024
in Romani, Romanian, and Italian
English, Spanish, French and Italian subtitles

NEW RELEASE: BALLAD ON THE SHORE is an ethnomusicological film about oral tradition and the preservation of history. htt...
01/16/2026

NEW RELEASE: BALLAD ON THE SHORE is an ethnomusicological film about oral tradition and the preservation of history.

https://store.der.org/ballad-on-the-shore-p1095.aspx

Filmmaker Ma Chi Hang explores these themes through a search for the "People on Water" (a fishing culture in Hong Kong) who still know traditional fishermen ballads – songs which served as both a navigational tool and a testament to the history of the villages and those who inhabited them. The film asks the question: what will we be able to keep once all who sang these songs pass on?

Ma Chi Hang
97 min, 2017
Cantonese with subtitles in English and CantoneseThe

12/09/2025

COMING SOON – CO-HUSBAND is a portrait of the practice of fraternal polyandry in the communities of the indigenous Humlo people in the Humla district of Nepal.

https://store.der.org/co-husband-p1094.aspx

This family structure is closely related to the caravan trade, when men were absent for long periods of time– traveling for up to eight months at a time to transport salt from Tibet and rice from the Achham region. Told from the perspective of the wives and husbands as well as the members of the community who reject this model, the film explores the economic, cultural and emotional dimensions of this custom and the social consequences for those who don’t practice it.

Nepalese filmmaker Ganesh Panday’s documentary invites a dialogue about how different a household and a family can look, what economic considerations go into such a structure, how to define a ‘successful’ household and what role love plays in marriage.

Ganesh Panday
35 min, 2020
in Nepali and Humlo
with English subtitles

NEW RELEASE — TWO POETS AND A RIVERhttps://store.der.org/two-poets-and-a-river-p1077.aspxSet along the Oxus River, this ...
11/03/2025

NEW RELEASE — TWO POETS AND A RIVER
https://store.der.org/two-poets-and-a-river-p1077.aspx

Set along the Oxus River, this lyrical film follows Wakhi musicians Qurbonsho (Tajikistan) and Daulatsho (Afghanistan), whose music carries the weight of love, loss, and separation. Once one homeland, the Wakhan was divided in the 19th century, and the river became both a border and a metaphor, shaping their poetry and songs. Shot over 2.5 years by ethnomusicologist and professor of South Asian studies Richard K. Wolf.

🎥 Richard K. Wolf
75 min, 2021
in Wakhi, Tajik & Dari
with subtitles in English, Persian, Russian & Tajik

09/30/2025

COMING SOON – BALLAD ON THE SHORE
https://store.der.org/ballad-on-the-shore-p1095.aspx

In the fishing villages of Hong Kong, singing could once be heard from the sea. These songs illustrated the lives of fishermen, both their struggles and their joys. But as the generations pass, fewer and fewer people know the songs or the language they’re sung in. BALLAD ON THE SHORE chronicles Ma Chi Hang’s ethnomusicological work preserving this centuries-old oral tradition.

Taiwan International Documentary Festival, Taiwan
Sinophone Musics Film Festival, Taiwan
RAI Film Festival, UK

Ma Chi Hang
97 min, 2017
in Cantonese with English and Cantonese subtitles

NEW RELEASE! https://store.der.org/the-mbako-trial-p1093.aspx The latest feature by the award-winning pioneer of African...
09/18/2025

NEW RELEASE!
https://store.der.org/the-mbako-trial-p1093.aspx

The latest feature by the award-winning pioneer of African animation Jean-Michel Kibushi Ndjate Wooto — also widely considered the first Congolese animator — MBAKO TRIAL: MYTH & REALITY is a sharp reinterpretation of a 1933 trial held by Belgian colonial authorities, in which a group of men were accused of being members of the Anioto society: men said to kill like the leopard.

With no visual documentation of the hearings, Kibushi reimagines the events through animation, re-enactments, and interviews. The film challenges Western portrayals of the leopard men as a “savage other” and colonial conceptions of justice and socio-political order.

🎥 Jean-Michel Kibushi Ndjate Wooto
90 min, 2023
In French, Tetela, Kibali, Lingala, Kikongo
with English, French and Dutch subtitles

Address

108 Water Street, 5A
Watertown, MA
02472

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Documentary Educational Resources posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Documentary Educational Resources:

Shortcuts

Share

Category