folk tales
9 movies and shows
Once Upon a Time there Lived a Dog
Wed, 10 Nov 1982
The day comes when an old watchdog becomes useless but the masters being kind don't decide to drive him away. However they turn exasperated when the Dog stays indifferent during a home theft. The Dog leaves for the forest, where he meets the Wolf, his old enemy.
Mami Wata
Fri, 08 Sep 2023
In the oceanside village of Iyi, the revered Mama Efe acts as an intermediary between the people and the all-powerful water deity Mami Wata. But when a young boy is lost to a virus, Efe’s devoted but rebellious daughter Zinwe and skeptical protégé Prisca warn Efe about unrest among the villagers. With the sudden arrival of a mysterious rebel deserter named Jasper, a conflict erupts, leading to a violent clash of ideologies and a crisis of faith for the people of Iyi.
The Tale Of Money
Thu, 25 Jan 2018
A simple-minded Ukrainian worker Levko inherits his uncle's flourishing mill business. The sudden and unexpected fortune consequently reveals Levko's furious crave for money. He starts with laying hands on the tavern of the missing Jew Yankel, who was snatched for cupidity by the devil Khapun. In the blink of an eye Levko becomes a village usurer, he fuddles peasants, he dilutes horilka, he wants and squeezes money from everyone. But the unruly desire to be rich leads to a complete loss of compassion, friends, and love. And the main question is how the hero's ordeals will end - will the real feelings triumph or will the greed prevail.
The Weepers
Thu, 07 Aug 2014
'The Weepers' is a 30-minute short film that playfully explores Scotland's relationship with the Gothic horror genre. Drawing on a variety of cultural reference points, including Scottish myth, haunted house movies and Doctor Johnson’s trip to the Hebrides, the film is a surreal exploration of Highland culture post-Clearances, where the number of sheep has gradually exceeded that of the human population.
Iwianch, the Devil Deer
Thu, 11 Mar 2021
An enigmatic presence haunts the depths of the Amazon rainforest, where an indigenous Achuar teenager has disappeared. During the search for the young man, his family decides to consult with a Shaman, who, immersed in trance, reveals that the young man was taken by the devil, but that he has intervened by showing him the way back to his home. While waiting for his return, secrets of the rainforest and Amazonian visions of life after death are touched, vanishing the documentary filmmaker’s concepts of reality.
It's The Same Story
Thu, 08 Sep 2011
Two storytellers put forth their versions of the story of Shravan Kumar. The art for the film uses painted images from a wooden portable shrine called a Kaavad. The film is a collaborative work between traditional Kaavad storytellers and Kaavad artists from Rajasthan, together with the filmmaker. Combining lush animation with live-action, the film is an interpretation of two stories which are forever fused in the act of telling and retelling.
Antti Puuhaara
Fri, 05 Nov 1976
In 17th-century Pohjola, young Antti Puuhaara is looking for himself, because he has grown up with no knowledge of his childhood. Two actors, the tragedian and the comedian, who were banished from Tsarist Russia to Karelia, had predicted to the crooked merchant Markki Bohattov that Antti's fate would become intertwined with his own. When Antti falls in love with Bohattov's daughter Darja, the father has to arrange for her to marry the tar merchant Arho Mustahatu.
Synevir
Thu, 11 Oct 2012
Famous lake in Carpathian mountains -- lake Synevir -- is known for its rich history throughout the hundreds of years as a place of mystical unexplained events. There is a group of students who decided to spend a weekend at the lake. They did not believe in those stories about lake Synevir and the strange creatures around it. Too bad for them....
A Sufi Tale
Tue, 01 Jan 1980
The inhabitants of a village learn to overcome their fears of the unknown.