Around the World with HSFA

An exuberant snake catcher demonstrates his work of catching a snake lodged in a wall. This clip comes from 4 ½ hours of film documenting various aspects of Egyptian history and life and created by John V. Hansen and his wife Anne. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 99.10.14-18. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) B&W and SILENT.

View the wonder of the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only site from the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" list that is still in existence, and is an Honorary Candidate of the "New Seven Wonders of the World." This clip comes from 4 ½ hours of film documenting various aspects of Egyptian history and life that was created by John V. Hansen and his wife Anne (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 99.10.14-18. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) B&W and SILENT.

See a rare early 20th century visit to King Rama VI’s royal compound and a kite flying contest attended by the King and Queen where a male and female kite duel to win. (Note: although the film identifies the King as Rama VI it is believed that the King is actually Rama VII.) This amateur film was shot of an around the world trip which was a college graduation gift of John Foster to his son Arthur. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 2004.19.1. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) B&W and SILENT.

Shows the dependence of Micronesians on the sea and this sequence shows two traditional methods of fishing in the turquoise waters of a lagoon. Edited video is from film footage shot by Scott Williams on Ifalik and Woleai Atolls, Micronesia, in 1975 in collaboration with the Smithsonian's National Human Studies Film Center. Film is narrated by Jesse Maluwetig. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 2004.19.1. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.)

Watch a mesmerizing ritual lama dance, known as chaam, featuring dancers in elaborately decorated costumes and masks representing various deities. This chaam dance was performed at a south Indian Tibetan monastery, Namdroling Monastery, founded by Tibetan refugee monks of the Nyingma school. Chaam dances, done in association with pujas (a ceremony in which prayers are offered to the deities to request their blessings or invoke their help), are believed to provide moral instructions and blessings to lay people. Film was shot by Ragpa Dorjee Lama. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 86.13.10. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.

Construction of Mt. Rushmore (in South Dakota) took 14 years to complete. This clip comes from a personal travelogue created for R. Bryson Jones, a Kansas City business man. The travelogue film also includes visits to various western locales and Native Americans in the southwest. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 95.11.1. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) B&W and SILENT.

This early 20th century clip shows a snow-built winter igloo and a summer igloo of animal skins in Alaska. Film was shot by William Van Valin as leader of the John Wanamaker Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska for the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The film later toured in a film-lecture series accompanied by Van Valin. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 86.5.5. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) B&W and SILENT.

View the splendor of these 6th century Buddhist statues, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A special treat is the Linkers winding their way to the top of the statues through caves carved in the hillsides and painted by Buddhist monks. The film clip is from an episode of a popular southern California television travel-adventure series created by the Linker family, Hal and Halla and their son David. Their popular broadcasts, running from the 1950s-1970s, were known under the series titles of Three Passports to Adventure, Wonders of the World and The Wild, the Weird and the Wonderful. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 2002.16.57. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.

Margarita Reza makes colorful and whimsical bread dough figures (figuras de pan) in her village shop, Fabrica de Figuras. The film clip is from an episode of a popular southern California television travel-adventure series created by the Linker family, Hal and Halla and their son David. Their popular broadcasts, running from the 1950s-1970s, were known under the series titles of Three Passports to Adventure, Wonders of the World and The Wild, the Weird and the Wonderful. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 2002.16.392. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.

Russian soldiers shown shortly after the 1968 invasion with their tanks in [city?] streets. Frank Kreznar, an electrical engineer for Westinghouse and member of the Milwaukee Amateur Cinema League and his wife were traveling in Czechoslovakia when the Russians invaded. Their eight minute film shows life before the invasion and after with tanks and makeshift shrines where people were killed. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 98.17.14. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.

A Shouter service typical of the Georgia coast and Sea Islands show a Shouter leader with dances staged specifically for documentation. These dances and movements are part of the Ring Shout tradition, also known as the Saturday night frolic. This film was shot in association with the work of anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 77.1.3. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.)

The importance of sled dogs and the care with which they are treated by the Grise Fiord Inuit is shown in this clip. In the early 1960’s, Lewis Cotlow – explorer, writer, filmmaker, and investment broker – was invited by the Canadian Mounted Police to make a film about the most northerly civilian settlement in the world – Grise Fiord, on Ellesmere Island, just 600 miles from the North Pole. Other content documents many aspects of daily life including hunting, building an igloo, and family life. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 78.1.1. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.

Members of the Brooklyn, New York, Mt. Carmel Club of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church dance the Giglio, carrying the structure, as well as the 12-piece band standing on it. The men who carry the structure are called the Paranza, or lifters; they are directed by the Capo, a position of great honor and tremendous responsibility. Under the direction of the Capo, the Paranza act as one to lift, carry, and dance the Giglio through the streets of Williamsburg. This 1956 amateur film footage was shot by Natale Bello. Each July in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, a seven-story, four-ton papier-mâché structure is carried through the streets by a group of over 100 men. This remarkable event is the Giglio, the Festival of San Paulinus di Nola, who is credited with offering himself into slavery to save the life of a child. In honor of San Paulinus, the Giglio has been “danced,” as they say, in Nola, Italy for over 1,500 years. Italian immigrants brought the tradition with them to the United States, where it is not only a religious festival, but also a grand celebration of Italian heritage. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 84.11.1. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SILENT.

The once abundant logger head sea turtles come to land to lay eggs. This amazing event took place around Lacrosse Island, in the Cambridge Gulf of north Australia. In 1917, E.J. Stuart and photographer William Jackson set out on the Nor’West Scientific and Exploration Expedition of Western Australia to make a comprehensive survey of the northwest coast from Broome to Wyndham, Australia. Of particular interest was the wild-life and natural resources of this remote area. Only a small part of this film is known to exist—the rest has been lost. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 90.7.10. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) B&W and SILENT.

See the danger of daring Wagenia tribesmen fishing from scaffolding in the rapids of the upper falls of the Congo River. The film clip is from an episode of a popular southern California television travel-adventure series created by the Linker family, Hal and Halla and their son David. Their popular broadcasts, running from the 1950s-1970s, were known under the series titles of Three Passports to Adventure, Wonders of the World and The Wild, the Weird and the Wonderful. (This film is accession number 2002.16.46. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.

Watch the hazards of befriending bears at Yellowstone National Park. Film was made by travel-lecturer Thayer Soule of his travels through the Western United States. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 91.20.18. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.

A private Iranian club shows the once forbidden Pahlavani wrestling. Men are shown wielding wooden clubs; performing grueling exercises on the floor and with metal weights and men performing a spinning “whirling dervish” dance. The film clip is from an episode of a popular southern California television travel-adventure series created by the Linker family, Hal and Halla and their son David. Their popular broadcasts, running from the 1950s-1970s, were known under the series titles of Three Passports to Adventure, Wonders of the World and The Wild, the Weird and the Wonderful. (This clip is drawn from HSFA film, accession number 2002.16.85. More information is available in SIRIS, the Smithsonian’s online catalog—see sidebar for URL.) COLOR and SOUND.