
Cracks in the Mask(1997)
A century ago the Torres Strait Island were the subjects of the famous Cambridge Anthropological Expedition - the resulting depletion of their cultural artifacts left them with nothing but a history of remembered loss. The only people in the Pacific to make elaborate turtleshell masks have none left - they are all in foreign museums. In a quest to reclaim the past, Ephraim Bani, a wise and knowledgeable Torres Strait Islander, travels with his wife to the great museums of Europe where his heritage lies. The film, an SBS Independent production, shows that the thickest of masks cracks when a descendant of the original owners enters a museum.

Movie: Cracks in the Mask
Top 9 Billed Cast
Self / Narrator
Self
Self
Self
Self
Self
Self
Self
Self

Cracks in the Mask
HomePage
Overview
A century ago the Torres Strait Island were the subjects of the famous Cambridge Anthropological Expedition - the resulting depletion of their cultural artifacts left them with nothing but a history of remembered loss. The only people in the Pacific to make elaborate turtleshell masks have none left - they are all in foreign museums. In a quest to reclaim the past, Ephraim Bani, a wise and knowledgeable Torres Strait Islander, travels with his wife to the great museums of Europe where his heritage lies. The film, an SBS Independent production, shows that the thickest of masks cracks when a descendant of the original owners enters a museum.
Release Date
1997-06-06
Average
0
Rating:
0.0 startsTagline
Genres
Languages:
EnglishFrançaisDeutschKeywords
Similar Movies
8.0Koka(ru)
Somewhere on the coast of the Bering Sea, a father and son make a living fishing in a community that seems almost outside of time. Aliaksandr Tsymbaliuk’s camera takes us in close to the subjects, recording both the harshness of their condition and the rigour of education, softened by paternal love and the universal insouciance of childhood.
0.0My Survival as an Aboriginal(en)
Essie Coffey gives the children lessons on Aboriginal culture. She speaks of the importance of teaching these kids about their traditions. Aboriginal kids are forgetting about their Aboriginal heritage because they are being taught white culture instead.
7.0Religulous(en)
Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.
0.0Sweet Osmanthus Flowering Late(zh)
"Sweet Osmanthus Flowering Late" is a feature-length ethnographic film that envisions social rejuvenation and collective convalescence in the aftermath of the pandemic. Filmed in Wuhan, the film follows the everyday lives of three middle-class households. It postulates the existence of a mass dreaming phenomenon that facilitated fatigued Chinese inhabitants to rejuvenate themselves following the secluded episode of lived experience and to coexist with the enduring imprints of "the event" on their social lives.
7.0This Island(en)
How the art in the Detroit Institute of Art connects to life's experiences and the neighborhood.
6.8Reunion(fr)
Live footage from concentration camps after the liberation, and the complex transport and lodging of masses of prisoners of war and other deported people back to their home countries, at the end of World War II. A 45min 35mm print also exists (shown at Cinémathèque française in 2023).
6.0A Venue For The End Of The World(en)
Haunted by uncanny similarities between Nazi stage techniques and the showmanship employed by modern entertainers, a filmmaker investigates the dangers of audience manipulation and leader worship.
3.0Il museo degli orrori di Dario Argento(it)
Newly edited version of Luigi Cozzi's 1997 documentary "Il mondo di Dario Argento 3: Il museo degli orrori di Dario Argento" focusing on the museum-part of the "Profondo Rosso" shop.
0.0The Painter's Voice(en)
Paintings conservators at the Getty Center reveal details of their craft as they restore two large paintings by French master Jean-Baptiste Oudry.
6.8American Hardcore(en)
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
0.0Incarceration Nation(en)
An examination of the connection between relentless government intervention since colonisation to the trauma and disadvantage experiences by Indigenous Australians - the two key drivers of incarceration.
7.3Global Metal(en)
In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.
0.0Grandma in Two Dimensions: Memories, Images and Stories of Faith(pt)
A young anthropologist reflects on her late grandmother's religious background.
0.0The Story Of (Scotty) The T. Rex(en)
In this documentary, we go back to the beginning and tell the origin story of Scotty the T. Rex and how it was discovered on that fateful day in 1991. We also showcase the lasting impact the discovery had on the town of Eastend and the Paleo world in Canada. In 2019, Scotty was proclaimed the biggest in the world. Believed to be a female, she measured over 13 m or just over 42.6 feet long and weighed over 8.8 metric tons. Discovered in the dinosaur-rich Frenchman Formation, Scotty's bones have been carefully preserved and are stored at the T. Rex Discovery Centre in Eastend, Saskatchewan.
0.0Ray Martin: Mysteries Of The Outback(en)
Ray Martin goes on a grand quest to locate a mysterious outback rock formation he spotted and photographed from an airliner 37,000 feet in the air.
Circumcision(fr)
Rites and operation of the circumcision of thirty Songhai children on the Niger. Material of this film has been used to make "Les Fils de l'Eau".

