SIAC (Italian Association for Cultural Anthropology) starts its activity in 2017 after the merging of two previously existing anthropological associations (AISEA and ANUAC), born respectively in 1990 and 2006, with the aim of unifying in a single and supportive scientific association all anthropologists engaged in Academia and in the public and social spaces. SIAC promotes the processes of research and supports the development of the scientific community dedicated to ethno-anthropological studies, by operating in the contexts of education, in academic and professional areas of application of anthropological knowledge, and in any context where the tools and methods developed by anthropology may be required. Since 2020 SIAC is partner of the Festival. For the present edition, SIAC has selected two documentaries dealing with main topics in the anthropological national and international debate. The screenings will be followed by a conversation (in presence or online) between members of the Siac steering committee and the documentaries’ directors.


Palimpsest of the Africa Museum

Regia / Directors Matthias De Groof, Mona Mpembele
Fotografia / Photography Matthias De Groof
Montaggio / Editing Sebastien Demeffe
Musica originale / Original music Ernst Reijseger
Produzione / Production Cobra Films
Coproduzione / Coproduction Atelier Graphoui con il sostegno di Vaf (Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds)
Belgio 2019, 69′
francese, inglese con sottotitoli in inglese e italiano / French, English with English and Italian subtitles

In 2013, the Royal Museum for Central Africa closes for renovation. Not only the building and the museum cabinets are in need of renewal: the spirit of the museum has to be brought into this century. The museum calls on the help of experts and initiates consultations with representatives of African organisations that have joined forces in a structure set up for this purpose, COMRAF. In COMRAF, the process of decolonization leads to fierce discussions. While disassembling the metre-high statue of Leopold II, his ghost wanders through the corridors and halls of the museum. The renovation of the Museum for Central Africa is an opportunity to give a modern interpretation to the museum’s existence and mission. The stuffed wild animals, the traditional masks and the dusted artifacts are to make way for a more complete, modern view on Africa. Exhibiting the minerals from the Congolese soil is no longer just a matter of scientific explanation.
We must also consider the horrific conditions in which these raw materials were mined and the disruptive consequences for Congolese society.
But in order to completely dislodge the majestic building from its colonial form, more fundamental questions also need to be asked. Who is looking at whom here? And whose story is being told here?

Beewildered companion

Regia / Directors Felix Remter, Miriam Remter
Fotografia/ Photography Felix Remter
Grafica / Graphics Florian Geierstanger
Montaggio/Editing Miriam Remter
Produzione/Production primate visions Remter & Remter GbR
Germania 2020, 87′
tedesco, inglese, russo con sottotitoli in inglese e italiano
/ German, English, Russian with English and Italian subtitles

An immersion in the socio-material entanglements of humans and honeybees in times of globalised diseases. Triggered by the migration of a small bee parasite from Asia, the culture of beekeeping in Europe today is deeply shaken. The search for new and better practices is also a struggle of different imaginaries regarding the ontological status of the honeybee as domestic or wild. Can and should a serious disease be controlled by medication or breeding?
Or, is it better for humans to give up control, as in the long lost craft of tree beekeeping. Only in the deep forests of Bashkiria the tradition is still alive. The cultural appropriation of this knowledge in Central Europe could be an important pillar for a sustainable solution to the crisis. Three multisensory-observational and three plurivocal-discursive chapters juxtapose the diverging inner attitudes with the corresponding practices of animal care.