Ethnographic Film Series
Organised by SOAS Department of Anthropology & Sociology in conjunction with Royal Anthropological Institute
Wednesday 18 October 1pm, Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS
The King of the Cockroaches by Timothy Cooper 70 min / 2016
The degraded surfaces of mass-copied films – the glitches, scanlines, errors, and coding artifacts – rather than the filmmaker’s imprint, reveal the material culture and social life of film consumption. The film studies the informal infrastructures, practices, technologies and institutions that, in the absence of a national film archive, have kept Pakistani film heritage alive. Looking to both cinema distribution and the conditions of its circulation, the film is a found-footage journey through orphaned VHS master copies, grey-market VCDs, and lossy YouTube transfers, celebrating the indestructible archive of Pakistani cinema.
For further information on the films please contact: RAI Film Officer, Caterina Sartori, film@therai.org.uk
All are welcome, booking not required.