Movies: Folk

Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba....

In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Pri...

Since her debut at the age of 18, musician, civil rights campaigner and activist Joan Baez has been on stage for over 60 years. For the now 82-year-old, the personal has always been political, and her friendship with Martin Luther King and her pacifi...

Joba and Quincy are a wealthy Brooklyn couple who value charity above all. But when a friend returns from a country pilgrimage to challenge their bleeding hearts, they accept an invitation that will change their lives forever....

After the death of her brother, Moray tries to escape to a cabin in the woods when her retreat is derailed by a college band and their suspicious professor. They encounter a mysterious hum that once heard, there is no return....

Originally produced for PBS's Great Performances Series, La Pastorela is a musical retelling of the shepherds' journey to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child. We see the tale through the eyes of a modern young girl, the oldest child in a large rural Te...

Following her recent coronation as Demeter’s Harvest Festival Queen, Lilith Hammond has been reported missing. Calliope, concerned for her friend, and Finn, wary of the town’s unexplained past, delve into the nearby woods. In the face of winding wood...

Sannasi, a folk musician, convinces Sooravali, his lover and a female dancer in his troupe, to marry Karuppaiah, a seemingly docile man. Little do they realise the sinister intentions of Karuppaiah, but when they do it is too late....

After inheriting an old mudbrick house in his home village in Eastern Europe, a man returns after spending his whole life in England, only to find out that inhabitants are hiding a dark secret about the pagan Slavic cult and his own past....

A Turkish folk singer goes on a tour and falls in love with one of his young fan in İzmir. He later finds out that her sister also has a crush on him....

When the immigrants came to America, their cultures entered the "great melting pot." In Michigan's Upper Peninsula Finnish immigrants mixed their musical traditions with many other cultures, creating a sound that was unique to the "Copper Country."...

'Nonsense' piece inserted between Acts Two and Three of Jethro Tull's A Passion Play, which bears no relation to the rest of The Play. In 1973 concerts, the band left the stage after Act Two and a filmed version of 'The Hare...' was shown. A spoken-...

A coven of witches gather in Vermont in a feminist collective’s transporting short that shakes off patriarchal scrutiny during the women’s ceremony, where they’re free to remake reality before our eyes. TRANSFORMATIONS creates an intoxicating alchemy...

Philadelphia's Tower Theater hosts this soulful 1980 Paul Simon concert. Backed by a band featuring several members of Stuff, Simon delivers solo favorites and some personal renditions of songs from his days with Art Garfunkel. The 11-track set inclu...

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon had been on the cutting-edge of pop music throughout most of the 1960s and the '70s, first as half of the seminal folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, and then as a well-received solo artist. But the rise of 1980s rock and ne...

...

A conceptual short film starring Natalie Merchant as various archetypal female characters, plus a series of music videos from Merchant’s first two solo albums....

Fans continue to treasure the songs and performances of John Denver, one of the most popular recording artists of the 20th century. Before his death in 1997, Denver toured the world, landing in Birmingham, England, for the 1986 concert captured here....

Anu, an innocent eleven year old girl who can not spend a day without her grandmother, and is told that she has gone to "God's House" upon her demise. Now she sets on a journey with a traveling folk group (Bhavai) to find God's house and get her gran...

New take on an Indonesian legend about a successful man who disown his poor mother....