SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

The Professional Foreigner - Asen Balikci and Visual Ethnography by Rolf Husmann. 2009, 60 min

Asen Balikci has been a leading figure in making ethnographic films for many decades. In a series of talks between Balikci and filmmaker Rolf Husmann, the life and work of Asen Balikci are shown and discussed: the film takes us from Asen’s youth in Istanbul to his career in Canada where he became famous for making the Netsilik Eskimos Series, to filming in Afghanistan and then turning to two other activities of his: as a networker for the Commission on Visual Anthropology (CVA) and as a teacher of Summer Schools in Siberia and Bulgaria. His film work among the Bulgarian Pomak and his still on-going work in Sikkim (India) conclude the film that also touches upon vital issues of ethnographic filmmaking.