The Way of the Shaman Drum

Top 1 Billed Cast

Guan Yunde
Guan Yunde

Himself

Loading Trailer Videos...
  • HomePage

  • Overview

    During the Cultural Revolution in China in the late 20th century, ethnic Manchu people were persecuted and forced to give up such cultural traditions as the shaman dance (tiao tchin, meaning "spirit-jumping" or "god's dance"). However, on Changbai Mountain in Northeast China, a farmer named Guan Yunde decided to start designing and building traditional Manchu shaman drums. At age 70, he is one of a minority of ethnic Manchu people in China's Jilin province, and one of the few people keeping the Manchu shamanic tradition alive.

  • Release Date

    2017-01-01

  • Average

    9

  • Rating:

    4.5 starts
  • Tagline

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    普通话
  • Keywords

Similar Movies

Copal Dreams
0%

Copal Dreams(es)

2019-06-05

The communities of San Martin Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola in Oaxaca, Mexico are best known for being the main source of the "Alebrijes" (wood carving) in the state; a relatively new but powerful tradition in mexican folklore. In both communities, there is a family that claims they're father started this tradition in all the state of Oaxaca.

Meat
57%

Meat(en)

2018-06-05

Meat is the modern story of the animals we eat, as told by the people who never get to say their piece - from the solitary hunter who believes everyone needs to be educated about their food, to an industrial pig farmer who argues that money isn't his primary driver.

Mad About English!
60%

Mad About English!(en)

2008-01-01

The amazing story of 1,000,000,000 people and their MAD MAD MAD rush to learn English! China 's love affair with the English language has reached feverish proportions. With half a million or more visitors descending on Beijing for the Games, can the Chinese pull it off with their newly-acquired English? Mad About English! follows the inspiring and heart-warming efforts of a city preparing to host the world by learning a once-forbidden tongue.

North China Factory
60%

North China Factory(en)

1980-01-01

This documentary from 1980 depicts a factory community in China where over 6000 workers process, spin and weave raw cotton into 90 million yards of high-quality cloth per year. Also seen are the workers' residential, social, recreational and educational facilities, all located on factory property. The film presents an engrossing study of a lifestyle that is very different from that of the Western world.

Hair, Paper, Water...
0%

Hair, Paper, Water...(vi)

2026-03-25

She was born in a cave, more than 60 years ago. Now she lives in a village, with many children and grandchildren to look after. Sometimes, she dreams of her dead mother calling her home – to the cave.

The Song That Calls You Home
95%

The Song That Calls You Home(en)

2022-10-25

A personal, scientific, mystical exploration of Amazonian curanderismo, focus on Ayahuasca and Master Plants, their healing and visionary properties and risks, along with the Shipibo people and their songs.

504
70%

504(fr)

2024-08-14

It was aboard the legendary and sturdy Peugeot 504 and Renault 12 that most North African families made the "route du bled," a ritual return to their homeland for summer vacations in Morocco or Algeria. The film chronicles a summer migration across the Mediterranean from the 1970s to the 1990s. The memory of these epic journeys punctuates the history of North Africans in France with bittersweet nostalgia, where travel stories blend industrial automotive heritage with personal memories.

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
74%

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story(en)

2015-05-06

A documentary about Caroll Spinney who has been Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969. At 78-years-old, he has no intention of stopping.

There Is No Authority But Yourself
52%

There Is No Authority But Yourself(en)

2006-01-01

A Dutch documentary about the history of the anarchist punk band Crass. The film features archival footage of the band, and interviews with former members Steve Ignorant, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher.

The Wikipedia Promise
67%

The Wikipedia Promise(de)

2021-01-03

In 2001, Jimmy Wales published the first article on Wikipedia, a collaborative effort that began with a promise: to democratize the spreading of knowledge, monopolized by the elites for centuries. But is Wikipedia really a utopia come true?

The Road to Fame
0%

The Road to Fame(en)

2013-06-12

China's top drama academy stages the American musical "Fame," China's first official collaboration with Broadway, as the graduation showcase for its senior class. During the eight-month rehearsal, five students compete for roles, struggle with pressure from family and authority, and prepare to graduate into China's corrupt entertainment industry.

The Pharmacy: Shanghai
0%

The Pharmacy: Shanghai(fr)

1976-03-10

Filmed inside Pharmacy No. 3 in Shanghai, Joris Ivens and Marceline Loridan-Ivens document the daily work of a state pharmacy that functions as both a dispensary and a neighborhood medical center. The film focuses on routine interactions between staff and patients, revealing an integrated model of urban healthcare in 1970s China.

Arctic Summer
0%

Arctic Summer(en)

2021-02-19

ARCTIC SUMMER is a poetic meditation on Tuktoyaktuk, an Indigenous community in the Arctic. The film captures Tuk during one of the last summers before climate change forced Tuk's coastal population to relocate to more habitable land.

Journey to the East
0%

Journey to the East(en)

2021-05-30

Could our mounting modern problems have ancient solutions? Travel to the depths of China to find out.

My 1980's
70%

My 1980's(zh)

2019-05-26

Highlights the rebellious young generation of artists in China fighting for political emancipation, artistic freedom and creating a cultural golden age during the 1980s - a significant decade of transformational change. Interweaving six main characters' memories with the director's personal narration, the film embarks on an emotional journey and tells a story of being passionate and idealistic before dreams are dashed to pieces.

Freedom Calf
0%

Freedom Calf(sv)

2005-01-29

In a small village in north of Sweden lives a calf that dislikes enclosures. The desperate farmer builds fence after fence, but the calf still manages to get out. When a film team arrives to make a film about the events, everything changes.

Tiananmen: The People Versus the Party
80%

Tiananmen: The People Versus the Party(en)

2019-06-02

The true story of the seven weeks that changed China forever. On June 4, 1989, pro-democracy demonstrations were violently and bloodily repressed. Thousands of people died, but the basis for China's future was definitely planted.

Modern Life
75%

Modern Life(fr)

2008-10-29

For ten years, Raymond Depardon has followed the lives of farmer living in the mountain ranges. He allows us to enter their farms with astounding naturalness. This moving film speaks, with great serenity, of our roots and of the future of the people who work on the land. This the last part of Depardon's triptych "Profils paysans" about what it is like to be a farmer today in an isolated highland area in France. "La vie moderne" examines what has become of the persons he has followed for ten years, while featuring younger people who try to farm or raise cattle or poultry, come hell or high water.

Saving Venice
72%

Saving Venice(en)

2021-05-01

Rising sea levels and sinking land threaten to destroy Venice. Leading scientists and engineers battling the forces of nature to try to save this historic city for future generations. Discover the innovative projects and feats of engineering currently underway, including a hi-tech flood barrier, eco-projects to conserve the lagoon, and new efforts to investigate erosion beneath the city.

Dare to Drum
0%

Dare to Drum(en)

2015-05-18

This film speaks to the uniquely inherent traits that drummers and percussionists possess as natural explorers of music and sound, and how this particular story explores the challenge of translating foreign voices of percussive expression into the dialect of a Western classical orchestra setting. Five accomplished percussionists, Drum, and a rock star composer, Stewart Copeland, come together with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to create a groundbreaking work.

Recommendations Movies

Baraka
82%

Baraka(en)

1992-09-15

A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.

Monkey Kingdom
70%

Monkey Kingdom(en)

2015-04-16

A newborn monkey and its mother struggle to survive within the competitive social hierarchy of the Temple Troop, a dynamic group of monkeys who live in ancient ruins found deep in the storied jungles of South Asia.

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
72%

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country(en)

2008-11-12

Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young citizens of Burma live the essence of journalism as they insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
64%

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library(en)

2017-09-13

A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.

South of the Border
59%

South of the Border(en)

2009-09-07

A road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks
77%

Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks(zh)

2004-06-09

A detailed look at the gradual decline of Shenyang’s industrial Tiexi district, an area that was once a vibrant example of China’s socialist economy. But industry is changing, and the factories of Tiexi are closing. Director Wang Bing introduces us to some of the workers affected by the closures, and to their families.

Bruce Lee, the Legend
79%

Bruce Lee, the Legend(en)

1984-01-01

The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.

Born in China
74%

Born in China(zh)

2016-08-12

Venturing into the wilds of China, "Born in China" captures intimate moments with a panda bear and her growing cub, a young golden monkey who feels displaced by his baby sister, and a mother snow leopard struggling to raise her two cubs.

Our Planet: Behind the Scenes
76%

Our Planet: Behind the Scenes(en)

2019-04-05

Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.

Behind the Planet of the Apes
71%

Behind the Planet of the Apes(en)

1998-09-05

Roddy McDowall takes you, film by film, from production meetings to make-up sessions, then right onto the movie set to see the actual filming of the science fiction masterpiece. The most comprehensive history of Planet of the Apes ever created, this fascinating 127-minute documentary explores one of the most imaginative and influential series in movie history.

Gunda
72%

Gunda(en)

2021-04-15

A glimpse into the raw and simple power of nature through encounters with farm animals: the eponymous Gunda, a mother pig; two cows, and a one-legged chicken.

Walk with Me
58%

Walk with Me(en)

2017-05-11

Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Walk With Me is a cinematic journey into the world of a monastic community who practice the art of mindfulness with Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Koyaanisqatsi
79%

Koyaanisqatsi(en)

1983-04-27

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

Capturing Avatar
69%

Capturing Avatar(en)

2010-11-16

Capturing Avatar is a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Avatar. It uses footage from the film's development, as well as stock footage from as far back as the production of Titanic in 1995. Also included are numerous interviews with cast, artists, and other crew members. The documentary was released as a bonus feature on the extended collector's edition of Avatar.

Girl Rising
70%

Girl Rising(en)

2013-03-07

Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.

We Live in Public
68%

We Live in Public(en)

2009-08-28

In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button
70%

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button(en)

2009-05-05

A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
80%

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father(en)

2008-10-31

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

Earthlings
81%

Earthlings(en)

2005-09-24

Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.

Pandas
81%

Pandas(en)

2018-04-06

In the mountains of Sichuan, China, a researcher forms a bond with Qian Qian, a panda who is about to experience nature for the first time.