The documentary film as a tool for the ethnography of performance

My research on the Ethnography of Performance has been making use of film, first as a memory aid which allows me to review details of the rituals that I have observed, and after, by chance, by producing a documentary film. I made that first film with the aim of letting my friends know about what I was doing in the south of India. My research lies in the field of Performance Studies and my attention is focused on several aspects of the “doing” of the ritual of the Teyyams, a cult followed by some Hinduists of a specific area, and characterized by the “transformation” of the performer into a divinity.The documentary was relatively successful and I am currently involved in the production of a new film. But in the meantime, I have lost some of the innocence which engaged me in the production of the first film, and I face some doubts.In this text I address these issues.