Ou Dede and His Daughters

This documentary follows the fortunes of a family of the Nu people, still surviving in the extremely verdant mountains of southern China thanks to bow and arrow skills. The father, Ou Dede, last of a long line of Dabia 'bards' - singers of ancient folk songs, accompanied by a local four-stringed instrument - has to chose one of his three daughters as heir to the tradition, though by custom only males take the honour. Quite how much the director has influenced (or indeed coached) the principals is unclear, but it is nevertheless a startling, charming and amusing portrait of an endangered people.