This catalogue was a cooperative effort and would have never been possible had it not been for the help of many people. Firstly I wish to thank my fellow staff at the RAI, particularly Jonathan Benthall and Eileen Walters, for their support and encouragement. Polly Strauss helped considerably in the final weeks of production. The editorial advice that James Woodburn gave me was invaluable. Karen Godden helped put the manuscript in final form, and Gustaaf Houtman did the lay-out. The RAI Film Committee, who first envisioned this catalogue, gave continual advice and support. Here I must particularly thank David Turton, who chairs the Film Committee.
Although I have written most of the entries, some have been either partly or largely written by the filmmakers involved, and those in the Other People's Lives series have been largely compiled from summaries of the films that were written by the relevant anthropologists and published in a booklet of the same title by the RAI. Some of the entries for films in the People of the Western Desert series are copied directly from the 1982 RAI Film Catalogue (ed. James Woodburn). This is noted further in the test. Other anthropologists have also greatly assisted with the bibliographies. To all of these contributors I offer my grateful appreciation. Finally I wish to thank Mauro Nascimento for his personal support.
These people gave their help and advice, but I alone am of course completely responsible for the completed manuscript, and for any errors or omissions.
