CinémaTuesdays Here and Elsewhere:
The Films of Jean Rouch Part I
Anthropologist Jean Rouch's
filmography includes over a hundred
titles-from ethnographic studies
of divine possession to a collective
improvisation about itinerant chicken
vendors-and although its central
place in cinema history is recognized,
the majority of it remains more talked
about than seen.
To honor this rich legacy, FIAF and
Anthology Film Archives each present
a retrospective culled from Rouch's
archive. The FIAF program revisits
some of his most canonical films
including rare features with his West
African partners. For details about the
series at Anthology Film Archives
visit anthologyfilmarchives.org
later this fall.
Wednesday, November 7 and
Tuesday November 13*, 20, and 27, 2012
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall
*The 12:30 & 4pm screenings on Wednesday, November 13 have been moved to Tinker Auditorium
Films are in French with English subtitles unless otherwise noted
Free Member tickets are distributed on the day of the event. Please present your Membership card at the box office. Member tickets may be purchased in advance for $2.
At the FIAF Box Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
The 7:30pm screening of Moi, un noir and Cabascabo will be introduced by series co-curators Sam Di Iorio (Hunter College/CUNY) and Jamie Berthe (NYU).
Moi, un noir Jean Rouch, 1958. Color. 73 min.
With Oumarou Ganda, Petit Touré,
Mademoiselle Gambi
In French with English subtitles
Oumarou Ganda plays himself in Rouch's radically innovative "ethno-fiction" about the day-to-day life of an immigrant dockhand in colonial Ivory Coast. Selected by Jean-Luc Godard as one of the best films of 1959, Moi, un noir is at once an analysis, a critique, and a fantasy dealing with the harsh realities and rich interior lives of the exploited working class under colonial rule.
Cabascabo Oumarou Ganda, 1969. B&W. 45 min.
With Oumarou Ganda, Zalika Souley,
Balarabi
In French with English subtitles
After training with Rouch, Ganda responds to Moi, un noir by recounting the story of a young African soldier fighting for the French in Indochina. Based on his own experience, Ganda's rarely-screened classic is both a sharp critique of French colonialism and a testament to Rouch's commitment to cinematic dialogue.
Note: This screening has been rescheduled to Wednesday, November 7 due to Election Day on Tuesday, November 6.
Venue
FIAF, Tinker Auditorium*
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
*Please note that the location has changed from Florence Gould Hall to Tinker Auditorium
Free Member tickets are distributed on the day of the event. Please present your Membership card at the box office. Member tickets may be purchased in advance for $2.
At the FIAF Box Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
The 15-Year-Old Widows Les veuves de 15 ans
Jean Rouch, 1964. B&W. 24 min.
With Marie-France de Chabaneix,
Véronique Duval,
Nadine Ballot,
Maurice Pialat
In
French with English
subtitles
Marie-France de Chabaneix and Veronique Duval play disaffected, well-to-do Parisian teens who must come to terms with the emptiness and excesses of their social milieu in this coming of age fiction, which features a rare cameo by director Maurice Pialat.
The Human Pyramid La pyramide humaine
Jean Rouch, 1961. Color. 88 min.
With Nadine Ballot, Denise Koulibali,
Modeste Landry
In
French with English
subtitles
Taking its title from surrealist poet Paul Eluard, Rouch's provocative improvisation on colonial race relations addresses life and romance among black and white high school students in the Ivory Coast.
Venue
FIAF, Tinker Auditorium*
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
*Please note that the location has changed from Florence Gould Hall to Tinker Auditorium
Free Member tickets are distributed on the day of the event. Please present your Membership card at the box office. Member tickets may be purchased in advance for $2.
At the FIAF Box Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
Longtime admirer of Jean Rouch,
James Toback, New York director
and the screenwriter of Bugsy (1991),
will introduce the 7pm screening and
participate in a Q&A with Sam Di Iorio,
the series' co-curator.
The 15-Year-Old Widows Les veuves de 15 ans
Jean Rouch, 1964. B&W. 24 min.
With Marie-France de Chabaneix,
Véronique Duval
Nadine Ballot,
Maurice Pialat
In
French with English
subtitles
Marie-France de Chabaneix and Veronique Duval play disaffected, well-to-do Parisian teens who must come to terms with the emptiness and excesses of their social milieu in this coming of age fiction, which features a rare cameo by director Maurice Pialat.
The Human Pyramid La pyramide humaine
Jean Rouch, 1961. Color. 88 min.
With Nadine Ballot, Denise Koulibali,
Modeste Landry
In
French with English
subtitles
Taking its title from surrealist poet Paul Eluard, Rouch's provocative improvisation on colonial race relations addresses life and romance among black and white high school students in the Ivory Coast.
Venue
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
Free Member tickets are distributed on the day of the event. Please present your Membership card at the box office. Member tickets may be purchased in advance for $2.
At the FIAF Box Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
Tourou and Bitti:
The Drums of the Past Tourou et Bitti: Les tambours d'avant
Jean Rouch, 1971. Color. 10 min.
In French with English subtitles
A single-reel long take shot of a possession ritual in rural Niger that takes shape in relation to Rouch's own presence, extending and developing Chronicle of a Summer's thoughts on participant-observation.
Chronicle of a Summer Chronique d'un été
Edgar Morin & Jean Rouch, 1961.
B&W. 85 min.
With Marceline Loridan-
Ivens, Jean-Pierre Sergent, Marilù
Parolini, Edgar Morin, Jean Rouch
In French with English subtitles
The film that launched the term cinéma vérité and helped found the modern documentary. Part ethnography, part psychodrama, Rouch and philosopher Edgar Morin draw as near as possible to the everyday lives of students and workers from France and Africa in a summer plagued by the experience of decolonization and memories of World War II.
Venue
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
Free Member tickets are distributed on the day of the event. Please present your Membership card at the box office. Member tickets may be purchased in advance for $2.
At the FIAF Box Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
Ivone Margulies (Hunter College / CUNY Graduate Center) will introduce the 7:30pm screening of Chronicle of a Summer and Un été plus 50.
Chronicle of a Summer Chronique d'un été
Edgar Morin & Jean Rouch, 1961. B&W. 85 min.
With Marceline Loridan-
Ivens, Jean-Pierre Sergent, Marilù
Parolini,
Edgar Morin, Jean Rouch
In French with English subtitles
The film that launched the term cinéma vérité and helped found the modern documentary.
Part ethnography, part psychodrama, Rouch and philosopher Edgar Morin draw as near as possible to the everyday lives of students and workers from France and Africa in a summer plagued by the experience of decolonization and memories of World War II.
Un été + 50 Florence Dauman, 2011.
Color and B&W. 72 min.
With Edgar
Morin, Régis Debray, Jean-Pierre
Sergent, Marceline Loridan-Ivens
In French with English subtitles
Nearly fifty years after the release of Chronicle of a Summer, Florence Dauman revisited the original footage shot by Rouch and Edgar Morin and reconnected with some of the influential documentary's participants. The product of this excavation is Un été + 50, a celebration of Chronicle's impact and a way of furthering the original film's meta-moebius strip magic.
Venue
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
Free Member tickets are distributed on the day of the event. Please present your Membership card at the box office. Member tickets may be purchased in advance for $2.
At the FIAF Box Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
VW Voyou Jean Rouch, 1973. Color. 35 min.
In French with English subtitles
A rib-tickling compilation of publicity spots for the 1973 VW Super Beetle. Shot by Rouch and his African friends, it features an ending so unconventional that VW rejected the project altogether.
Cocorico! Monsieur Poulet Jean Rouch, Damouré Zika,
Lam Ibrahima Dia, 1974. Color. 90 min.
With Lam Ibrahima Dia, Tallou
Mouzourane, Damouré Zika, Claudine
In French with English subtitles
Three travelers search for chickens to sell at market, but their fortunes change when they encounter a devil by the side of the road. This unforgettably jubilant and often surreal road movie is a prime example of the collaborative fictions Rouch made with his African partners.
Venue
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
Cinéma programs are
made possible by the Institut français, the
Cultural Services of the
French Embassy & the New York State Council
on the Arts with the
support of Governor
Andrew Cuomo &
the New York State
Legislature.
