Zomo et ses frères

Hampi

May 1962 •French

A ritual vase, the hampi, is placed in the center of the Musée de plein air de la République du Niger in Niamey, during a ritual ceremony featuring possession dances. With this film, Jean Rouch continues his ethnological and cinematographic study of Songhay ritual objects. He demonstrates that, in a particular context, the transfer of a hampi vase to a museum requires the organization of a ritual ceremony to obtain the gods' approval. At the time, however, reservations about filming a possession dance for the opening of a shrine in a museum made the move "questionable from a museological point of view".

Yenendi de Ganghel (Rain Dance at Ganghel)

January 1968 •French

Lightning struck the hut of a Fulani shepherd near a village of settled fishermen, Ganghel, in Niger. A yenendi, a purification ceremony to obtain "water from the sky but not fire from the sky", is organized, with Sorko priests, ritual musicians and dancers, and the faithful from Niamey. The musicians call on Dongo, god of storms, and his brother Kirey, god of lightning. To the rhythm of the orchestra, a man goes into a trance, becoming Dongo's horse and at the same time the riding genie. Then a woman is possessed by Kirey. When the riding gods have mastered their horses, the gods visit the men. Dongo purifies the lightning-struck land and the oldest fisherman prepares the purification vessel, addressing Dongo.

L'Afrique et la recherche scientifique

January 1964 •French

This documentary offers an overview of French scientific research in Africa French scientific research in Africa: hydrology, botany, biology oil palm and coconut cultivation, industrial sea fishing and and urban planning. Film montage taking stock of scientific research research in Africa, mainly in the fields of hydrology hydrology, botany, biology and agriculture. The film is a compilation of extracts from several short films made by Jean Rouch in Mali, Niger and Côte d'Ivoire between 1962 and 1963: Abidjan, port de pêche, Le Mil, Le Cocotier and Le Palmier à l'huile. l'huile.

Pam Kuso Kar (Breaking Pam's Vases)

January 1974 •French

In February 1974, Pam Sambo Zima, the oldest of the priests of possession in Niamey, Niger, died at the age of seventy-plus years. In his backyard, the followers from the possession cult symbolically break the dead priest's ritual vases and cry for the deceased while dividing up the clothes of the divinities.

Atilogivu: The Story of a Wrestling Match

January 1982 •English

While no wrestling is actually depicted, Atilogivu: The Story of a Wrestling Match documents gymnastic dancing to drum and flute music of the Ibu people, east of the River Niger.

Drums from the Past

January 1971 •French

"Tourou et Bitti", an eight minute documentary concerning a ritual in Niger, is yet another example of Rouch's excellence in creating documentaries which surpass the conventional documentary format. Just as frightening and fascinating as "Les maîtres fous", this one goes straight into the roots of ancient African cultures, in which music has an hypnotic effect, being at the same time an exorcism and a public show. Both the female and the male dancers are almost deities about to be unleashed... Spectral and humanitarian.

Circumcision

January 1949 •English

Rites and operation of the circumcision of thirty Songhai children on the Niger. Material of this film has been used to make "Les Fils de l'Eau".

Niger Festivals: December 1961 - Niger Independence Days

January 1962 •English

Commemorative celebrations of the independence of the Republic of Niger filmed in December 1961 and 1962.

Horendi

January 1972 •French

The title of this film translates literally as 'to put on a hori,' a hori being the Songhay term for ceremony of festival. Here it is used to refer to a ganandi, literally 'to make dance' This film concerns two women whom the zima [priest] had diagnosed some months before as being ill through possession by spirits. In the meantime, their families have gathered together the resources to pay for the musicians, dancers, and the priest himself to put on an initiation dance lasting seven days This is a film of documentation, simply recording various moments in the progress of the ceremony, without any form of explanation, neither in intertitle cards nor in voice-over. (Paul Henley, The Adventure of the Real)

Photo Souvenir

January 2006 •French

At a dusty crossroads in the desert city of Niamey, Niger, a crippled beggar is sitting in his wheelchair. He is Philippe Koudjina, who was once a successful photographer. In 1960s during the euphoria that followed independence, young people danced the twist and rock ‘n’ roll. Koudjina took snapshots and made a good living. Now, his negatives are decaying in a rusty cabinet. These snapshots now have artistic value. In Paris and New York, large sums are paid for photography like this. There is hope for Koudjina as two French connoisseurs are now trying to launch his work on the art circuit.

Expedition Niger: Real Africa

November 2023 •German

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and is also plagued by numerous terrorist organizations that repeatedly kidnap people. Accompanied by a military convoy, the travel group explores the country and the cultural traditions of two of the last nomadic tribes, the Woodabe and the Tuareg. From the capital Niamey in the southwest, the journey continues through the interior of the country to Iférouane, where the Nigerien tour guide provides information about the country and its people.

Le Droit à la parole

June 1968 •French

Des traîtres dans la Résistance

November 2021 •French

In May 1943, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, the new head of the Reich Central Security Office, gave Hitler a report describing in detail the organization of the French Resistance. Indeed, during the Second World War, most of the Resistance networks had been infiltrated by traitors, the "V Man" (trusted men) in the service of the occupier. The Germans had established treason as a system and recruiting Frenchmen ready to inform on them was one of their priorities. It was these Frenchmen, whose number is estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000, who dealt terrible blows to the Resistance.

Madame Fife, l'amour d'un village

Invalid date •French

For over thirty summers, Mrs. Fife, an exceptional woman of our time, lived in the village of Baie-Johan-Beetz, where her great gentleness and generosity left their mark on people. This documentary is therefore intended as a tribute: it brings together both numerous testimonies and a collection of archival films and photos, signed by Mary Fife.

Krag-filmen

January 1969 •Danish

The ABCinema group dispatched Jørgen Leth to make the arrangements with Prime Minister Jens Otto Krag, who good-naturedly put himself at their disposal. Relaxing on a bench in the garden of Copenhagen's Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Krag is scrutinised by camera-wielding collective members almost like a model in a life-drawing class. Every possible angle, distance and framing is tried. The result is an image of the prime minister that is both fragmented and multi-facetted, describing his visual appearance as a man and an icon. At the same time, the ABCinema members film each other filming Krag, which gives the film a highly self-reflective character. Like "The Deer Garden," this is a film about a film being filmed. A showdown with the documentary portrait genre, "Jens Otto Krag" is devised according to the principle of keeping the material alive by not editing it but randomly piecing it together. (DFI)

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - Creation Trajectory

March 2003 •English

Focusing on the PS2 game "Shin Megami Tensei - Nocturne", this extensive making-of documentary delves into Nocturn from the developer's point of view, focusing on the trial and error process of creating Shin Megami Tensei and the true meaning of the world view behind the game. Includes rare alpha development footage.

Private Pictures

January 2018 •English

Documentary about the making of the early Giallo "Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion".

It All Started With a Stale Sandwich

June 2019 •English

50 years ago, Sydneysiders were shocked and the art world astonished by Christo's wrapping of the Little Bay coastline. Hungarian migrant and entrepreneur John Kaldor, who initiated this monumental work, has said “it all started with a stale sandwich, in Christo's studio in 1968 New York.” Now, Project 34 (by Asad Raza) is about to be unveiled, and UK artist Michael Landy is designing the exhibition to celebrate 50 years of Kaldor Public Art Projects.

Death in Arizona

February 2014 •English

Death in Arizona is a futuristic documentary of lost love and a tale of a dying civilization. It is an autobiographical portrayal of a man who returns to his lost love’s empty apartment in pursuit of answers. The distant voices of a tribe in Arizona that survived a meteorite strike make their way into the third story apartment of this obscure Bolivian city.

And the Oscar Goes To...

February 2014 •English

The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.