Born in Paris in 1917, Jean Rouch died last year in his beloved Africa,
where he made most of his ethnographic documentaries. After having
graduated in engineering, starting from 1947, he dedicated himself to
the study of ethnology and the making of documentaries in the French
colonies in Africa, initially under the guidance of Marcel Griaule.
Considered from many aspects as one of the forerunners of the Nouvelle
Vague, he was a pioneer of documentary technique in continuation of
Robert Flaherty's method. Among his unnumerable appointments, he was
Director of the Cnrs of Paris, Secretary General of the ComiteÌ du Film
Ethnographique and Director of the CineÌmatheÌ€que Française.
