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Jean Rouch, an Adventurous Filmmaker
The fate of French director Jean Rouch is intertwined with his abounding work featuring ethnological research, surrealism, cinematic innovations and adventure stories set in Africa. The artist, born in 1917, gave new life to documentary filmmaking in the second half of the 20th century. In Niamey, on the banks of the river Niger, where he now lies, and where Laurent Védrine’s film takes place, combining the present day with rare documentary footage of the director, his travel companions and successors draw a portrait of a filmmaker, who founded ethnofiction and cinéma vérité and was capable of inventing his own life, while telling the ones of others.
Laurent Védrine
Born in 1976 in Paris, Laurent Védrine is a French filmmaker, radio producer and also a passionate beekeeper. He originally studied public law, history and anthropology. Afterwards he studied journalism in the Superior School of Journalism of Lille. As a journalist, he has been successively a freelance reporter for weekly newspapers, an art critic and an iconographer. Since 2005, he writes and directs non-fiction films both for television and the big screen. Most of his films are inspired by anthropological and political issues, often through his experiences in Africa. As a radio professional, he produces documentaries and experimental narrative forms, mostly for Radio France. Védrine is an active member of the Ethnographic Film Committee, originally founded by Jean Rouch, and also a member of the French Society of Africanists. Védrine is an environmental activist, involved in bicycle politics, and founder of Dardard, an association of urban beekeepers.
Filmography
The Axum Obelisk, 2006
Kinshasa Beijing Story, 2008
The Luncheon under the Grass, 2011
The Bicycle Queen, 2013
Jean Rouch, the Adventurous Filmmaker, 2017
WATCH FILM TRAILER
Film Details:
France, 2017, 53’
in French w/ Arm./Eng. subtitles
Director: Laurent Védrine
Screenwriters: Laurent Védrine, Laurent Pelle
Producer: Xavier Marliangeas
Cinematographers: Philippe Radoux, Laurent Védrine
Editor: Anne Renardet
Sound: Corneille Houssou
Production Company: Roches Noires, Maggia Images