Selection of short films
Jean Rouch International Festival
Three short films to discover during this session.
Le Sabotier du Val de Loire By Jacques Demy (France, 1955, 23 min.)
A sabotier and his wife live simply and poorly on the banks of the Loire. Jacques Demy and his brother had taken shelter in their home during the bombing of Nantes. In his first short film, he wanted to describe the particular gestures of the sabotier and his wife, and pay tribute to their kindness and wisdom as they approach old age.
Le sabotier du Val de Loire © 1955 ciné-tamaris
Les Maîtres fous A film by Jean Rouch (France, 1955, 36 min.)
In the city of Accra, emigrants from Niger suddenly find themselves plunged into the hectic life of Western civilization. To remedy this uprooting, they gather in one of the city’s suburbs to worship the Haouka, a kind of modern-day genie.
Grand Prix at the 1957 Venice International Biennale.
Les Maîtres fous © Films du jeudi
Dimanche à Pékin A film by Chris Marker (France, 1956, 22 min)
A photo of the Ming Tombs Alley, seen by the director as a child, introduces Chris Marker’s stroll through the streets of Beijing. Marker wanders through different parts of the city, offering “different vignettes” of modern China in the 1950s. “Nothing is more beautiful than Paris, if not the memory of Paris. And nothing is more beautiful than Peking, if not the memory of Peking. And I, in Paris, remember Beijing and count my treasures.”
Sunday in Beijing © Tamasa Distribution
Three short films to discover during this session.
Le Sabotier du Val de Loire By Jacques Demy (France, 1955, 23 min.)
A sabotier and his wife live simply and poorly on the banks of the Loire. Jacques Demy and his brother had taken shelter in their home during the bombing of Nantes. In his first short film, he wanted to describe the particular gestures of the sabotier and his wife, and pay tribute to their kindness and wisdom as they approach old age.
Le sabotier du Val de Loire © 1955 ciné-tamaris
Les Maîtres fous A film by Jean Rouch (France, 1955, 36 min.)
In the city of Accra, emigrants from Niger suddenly find themselves plunged into the hectic life of Western civilization. To remedy this uprooting, they gather in one of the city’s suburbs to worship the Haouka, a kind of modern-day genie.
Grand Prix at the 1957 Venice International Biennale.
Les Maîtres fous © Films du jeudi
Dimanche à Pékin A film by Chris Marker (France, 1956, 22 min)
A photo of the Ming Tombs Alley, seen by the director as a child, introduces Chris Marker’s stroll through the streets of Beijing. Marker wanders through different parts of the city, offering “different vignettes” of modern China in the 1950s. “Nothing is more beautiful than Paris, if not the memory of Paris. And nothing is more beautiful than Peking, if not the memory of Peking. And I, in Paris, remember Beijing and count my treasures.”
Sunday in Beijing © Tamasa Distribution