
The Jean Rouch International Festival
Seeing the world differently
From Thursday, January 15, 2026 to Friday, January 16, 2026
Coupled with the Focus exhibition, the Festival International Jean Rouch offers a selection of award-winning films that reflect the original way in which researchers and filmmakers look at our societies. An opportunity to embark on a journey to destinations near and far, to discover new social themes and unforgettable portraits: a documentary production that can’t be seen anywhere else.
In partnership with the Comité du film ethnographique
Events (8)

Everyday help. Doing, making with and making do
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Pascal Cesaro (France) France, 2024, 80 min, vf Speakers: Pascal Césaro and members of AMFD This film, created as part of a research-creation collaboration with the Marseille-based association Aide aux mères et aux familles à domicile (AMFD), examines home help, a little-known aspect of social work, and gives workers the opportunity to define the exact nature of their activity.
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Thursday, Jan 15, 2026
at 17h30
J4 / Auditorium

Le Grand Tout
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Aminatou Echard (France) France, 2025, 119 min Speakers: Aminatou Echard, Rolly Bienvenue and Polygone Etoilé Documentary filmmaker Aminatou Échard, daughter of ethnologist Nicole Échard, who conducted research in Niger from 1964 to 1994, sets out on a journey in her mother’s footsteps. In addition to an African first name, her legacy includes the 16mm films she shot in Niger, and correspondence with her main field collaborator, Garba Maïgoye. Together with Garba Maïgoye and...
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Friday, Jan 16, 2026
at 19h30
J4 / Auditorium

Tongo Saa
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Nelson Makengo (Congo) Congo, Belgium, 2024, 95 min, vostfr Speakers: Pierre Fournier After an election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country revives plans to build Africa’s largest power plant. In the meantime, Kinshasa remains plunged in darkness, and its inhabitants do what they can to have access to light, despite social violence and uncertainty about the future.
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Friday, Jan 16, 2026
at 14h
J4 / Auditorium

Morire a Palermo
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Caterina Pasqualino (Italy, France) Italy, France, 2024, 70 min, Vostfr Film presented by students in the Aix-Marseille Université master’s program in cinema and audiovisual arts, with Pascal Cesaro, Laurent Pellé and Caterina Pasqualino. At the Santa Maria dei Rotoli cemetery in Palermo, Sicily, 1,500 corpses pile up awaiting burial due to administrative negligence, bad public policies and the hold of the Mafia. Caterina Pasqualino sets out to meet Palermo’s mourners...
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Thursday, Jan 15, 2026
at 15h
J4 / Auditorium

Koka
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Aliaksandr Tsymbaliuk (Poland) Belarus, Poland, 2024, 47 min, vostfr Speakers: Adélie Martinez On the shores of the Bering Sea, a father and son share an intimate relationship for a summer, marked by the harshness of the land and the innocence of childhood. The director’s discreet camerawork captures the balance between severity and tenderness that characterizes the father figure.
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Friday, Jan 16, 2026
at 10h
J4 / Auditorium

Rashid, The Boy from Sinjar
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Jasna Krajinovic (Belgium) France, Belgium, 2024, 80 min, vostf Speakers: Jasna Krajinovic (to be confirmed) and Pauline Tucoulet After surviving the Islamic State’s prison in Iraq as a child, Rashid is reunited with his family in Sinjar, in the northwest of the country. Peace there is fragile, and hatred of the Yezidi minority to which he belongs has resurfaced. Between everyday problems and the temptation to emigrate, Rashid reinvents himself on the threshold of adulthood.
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Thursday, Jan 15, 2026
at 10h
J4 / Auditorium

Songs of Slow Burning Earth
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Olha Zhurba (Ukraine) Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark, France, 2024, 95 min, vostfr An audiovisual diary that follows Ukraine’s plunge into the abyss of the first two years of the Russian invasion, to show how war ended up becoming the norm. In the midst of this collective disaster, a new generation of Ukrainians would like to imagine a future.
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Thursday, Jan 15, 2026
at 20h
J4 / Auditorium

Nocturnes
Jean Rouch Festival 2026
A film by : Anupama Srinivasan (India) Anirban Dutta (India) India, 2024, 83 min, vostfr Speaker: Yaël Bitton (editor, to be confirmed) Nocturnes transports us to the forests of the eastern Himalayas to explore the secret life of moths, following two researchers. This immersive, poetic tapestry invites us to question an anthropocentric vision of the world and pay closer attention to the interconnections in nature.
Each film is followed by a discussion with the film’s author and leading experts on the subject.
On Friday, Jan 16, 2026
at 16h30
J4 / Auditorium