2 Quotes & Sayings By Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch was born in Paris in 1929. He is a filmmaker and anthropologist. Since the mid-1960s, he has been a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Paris VIII. He began his filmmaking career as a documentarist, making films on ethnographic subjects
In 1964, Jean Rouch launched his first film, "Les Anonymes," which was a critically acclaimed film that examines the nature of urban anonymity and the construction of the self within urban space. In 1968, he directed "La Chanson des morts qui dansent" (The Song of the Dancing Dead), which won the Prix Jean Vigo from the Institut Français du Film. In 1971, he directed "Les Bêtes Humaines" (Humans for Sale), a study of prostitution in Lille during World War II that is considered one of his most famous films.
He has also directed several films that deal with social issues such as unemployment and social inequality – "Les Faubourgs de Paris" (The Faubourgs of Paris) (1977), "Chroniques d'une société de la mort" (Chronicles of a Society of Death) (1974) and "Une histoire de l'enfance" (A History of Childhood) (1981). A documentary filmmaker, Jean Rouch has directed more than thirty films about cultural anthropology since 1956, including works on African art; American life; prehistory; African tribes; among others. He is also an artist who has created drawings and paintings since 1956.