Fêtes du Niger. Décembre 1961. Fêtes commémoratives de l'indépendance du Niger

Commemorative celebrations of the independence of the Republic of Niger filmed in December 1961 and 1962.

La circoncision

Rites and operation of the circumcision of thirty Songhai children on the Niger. Material of this film has been used to make "Les Fils de l'Eau".

Photo Souvenir

At a dusty crossroads in the desert city of Niamey, Niger, a crippled beggar is sitting in his wheelchair. He is Philippe Koudjina, who was once a successful photographer. In 1960s during the euphoria that followed independence, young people danced the twist and rock ‘n’ roll. Koudjina took snapshots and made a good living. Now, his negatives are decaying in a rusty cabinet. These snapshots now have artistic value. In Paris and New York, large sums are paid for photography like this. There is hope for Koudjina as two French connoisseurs are now trying to launch his work on the art circuit.

Le Hampi - Le ciel est posé sur la terre

A ritual vase, the hampi, is placed in the center of the Musée de plein air de la République du Niger in Niamey, during a ritual ceremony featuring possession dances. With this film, Jean Rouch continues his ethnological and cinematographic study of Songhay ritual objects. He demonstrates that, in a particular context, the transfer of a hampi vase to a museum requires the organization of a ritual ceremony to obtain the gods' approval. At the time, however, reservations about filming a possession dance for the opening of a shrine in a museum made the move "questionable from a museological point of view".

Yenendi de Ganghel, le village foudroyé

Lightning struck the hut of a Fulani shepherd near a village of settled fishermen, Ganghel, in Niger. A yenendi, a purification ceremony to obtain "water from the sky but not fire from the sky", is organized, with Sorko priests, ritual musicians and dancers, and the faithful from Niamey. The musicians call on Dongo, god of storms, and his brother Kirey, god of lightning. To the rhythm of the orchestra, a man goes into a trance, becoming Dongo's horse and at the same time the riding genie. Then a woman is possessed by Kirey. When the riding gods have mastered their horses, the gods visit the men. Dongo purifies the lightning-struck land and the oldest fisherman prepares the purification vessel, addressing Dongo.

Pam Kuso Kar (Briser les poteries de Pam)

In February 1974, Pam Sambo Zima, the oldest of the priests of possession in Niamey, Niger, died at the age of seventy-plus years. In his backyard, the followers from the possession cult symbolically break the dead priest's ritual vases and cry for the deceased while dividing up the clothes of the divinities.

Tourou et Bitti: Les tambours d'avant

"Tourou et Bitti", an eight minute documentary concerning a ritual in Niger, is yet another example of Rouch's excellence in creating documentaries which surpass the conventional documentary format. Just as frightening and fascinating as "Les maîtres fous", this one goes straight into the roots of ancient African cultures, in which music has an hypnotic effect, being at the same time an exorcism and a public show. Both the female and the male dancers are almost deities about to be unleashed... Spectral and humanitarian.

Atilogivu: The Story of a Wrestling Match

While no wrestling is actually depicted, Atilogivu: The Story of a Wrestling Match documents gymnastic dancing to drum and flute music of the Ibu people, east of the River Niger.

L'Afrique et la recherche scientifique

This documentary offers an overview of French scientific research in Africa French scientific research in Africa: hydrology, botany, biology oil palm and coconut cultivation, industrial sea fishing and and urban planning. Film montage taking stock of scientific research research in Africa, mainly in the fields of hydrology hydrology, botany, biology and agriculture. The film is a compilation of extracts from several short films made by Jean Rouch in Mali, Niger and Côte d'Ivoire between 1962 and 1963: Abidjan, port de pêche, Le Mil, Le Cocotier and Le Palmier à l'huile. l'huile.

Expedition Niger - Pures Afrika

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and is also plagued by numerous terrorist organizations that repeatedly kidnap people. Accompanied by a military convoy, the travel group explores the country and the cultural traditions of two of the last nomadic tribes, the Woodabe and the Tuareg. From the capital Niamey in the southwest, the journey continues through the interior of the country to Iférouane, where the Nigerien tour guide provides information about the country and its people.

Horendi

The title of this film translates literally as 'to put on a hori,' a hori being the Songhay term for ceremony of festival. Here it is used to refer to a ganandi, literally 'to make dance' This film concerns two women whom the zima [priest] had diagnosed some months before as being ill through possession by spirits. In the meantime, their families have gathered together the resources to pay for the musicians, dancers, and the priest himself to put on an initiation dance lasting seven days This is a film of documentation, simply recording various moments in the progress of the ceremony, without any form of explanation, neither in intertitle cards nor in voice-over. (Paul Henley, The Adventure of the Real)

El escape de Hitler

Singapore GaGa

Singapore GaGa is a 55-minute paean to the quirkiness of the Singaporean aural landscape. It reveals Singapore's past and present with a delight and humour that makes it a necessary film for all Singaporeans. We hear buskers, street vendors, school cheerleaders sing hymns to themselves and to their communities. From these vocabularies (including Arabic, Latin, Hainanese), a sense of what it might mean to be a modern Singaporean emerges. This is Singapore's first documentary to have a cinema release. With English and Chinese subtitles.

¿Quién mató a Mariano Ferreyra?

The journalist Andrés Oviedo must write about the murder of a young political activist Mariano Ferreyra for the magazine where he works. Oviedo performs a series of interviews and dialogues with familiars and friends of Ferreyra. The search for the truth and the motifs of the crime lead him to confront his publishers, who removed him from the case. In front of the arising complications, Andrés doubts to proceed with the investigation, but the support of his daughter, of the same generation as Mariano, helps him to continue. (FILMAFFINITY)

Mundialito

The film provides a look at the 1980 Mundialito, an international friendly soccer tournament organized by the Uruguayan Soccer Association, which brought together the World Cup-winning national teams and the Netherlands, and was organized in Uruguay during an unconventional political situation.

Search for Paradise

Lowell Thomas travels across Europe and the Middle East on his way to attend the coronation of King Mahendra in Nepal.

The Front Line

The world's press gather at Dover, England awaiting a threatened German attack.

Mayan Prophecies and Crop Circles: An Extraordinary Connection

Extraordinary connection between rare ancient 6,000 year old Sumerian symbols from the mysterious Mayan calendar, and a group of amazing signs and symbols found among Crop Circle formations.

Men with Beards

Men with Beards is a feature documentary that weaves a strange tale of beauty and brotherhood. Journey into the souls of countrymen to experience the triumph and heartbreak of a world-class beard.

My Other Me: A Film About Cosplayers

An eye-opening look at the 'costume play' subculture known as cosplay. "My Other Me" chronicles a year in the life of three different cosplayers, following the subjects as they travel the convention circuit, balancing their home lives with their cosplay alter egos, revealing the profound effects the subculture has played in their lives.