A Tribute to Jean Rouch

Friday, November 12
6:30 pm, Program F2

In memory of renowned French ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch (1917-2004) who died this past year in a car accident in Niger, the festival celebrates his life and work. Rouch helped forge cinéma vérité, a more flexible and less formal handheld camera style. Working primarily in Africa, Rouch's anthropological work was characterized by his concern to work not only "with" his subjects, but alongside them. Through "shared anthropology" and "ethno-fiction," Rouch captured his friends' and subjects' daily lives as well as their imaginations. In 1977, the Mead Festival's inaugural year, Rouch was the first filmmaker to be honored with a retrospective. He continued to participate in many festivals up until 1994.

The evening includes the screening of three works that highlight his time in the U.S. and his interaction with American scholars and friends: Conversations with Rouch by Ann McIntosh; a segment from the Boston television show Screening Room with Robert Gardner: Jean Rouch; and Margaret Mead: A Portrait by a Friend, a film Rouch made with John Marshall about Margaret Mead.

The new Tribute to Jean Rouch website by Documentary Educational Resources will also be launched.

Participants in the evening include: Ann McIntosh, Filmmaker/Writer; Francoise Foucault, Director, Festival du Bilan, Musée de l'Homme, Paris; Faye Ginsburg, Director, Center for Media, Culture & History, New York University; and Paul Stoller, Professor, Anthropology and Sociology, West Chester University; Cynthia Close, Executive Director, Documentary Educational Resources; Brenda Baugh, Web Content Developer and Researcher, Documentary Educational Resources.

Native Voices: Northwest and Southwest

Complementing the new AMNH exhibition, Totems to Turquoise: Native Jewelry from the Northwest Coast and Southwest, the Mead Festival devotes three sessions to media by and about indigenous communities from these regions. Showcasing the work of youth media groups to highly celebrated artists, these programs range in topic, style, and spirit and address key issues of balancing traditional values with contemporary culture.

Session One
Saturday, November 13
3:45 pm, Program F11
Session One is comprised of projects from both the Northwest and Southwest. Native Pride (Swinomish) is a youth-produced rap production. Rez Robics for Couch Potato Skins (Navajo) combines self-deprecating humor and community testimonials to battle the very serious diabetes epidemic. And finally, Raven Tales: Raven Steals the Sun blends traditional myth and computer animation in this first segment of a new 13-part series. Post-screening discussion with directors.

Session Two
Sunday, November 14
1:30 pm, Program F18
Session Two presents two works by Victor Masayevsa, Jr. (Hopi), whose seminal film, Imagining Indians, was showcased at the '93 Mead Festival. Paatuwaqatsi: Water, Land & Life is a grassroots resistance video. Masayevsa also offers a sneak preview of his work- in-progress, Pensoyungkam: People with a Pencil. Post-screening discussion with Masayesva, an independent producer, director, and photographer who has been at the forefront of experimental arts.

Session Three
Sunday, November 14
3:45 pm, Program F15
Session Three showcases Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole by Gil Cardinal (M'tis), a provocative film about the repatriation of cultural property. A roundtable discussion with Gil Cardinal and others will follow the screening. This event is co-presented with New York University's Center for Media, Culture & History. Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole will have a second screening on Sunday, November 21, 1:00 pm; Program F27.