Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Watch us on Youtube Join the Archive Mailing List Read our Blog

La pyramide humaine (The Human Pyramid) (1961)

La pyramide humaine (1961)
February 23, 2013 - 7:30 pm

Directed by Jean Rouch

Observing racial segregation at the Lycée Français of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Rouch worked with students there who willingly enacted a story about the arrival of a new white girl, and her effect on the interactions of black and white students. Fomenting a dramatic situation instead of repeating one, Rouch extended the experiments he had undertaken in Chronique d’un Été, including having on-camera student participants view rushes of the film midway through the story.

Cast: Nadine Ballot, Denise Alain. 

16mm, color, 88 min.

Preceded by

Les veuves de 15 ans (The 15-Year-Old Widows) (1966)

Directed by Jean Rouch

Two young women deal with the existential strain of a vacuous existence among their peers in a well-to-do Parisian set.  Always one to experiment, Rouch switched the actresses’ roles before production began. The film features a rare cameo appearance by director Maurice Pialat.

Cast: Véronique Duval, Marie-France de Chabaneix, Nadine Ballot.

35mm, b/w, 24 min.