African Film Archive

Moi, un Noir

1958 — Jean Rouch — France, Ivory Coast

feature · ethnofiction · liberation

French ethnographer Jean Rouch's collaborative ethnofiction follows Nigerien migrant workers in Abidjan through the eyes of a longshoreman who calls himself Edward Robinson, played by Oumarou Ganda, who later became a director in his own right, and won the Prix Louis Delluc in 1958.

Fun fact: The film's improvisatory method, in which Ganda narrated his own performance after filming, became the direct inspiration for Ganda's own 1969 debut Cabascabo.

Notes: Directed by a French ethnographer rather than an African filmmaker, but included here for its foundational, contested authorship role in African cinema history and its direct link to Oumarou Ganda's own directing career; some scholars debate how much authorship should be credited to Ganda's improvised narration.

Verification: verified · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Wikipedia