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Released
1971 · FILM

Tourou et Bitti

Written by
Runtime
9 min
Language
FR
Documentary

Synopsis

Filmed in May 1971 in Niger, this short documentary captures a possession ritual conducted by the Simiri people in response to a locust invasion. The ceremony focuses on the beating of the ancient drums Tourou and Bitti, which are used to summon spirit forces through music, dance, and trance. The film is shot in a single continuous take, documenting a focused moment of collective ritual practice. It reflects Jean Rouch’s first-person ethnographic approach and his direct participation in the event.

Credits

Director of Photography
Writers

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 2

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Shot by Jean Rouch

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