Jean Rouch Festival
A week of ethnographic documentaries. Around 26 films in competition from every continent, 8 prizes awarded, tributes to ethnographic documentary filmmakers, themed screenings and debates between filmmakers, researchers, producers, anthropological festival programmers from all over the world and the public.
The Jean Rouch Festival
The Comité du film ethnographique has been organizing the Jean Rouch International Festival in Paris for 40 years. Initiated by filmmaker and ethnologist Jean Rouch (1917-2004), this event is a unique opportunity in France to screen documentaries that reveal the social and cultural evolution of human societies and man's relationship with the environment. Around 26 films in competition from every continent, 8 prizes awarded, tributes to ethnological documentary filmmakers, themed screenings and debates. The Festival is a lively place for discovery, encounters, reflection, collaboration and debate between filmmakers, scientists, production professionals and the general public.
Inalco, a natural partner
Since 2012, Inalco has been associated with the Jean Rouch Festival. Inalco analyzes the movements of the world and societies through its training and research in history, geography, politics, economics, political science and sociology. However, this mapping would be incomplete without ethnology, a discipline that is essential to understanding societies, particularly when it produces or relies on the first-hand sources that are films.
The Prix Mondes en regards
The Inalco jury, made up of a student, a teacher and a staff member, takes part each year in the international competition of the Festival Jean Rouch. On this occasion, it awards the Prix Mondes en regards from among the films in competition, in connection with Inalco's cultural areas and disciplines. The prize is endowed with 1,000 euros for French translation and subtitling of the winning film. The winning film is then screened the same year in the Inalco auditorium.
Films awarded by the Inalco jury since 2012
The Regards comparés selection
Since 2012, in November, Inalco has hosted the "Regards comparés" selection around a special theme. Regards comparés" is a four-day program of documentary films and debates, produced jointly by the Comité du film ethnographique and teachers at Inalco.
Consult the program of previous editions
The Inalco 2026 jury
Ada Lipman
Ada Lipman studied Hindi at Inalco, culminating in a doctoral dissertation in the Arts, which she defended in December 2025. Her dissertation focused on the portrayal of the Mughal Emperor Akbar in contemporary Indian fiction (film, comics, theater, and literature). She has participated in several conferences and published articles, particularly on Hindi cinema, comparative literature, and historical fiction. She teaches the course “Cinemas of South Asia and Tibet” at Inalco and gives Hindi lessons at the Language Training Center of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Célia Abram
A third-year undergraduate student in the Korean and International Business program at Inalco, she has been passionate about art for several years. With a keen interest in cinema, she aspires to work in film distribution in the future to promote cinematic works from all corners of the world.
Ali Atakay
Ali Atakay is the scheduling coordinator and timetable manager at Inalco. He oversees course planning, timetable management, and the organizational coordination of the institution’s activities. A graduate with a master’s degree in gender studies from Paris VIII and trained in political science at EHESS, he pursues an artistic practice centered on collage alongside his professional duties.