This sculpture is the first of a series of three works paying homage to the work that Jean Rouch, french film maker and ethnographer did in Mozambique.

A number of projects aiming to put into practice various left wing ideas on education and nation building took root in Mozambique after the declaration of independence in 1975. In the context of a protocol between the University Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique) and the University of Nanterre (France), Jean Rouch and a team of ethnographic filmmakers responded to a call for collaborations with the Centre for Communication Studies (CEC) to establish links between the rural and urban areas. They arrived in Maputo in 1976 to run a series of Super 8 workshops at the University Eduardo Mondlane and various rural communities, where Rouch tested his ideas of using Super 8 film as a tool for development.

The trainees attending the workshop came from various state ministries. The first 15 days consisted of hands-on training in Maputo; making quick films and developing them. Later the group of trainees was broken down into four smaller groups, each of which produced a larger film – an example of which is Mbomgolo Iyakoka” (The donkey Pulls), filmed in the Bairro do Aeroporto in Maputo. In the last stage of the workshop the films made in Maputo were taken to the rural areas and projected in communal villages. The films were screened at night, using generators which the team had brought with them.  During the day trainees filmed life in the villages; this footage was later edited in Maputo and shown in the city. After Rouch’s departure from Mozambique, this group continued to work extensively in Niassa (Mavago, Lichinga).

The photograph was made by Françoise Foucault in Mozambique for the purpose of documenting the working process and various filming and screening locations during the Super 8 film workshops.