Jean Rouch (1917-2004) was a French filmmaker and anthropologist, a pioneering figure in documentary cinema and a founding father of *cinéma vérité*. His career developed primarily in Africa, where he revolutionized the ethnographic approach by introducing "shared anthropology," a method that actively involved the filmed subjects in the creative process, blurring the lines between observer and observed. His most celebrated works explore the fine line between reality and fiction, such as the controversial *Les Maîtres Fous* (1955) and *Moi, un Noir* (1958), a masterpiece of the genre he defined as "ethnofiction." His best-known film, *Chronique d'un été* (1961), co-directed with sociologist Edgar Morin, is considered the manifesto of *cinéma vérité* and exerted a profound influence on the directors of the Nouvelle Vague. For his extraordinary contribution to cinema, he received numerous international awards, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival in 1997 and an honorary César in 1993.