"Faire boutique": Reframing Safi Faye's Place in Petit à Petit , by Jean Rouch

Abstract: The article follows Safi Faye's pre-cineaste experience with the film Petit à Petit (1971, France), by Jean Rouch. A time during which the spirit of May 1968 and its philosophy "it is forbidden to forbid" had a profound impact on her life. It was this spirit that she instilled in her character Safi, a role that she created and interpreted. While Rouch designated the themes, the actors themselves improvised their own characters. Thus, Faye invented her personage Safi. Based on the long, three-episode, noncommercial version, which Rouch himself viewed as "the only valid, true version," the article proposes a reflection on Faye's contributions to and experiences during the making of the film.