Chronicle of a Summer (French original title: Chronique d'un été) is a 1961 French documentary film shot during the summer of 1960 by sociologist Edgar Morin and anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch, with the technical and aesthetic collaboration of Québécois director-cameraman Michel Brault.
The film is widely regarded as structurally innovative and an example of cinéma vérité and direct cinema.
[1] Brault confirmed this in an interview after a 2011 screening of Chronique d'un été at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto.
A cast of real-life individuals are then introduced and led by the filmmakers to discuss topics related to French society and working-class happiness.
Rouch used synchronized sound, using a 16 mm camera connected through pilottone with a prototype of Nagra III, a transistorized tape recorder with electronic speed control developed by Stefan Kudelski.