At the age of 10, he took off on a sailboat for a round the world trip. He has a Masters Degree in Oceanography and another in Documentary Filmmaking. He is a dive guide and naturalist who works in the polar regions, and has worked as an underwater cameraman, a film and video operator, an assistant director, and then director … François’ vision as an author is based on long years of experience in different domains, always in touch with nature and the ocean.
The images he filmed as an operator were used in both cinema (March of Penguin, The White Planet) and documentaries on Canal+, Arte, PBS, Discovery, National Geographic, and Animal Planet… But for over 10 years now, François has been writing, directing, and filming his documentaries, which are always long-term projects.
After having directed 3 episodes of the international 6×52-minute series Life on fire, co-produced with Arte and Saint Thomas Productions, which received numerous awards at festivals, he directed Mémoires de Volcans, a 90-minute long format.
His second sizeable project was born at his own initiative. The project is called Moon – The hidden face of the earth. A 2-year long adventure produced by Planète+ and Camera Lucida which gave rise to a 90-minute film event and 2×52-minute documentaries distributed in over 15 countries.
His last work, Channel Islands – an American Story, a 3×43-minute series for Arte, a project commissioned by Films à Cinq productions, which tells of man’s relationship with his environment throughout the 13,000 years of the history of the conquest of the American continent.
The dreamlike nature of the narrative and of the images he films along with the frequent use of classical animation and new technologies are what make François’s films so original and are the guarantee of a signature that is recognised today.
