Laurent Chevallier
Born 1955 (age 70) · Grenoble, France
Appears in 38 titles

Laurent Chevallier was born on June 6, 1955. Originally from the Grenoble region, he is a very experienced skier and mountaineer. His film studies in Paris were oriented from the start towards documentaries, since he wrote a memoir on the "father" of documentary film, Robert Flaherty (1884-1951, author of "Nanouk L'Esquimau" in 1919-1922, and "L'Homme D'Aran" in 1932-34), and on Joris Ivens (1898-1989, who shot his last film, "Une Histoire De Vent", in China at the age of 90 with the presence by Laurent Chevallier on camera), both absolute models of all the great documentary filmmakers. After his studies, he was assistant cameraman or director of photography for many films (with Jean-Jacques Beineix, Jacques Rouffio, René Allio, Gérard Mordillat, Patrice Leconte, Ilmaz G'fcney, Gérard Oury). from 1979, he made numerous documentaries (26 and 52 minutes) for television in France, Cape Horn, the Himalayas, the North Pole, Patagonia, Thailand, Italy, Ireland, Pakistan, in China, Canada, USA, Australia, Uganda, Guinea. To his credit in particular "La Voie Express" one of the first films on free climbing featuring the climber Patrick Berhault, and the trilogy on "Little Karim" the Pakistani mountain carrier that he will follow over 20 years in three parts. "Au Sud Du Sud" is his first feature film. It traces the incredible crossing of Antarctica by six men from the USA, Japan, China, USSR, Great Britain and France (Doctor Jean-Louis Etienne is at the origin of this expedition) . About this film Jean-Louis Etienne spoke about the dangers of the documentary by affirming: “Nothing of such with Laurent, because I know that I will be able to control the images and the recorded words. It's not about '85 control, it's because there is friendship, trust. This extreme adventure was filmed in stages. Laurent Chevallier was attentive of course to the fabulous landscapes crossed, but also to human relations during these seven months of expedition. He very scrupulously rendered the very particular rhythm of this trip and his feat was also to show the monotony without ever being boring. "Djembefola" is his first Guinean feature film, shot a few years before "L'Enfant Noir". "Djembefola" was covered with prizes in France and abroad (Grand Prix of the Amiens Festival, Best Documentary in San Francisco). "The Black Child" was selected for the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. In 2001 he returned to Africa where he recounted, under the title Circus Baobab, the expedition of a circus troupe from South of France through Guinea. Then followed during his career many committed films constantly questioning the world in which we live such as La Vie sans Brahim (2003), "Aimé Césaire, a fundamental negro" (2008), "Faut-il be afraid d 'Amazon?' (2018) ...

Filmography

Djembefola
7.8
Djembefola
1991
Director
The African Child
5.8
The African Child
1995
Director
Circus Baobab
9.0
Circus Baobab
2001
Director
Au Sud du Sud
9.0
Au Sud du Sud
1992
Director
La Vie sans Brahim
10.0
La Vie sans Brahim
2003
Director
Voie Express
10.0
Voie Express
1979
Director
The Backstage Wall
10.0
The Backstage Wall
1983
Director
Little Karim
10.0
Little Karim
1985
Director
Apö Karim, Ambassadeur de l'Himalaya
Mister Karim
10.0
Mister Karim
1997
Director
Fin de vie : pour que tu aies le choix
Nanga Parbat 80, La revanche de futur
Dévers
10.0
Dévers
1981
Director
La Lumière du Rocher
10.0
La Lumière du Rocher
1986
Director
Aimé Césaire, un Nègre fondamental
Le Cri du Caméléon
10.0
Le Cri du Caméléon
1997
Director
Pour de vrai, pour de faux
10.0
Pour de vrai, pour de faux
2015
Director
La Trace de Kandia
10.0
La Trace de Kandia
2014
Director
Faut-il avoir peur d'Amazon ?
10.0
Faut-il avoir peur d'Amazon ?
2018
Director