Raymond Depardon (; born 6 July 1942) is a French
photographer
A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographers
As in other ...
,
photojournalist and
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
maker.
Early life
Depardon was born in
Villefranche-sur-Saône
Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; frp, Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''.
...
, France.
Photographer
Depardon is a mainly self-taught photographer, as he began taking pictures on his family's farm when he was 12. He apprenticed with a photographer-optician in
Villefranche-sur-Saône
Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; frp, Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''.
...
before he moved to Paris in 1958.
He began his career as a photojournalist in the early 1960s. He travelled to conflict zones including
Algeria
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,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
,
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated for ...
and
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...
. In 1966, Depardon co-founded the photojournalism agency
Gamma. In 1973 he became Gamma's director. From 1975 to 1977, Depardon traveled in Chad. The following year, he left Gamma to become a
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices in New York City, Paris, London and Tokyo. It was founded in 1947 in Paris by photographers Robert Capa, David "Chim" Seymour, Maria Eis ...
associate, then a full member in 1979. In the 1990s, Depardon returned to his parents' farm to photograph rural landscapes in color and, in 1996, published a black and white road journal, ''In Africa''.
In May 2012, he took the official portrait of French President
François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle f ...
.
Director
Depardon is also the author of several documentary
shorts
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...
and feature films. His approach as a director is influenced by
cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or hi ...
and
direct cinema. In 1969 he made his first film (about
Jan Palach
Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 i ...
) and he has directed 16 films since then. In 1984 Depardon made his first fiction film, ''Empty Quarters''. Other notable examples include ''1974, une partie de campagne'', on the 1974 presidential campaign of
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
, ''Reporters'' (1981) and ''New York, N.Y.'' (1986), ''
La captive du désert
''Captive of the Desert'' (french: La captive du désert) is a 1990 French drama film directed by Raymond Depardon. It was entered into the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. It was based in part on the experiences of Françoise Claustre who was captured ...
'' (1990)
and ''
Caught in the Acts
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground.
If the ball ...
(Délits flagrants)'' (1994).
Publications
*''Beyrouth, Centre Ville: inédit''. Points.
*''Paysans''. Contemporary French Fiction.
*''San Clemente''. Diffusion Weber, 1984.
*''En Afrique''. Seuil, 1996.
*''Errance''. Seuil, 2000.
*''Le Tour Du Monde En 14 Jours. 7 Escales, 1 Visa.'' 2008.
*''La terre des paysans''. Seuil, 2008.
*''Manhattan Out''. Steidl Photography International, 2009.
*''Native Land''.
Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
The Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, known simply as the Fondation Cartier, is a contemporary art museum located at 261 boulevard Raspail in the 14th arrondissement of the French capital, Paris.
History
The Fondation Cartier was creat ...
, Paris. 2009.
*''La France de Raymond Depardon''. Seuil, 2010.
*''Repérages''. Seuil, 2012.
*''Berlin''. Seuil, 2014.
*''Adieu Saigon''. Steidl, 2015.
*''Glasgow''. Seuil, 2016.
*''La Solitude Heureuse Du Voyageur: Précédé De Notes''. Points, 2017.
*''Bolivia''.
Thames & Hudson
Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
, 2018.
*''Le Desert Americain''. Hazan, 2019.
*''Manicomio: Secluded Madness''
*''Paris Journal''
*''PPP: Photographies De Personnalités Politiques''
*''Afriques''
*''villes, cities, städte''
*''Désert, Un Homme Sans L'occident''
*''Un moment si doux''
*''Depardon Voyages''
*''Détours''
*''La ferme du Garet''
*''Return to Vietnam''
*''Depardon Cinéma''
*''100 Photos Pour Defendre La Liberté De La Presse''
Filmography
*''Venezuela'' (1963)
*''Israel'' (1967)
*''Biafra'' (1968)
*''Jan Palach'' (1969/I)
*''Tchad 1: L'embuscade'' (1970)
*''Yemen: Arabie heureuse'' (1973)
*' (1974)
*''Tchad 2'' (1975)
*''Tibesti Too'' (1976)
*''Tchad 3'' (1976)
*''Dix minutes de silence pour John Lennon'' (1980)
*' (1980)
*' (1981)
*''Piparsod'' (1982/I)
*' (1982)
*''
News Items'' (1983) (French: ''Faits divers'')
*' (1984)
*' (1985)
*' (1986)
*' (1988)
*''Le Petit Navire'' (1988) – short film
*''Une histoire très simple'' (1989)
*' (1990)
*''Captive of the Desert'' (French: La captive du désert'' (1990)
*' (1991) (segment "Pour Alirio de Jesus Pedraza Becerra, Colombie")
*' (1990) – short film
*''Cartagena'' (1993) – short film
*''Face à la mer'' (1993) – short film
*''Montage'' (1994)
*' (1994)
*' (1995) (segment "Prom, La'")
*''Paroles d'appelés'' (1995) – short film
*''La Prom (1995) – short film
*''
Lumière and Company
''Lumière and Company'' (original title: ) is a 1995 anthology film made in collaboration between forty-one international film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or scri ...
'' (1995) (French: ''Lumière et compagnie'')
*''Malraux'' (1996)
*' (1996)
*''Amour'' (1997) – short film
*' (1998)
*''Bolivie'' (1998) – short film made with Claudine Nougaret
*' (1998) – vidéo clip de Véronique Sanson
*' (1999)
*'' (1949-1999 : Emmaüs a 50 ans)'' (1999)
*''Déserts'' (2000) – short film
*''Profils paysans: '' = Profiles farmers: the approach (2001)
*' (2002)
*''Chasseurs et Chamans'' (2003) – short film
*''Quoi de neuf au Garet?'' (2004)
*' (2004)
*''Profils paysans: '' = Profiles farmers: the daily life (2005)
*''
To Each His Own Cinema
''To Each His Own Cinema'' (french: link=no, Chacun son cinéma : une déclaration d'amour au grand écran) is a 2007 French comedy-drama anthology film commissioned for the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival. The film is a collection ...
'' (French: ''Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence'') (2007) – a collection of short films, Depardon's contribution being ''Cinéma d'été (Open-Air Cinema)''
*''Cinéma d'été'' (2007) – short film
*''Profils paysans: '' = Profiles farmers: modern life (2008) (English: ''Modern Life'')
*''Donner la parole'' (2008)
*''La France de Raymond Depardon'' (2010) – short film made with
*Au bonheur des maths'' (2011) – short film made with Nougaret
*' (2012)
*' (2016)
*' (2017)
Awards for films
*1979: George Sadoul Prize for ''Numéro Zéro''
*Winner,
César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol
* ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt
* César Award, a French film award
Places
* Cesar, Portugal
* Ce ...
for best short documentary for ''Reporters'' (1981)
*Winner, César Award for best short documentary for ''New York, N.Y.'' (1986)
*''
La captive du désert
''Captive of the Desert'' (french: La captive du désert) is a 1990 French drama film directed by Raymond Depardon. It was entered into the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. It was based in part on the experiences of Françoise Claustre who was captured ...
'' (1990) was nominated for the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1990 Cannes Film Festival
The 43rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 May 1990. The Palme d'Or went to '' Wild at Heart'' by David Lynch.
The festival opened with '' Dreams'', directed by Akira Kurosawa and closed with ''The Comfort of Strangers'', directed by P ...
,
*Winner, best feature documentary at the César Awards for ''
Caught in the Acts
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground.
If the ball ...
(Délits flagrants)'' (1994)
*Joris Ivens award, ''Caught in the Acts (Délits flagrants)'' (1994) the
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tic ...
*''Caught in the Acts (Délits flagrants)'' (1994)
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October.
The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...
*2000: Dragon of Dragons, a lifetime achievement award,
Kraków Film Festival
The Kraków Film Festival ( pl, Krakowski Festiwal Filmowy) is one of Europe's oldest events dedicated to documentary, animation and other short film forms.
It has been organised every year since 1961. The Artistic President of the festival is . ...
References
External links
*
La Place et le Photographedocumentary film by Arno Gaillard, 1991, 4 minutes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Depardon, Raymond
1942 births
Living people
People from Villefranche-sur-Saône
French photojournalists
French documentary film directors
Magnum photographers
Paris Match writers