Denis Delestrac
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
| Denis Delestrac | |
|---|---|
| Born | Denis G. Delestrac August 14, 1968  France |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Website | http://www.denisdelestrac.com |
Denis Delestrac (born in France, 1968) is an award-winning film director. He is best known for creating feature documentaries on highly topical subjects, which have provoked public debate and gained large recognition internationally.
Contents
Career
Denis Delestrac made his debut in non-fiction filmmaking in 2001 and signed a dozen documentaries. Among his most recent credits are IMAX blockbuster "Mystery of the Nile" and the award-winning "Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space". Selected in major international film festivals, the film reveals how space has become the newest arena for countries around the globe to launch their struggle for supremacy.
His feature documentary, “Sand Wars” is an epic eco-thriller that takes the audience around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: we are running out of sand. The film premiered at the legendary Cinéma Publicis on the Champs-Elysées in 2013 and was first broadcast in May in France and Germany (ARTE), where it became the highest rated documentary for 2013 with a 4.8 market share. A Gold Panda Award winner, "Sand Wars" is distributed worldwide by PBS International.
A passionate lecturer, Delestrac is devoted to sharing his expertise with students and professionals around the world. His documentary workshops and master-classes – focusing on international coproduction, development, funding and access – have been imparted in festivals and universities in France, Spain, Latin America, USA and Africa.
Delestrac resides in Barcelona and Paris.
Journalist and author
Denis Delestrac is a graduate from the Toulouse Law School and he obtained a Master in Journalism at the University of Dallas. He made his first steps in journalism in the United States, as a photojournalist - and later as a writer - covering the South Central LA riots (1992), the Waco siege (1993) and the 1992 presidential elections. In 1999, he became chief editor of the famous Penthouse magazine (French edition), a position he quit a year later to make his first film. In the last two decades, Delestrac has published in several North American and European publications like Le Monde. He's written books on architecture (with Pritzker Prize laureate Alvaro Siza) and geopolitics with longtime friend, MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky.
Selected filmography
| Film | Year | Description | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| FREIGHTENED | 2016 | An audacious investigation which reveals the mechanics and perils of freight shipment; an all-but-visible industry that holds the key to our economy, our environment and the very model of our civilisation. | Director, writer |
| Banking Nature | 2014 | A provocative documentary that looks at the growing movement to monetize the natural world, and to turn endangered species and threatened areas into instruments of profit. | Director, writer with Sandrine Feydel |
| Sand Wars | 2013 | The world is running out of sand. Sand Wars is a riveting docu-thriller about the most consumed natural resource on the planet. | Director, writer and associate producer |
| Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space | 2010 | Pax Americana examines the origins and today's reality of the militarization of space. | Director, writer and associate producer |
| Mystery of the Nile | 2005 | IMAX film documenting the first successful expedition to navigate the entire length of the Blue Nile and Nile from its source in Ethiopia to the Mediterranean. | Assistant director |
| Adventure of the Nile | 2005 | An adventure documentary with the first expedition to have succeeded in descending Africa's greatest river. | Assistant director |
| The Nomad Experience | 2006 | A reflection about spirituality and human values through an innovative narrative. | Assistant director |
| Human Rights | 2003 | How armed conflicts affect civilian communities and forces displacement, with Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan. | Scriptwriter |
| The Face of the Human Condition | 2003 | A portrait of legendary National Geographic Magazine photographer Steve McCurry. | Scriptwriter |
| Recovering the Past | 2003 | Archaeological and cultural heritage conservation in Africa's poorest country: Sudan. With father of modern archaeology Charles Bonnet. | Scriptwriter |
| The Nomad Spirit | 2003 | How market economy has transformed the Mongolian society schemes. | Scriptwriter |
| The Mission to Educate | 2003 | The educative, healthcare and economic challenges faced by the Tuareg and Wodaabe tribes of the Ténéré Desert. | Scriptwriter |
Professional affiliations
- Member of the International Federation of Journalists
- Founding member of The Barcelona International Documentary Club
- Membre Sociétaire Stagiaire du collège audiovisuel de la Société Civile des Auteurs Multumédia
