Raymond Depardon

Raymond Depardon (; born 6 July 1942) is a French photographer, photojournalist and documentary filmmaker.

Early life Depardon was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, 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 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, Vietnam, Biafra and Chad. 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 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.

Director Depardon is also the author of several documentary shorts and feature films. His approach as a director is influenced by cinéma vérité and direct cinema. In 1969 he made his first film (about Jan Palach) 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, Reporters (1981) and New York, N.Y. (1986), La captive du désert (1990) and Caught in the Acts (Délits flagrants) (1994).

Publications Beyrouth, Centre Ville: inédit. Points. Paysans. Contemporary French Fiction. San Clemente. Diffusion Weber, 1984. En Afrique = In Africa. Steidl, 1996. Errance. Steidl, 2000. Le Tour Du Monde En 14 Jours. 7 Escales, 1 Visa. 2008. La terre des paysans. Steidl, 2008. Manhattan Out. Steidl Photography International, 2009. Native Land. Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris. 2009. La France de Raymond Depardon. Steidl, 2010. Repérages. Steidl, 2012. Berlin. Steidl, 2014. Adieu Saigon. Steidl, 2015. Glasgow. Steidl, 2016. La Solitude Heureuse Du Voyageur: Précédé De Notes. Points, 2017. Bolivia. Thames & Hudson, 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 filmLumière and Company (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 filmProfils paysans: = Profiles farmers: the approach (2001) (2002)Chasseurs et Chamans (2003) – short filmQuoi de neuf au Garet? (2004) (2004) Profils paysans: = Profiles farmers: the daily life (2005) 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 ZéroWinner, César Award for best short documentary for Reporters (1981) Winner, César Award for best short documentary for New York, N.Y. (1986)La captive du désert (1990) was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, Winner, best feature documentary at the César Awards for Caught in the Acts (Délits flagrants) (1994) Joris Ivens award, Caught in the Acts (Délits flagrants) (1994) the International Documentary Film Festival AmsterdamCaught in the Acts (Délits flagrants)'' (1994) Vancouver International Film Festival 2000: Dragon of Dragons, a lifetime achievement award, Kraków Film Festival