Encyclopedia of French Film Directors

Born into a family of farmers, in 1958 he went to
Paris, where he earned his living as an assistant to a
photographer. After working as a freelance photographer
for the Delmas agency, he co-founded the
Gamma photo agency in 1966. He progressively became
the most famous French documentary director.
Other credit (as cinematographer): 1986 Pékin Central
(Camille de Casabianca).
Filmography
1963 Venezuela (documentary; short)
1967 Israël (documentary; short)
1968 Biafra (documentary; short)
1969 Jan Palach (documentary; short; also cinematographer)
1970 Tchad 1: L’Embuscade (documentary)
1973 Yemen: Arabie heureuse / Yemen (documentary;
short; also commentary, cinematographer)
1974 1974, une Partie de Campagne (documentary;
also cinematographer)
1975 Tchad 2 (documentary; short)
1976 Tibesti Too (documentary; short; also cinematographer)
Tchad 3 (documentary; short)
1980 Dix Minutes de Silence pour John Lennon (documentary;
short; also cinematographer)
Numéro Zéro (documentary; also cinematographer)
1981 Reporters (documentary; also cinematographer)
1982 Piparsod (documentary)
San Clemente (documentary; co-director with
Sophie Ristelhueber; also cinematographer)
1983 Fait divers (documentary; also cinematographer,
sound engineer)
1984 Les Années Déclic (documentary; also actor as
himself)
1985 Empty Quarter / Une Femme en Afrique / USA:
Empty Quarter: A Woman in Africa (documentary;
also co-screenwriter)
1986 New York N.Y. (documentary; short)
1988 Urgences (documentary; short; also cinematographer)
1989 Une Histoire très simple (documentary)
1990 Contacts (documentary)
La Captive du Désert (documentary; also
screenwriter, cinematographer)
1991 Contre l’Oubli / Ecrire contre l’Oubli / Against Oblivion
/ Lest We Forget (documentary; segment “Pour
Alirio de Jesus Pedraza Becerra, Colombie”)
DERAY, JACQUES • 311
1994 Montage (documentary; short; also cinematographer)
Délits fl agrants (documentary; also screenwriter)
1995 A propos de Nice, la Suite (documentary; segment
“La Prom”)
Lumière et Compagnie / Lumiere y compania /
US DVD: Lumière and Company (co-director
only; France / Spain / Denmark / Sweden)
1996 Malraux (documentary; short; co-director
with Roger Ikhlef)
Afriques: Comment ça va la Douleur? (documentary;
also cinematographer, screenwriter,
sound engineer)
1998 Paris / Lumière de Paris (documentary; also
screenwriter, cinematographer)
1999 Muriel Leferle (documentary)
2001 Profi ls paysans: L’Approche (documentary; also
cinematographer)
2002 Un Homme sans l’Occident / USA: Untouched
by the West (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter,
production designer, cinematographer, actor)
2004 Quoi de neuf au Garet? (documentary; short;
also cinematographer)
10e Chambre—Instants d’Audiences / USA: The
10th District Court: Moments of Trial (documentary;
also cinematographer)
2005 Profi ls paysans: Le Quotidien (documentary; also
screenwriter, cinematographer)
2007 Profi ls paysans: la Vie moderne (documentary)
Chacun son Cinéma ou Ce Petit Coup au Cœur
quand la Lumière s’éteint et que le Film commence
/ Chacun son Cinéma / To Each His Cinema
(segment “Cinéma d’Eté”)
2008 Profi ls paysans: La Vie moderne (documentary)
DERAY, JACQUES (Jacques Desrayaud / February
19, 1929, Lyon, Rhône, France–August 9, 2003,
Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France)
Born into a family of shoe industrialists, he settled in
Paris at age twelve. In the late 1940s, he studied drama
with René Simon and made his fi lm debut as a stage
actor playing the leading role in Sutton Vane’s Outward
Bond and small parts in fi lms (1952 Le Trou normand /
USA: Crazy for Love, Jean Boyer; 1953 Cent Francs par
Seconde, Jean Boyer; 1956 Le Sang à la Tête, uncredited,
Gilles Grangier). Then he was an assistant director
for six years (1954 Sang et Lumières / Sangre y luces /
USA: Love in a Hot Climate, Georges Rouquier, Ricardo