Denis Delestrac

Denis Delestrac
Born Denis G. Delestrac
(1968-08-14) 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.

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. “Sand Wars” has been selected in over 40 festivals and won 13 awards including a Gold Panda, the Greenpeace Prize and a Gemini Award, placing Delestrac as one of Europe’s most bankable non-fiction directors.

In “Banking Nature” (with Sandrine Feydel), he looks at the growing movement to monetize the natural world, and to turn endangered species and threatened areas into instruments of profit. In the recent “Freightened”, Delestrac 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.

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 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

Awards

For "Sand Wars"

For "Banking Nature"

For "Freightened"

Professional affiliations

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.