Jean-Albert Lièvre is a French documentary filmmaker, photographer, and author.
He currently lives and works between Paris and Corsica. A lover of moving images and visual arts from a young age,
Jean-Albert entered the world of film production in 1984, organizing press and communications all over Europe for Japanese production companies.
Jean-Albert entered the world of film production in 1984, organizing press and communications all over Europe for Japanese production companies.
In 1986 he began working on wildlife documentaries for television and the IMAX circuits. As line producer, then assistant director, these projects marked his first steps in a long and ongoing journey of discovery and adventure across the globe.
It was in 1992 that Jean-Albert directed his first film, “The History of a Yucatan Cisal Rope”. The film was created for Ushuaia, a nature program that in its 25-year span became a household name for wildlife and environmental documentaries in France.
Years of travel to little-known corners and an intimate view of metropolitan cities around the world inspired Jean-Albert to set up his own documentary production company in 1997, creating programs addressing environmental and discovery issues. His films “Act for the Environment”, “Nature’s Agenda”, and “Weather Reports from Outer Space” acted as a call-to-action for the appreciation of our planet, and a conscious recognition of our place in it.
Through his work centering on the observation of nature, Jean-Albert has become a sort of “accidental environmentalist”. His voice unwittingly echoes a case for preservation and insists on the necessity of existing with nature. He has lent his experience to major organizations and multinational companies like UNICEF, the European Space Agency, and Vivendi Universal, directing communication films intended for international audiences.
In 2005, he participated as art director in the creation of the Ushuaia Television channel for premier French network TF1, leading to the birth of the nature program “On the road to Ushuaia”, which is still aired today. In 2007 Jean-Albert was commissioned by President Chirac to direct the opening film for the Citizen of the Earth conference in Paris on behalf of the French Presidency. That same year, he wrote, co-produced, and directed “The Titanic Syndrome” with Nicolas Hulot, a documentary feature film on globalization and industrialization in the 21st century, and the state of our relationship with our planet. The film was screened in cinemas in France and many European countries.
From 2010 to 2015 Jean-Albert took leave of film production to care for his mother, who was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. Against the advice of doctors, he brought his mother out of clinical care where her condition was worsening, to their familial home in Corsica. There, against a backdrop of nature surrounded by family, caretakers, and a doctor who searched beyond the lengthy list of prescription medication, Jean-Albert’s mother regained a lease of life, with moments of lucidity and the restoration of muscular and motor skills. Struck by the amelioration of his mother’s health, Jean-Albert began filming her days, and in 2014 released “Flore”, a feature documentary on his mother’s final years. Named for his mother, “Flore” was awarded Best Documentary at the Colcoa Film Festival in Los Angeles, won the Public award at the Washington Film festival, and was presented in New York, Vancouver, and Brussels. “Flore” has since inspired many medical professionals working with Alzheimer’s and those touched by the disease to reconsider standard practices of clinical care.
Throughout his career in moving images, Jean-Albert has always harbored a passion for still photography. In 2006 he published Shadowman, a book of photographs on the ephemeral poetry of shadows, distributed in France and the USA. He is a member of The Explorer’s Club of New York, a winner of the Rolex Award, and has won awards in numerous international festivals.
It was in 1992 that Jean-Albert directed his first film, “The History of a Yucatan Cisal Rope”. The film was created for Ushuaia, a nature program that in its 25-year span became a household name for wildlife and environmental documentaries in France.
Years of travel to little-known corners and an intimate view of metropolitan cities around the world inspired Jean-Albert to set up his own documentary production company in 1997, creating programs addressing environmental and discovery issues. His films “Act for the Environment”, “Nature’s Agenda”, and “Weather Reports from Outer Space” acted as a call-to-action for the appreciation of our planet, and a conscious recognition of our place in it.
Through his work centering on the observation of nature, Jean-Albert has become a sort of “accidental environmentalist”. His voice unwittingly echoes a case for preservation and insists on the necessity of existing with nature. He has lent his experience to major organizations and multinational companies like UNICEF, the European Space Agency, and Vivendi Universal, directing communication films intended for international audiences.
In 2005, he participated as art director in the creation of the Ushuaia Television channel for premier French network TF1, leading to the birth of the nature program “On the road to Ushuaia”, which is still aired today. In 2007 Jean-Albert was commissioned by President Chirac to direct the opening film for the Citizen of the Earth conference in Paris on behalf of the French Presidency. That same year, he wrote, co-produced, and directed “The Titanic Syndrome” with Nicolas Hulot, a documentary feature film on globalization and industrialization in the 21st century, and the state of our relationship with our planet. The film was screened in cinemas in France and many European countries.
From 2010 to 2015 Jean-Albert took leave of film production to care for his mother, who was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. Against the advice of doctors, he brought his mother out of clinical care where her condition was worsening, to their familial home in Corsica. There, against a backdrop of nature surrounded by family, caretakers, and a doctor who searched beyond the lengthy list of prescription medication, Jean-Albert’s mother regained a lease of life, with moments of lucidity and the restoration of muscular and motor skills. Struck by the amelioration of his mother’s health, Jean-Albert began filming her days, and in 2014 released “Flore”, a feature documentary on his mother’s final years. Named for his mother, “Flore” was awarded Best Documentary at the Colcoa Film Festival in Los Angeles, won the Public award at the Washington Film festival, and was presented in New York, Vancouver, and Brussels. “Flore” has since inspired many medical professionals working with Alzheimer’s and those touched by the disease to reconsider standard practices of clinical care.
Throughout his career in moving images, Jean-Albert has always harbored a passion for still photography. In 2006 he published Shadowman, a book of photographs on the ephemeral poetry of shadows, distributed in France and the USA. He is a member of The Explorer’s Club of New York, a winner of the Rolex Award, and has won awards in numerous international festivals.
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