Famous French Cinematographers

Vote for Your Favourite French Cinematographers

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 1 
Louis Malle
(Screenwriter, Film producer, Film director, Camera operator, Cinematographer, Actor)
Louis Malle
3
Birthdate: October 30, 1932
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Thumeries
Died: November 23, 1995

Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his film Le Monde du silence, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1957. He was also the recipient of two Golden Lion awards, one of the only four directors to have achieved this feat. He was active in both French cinema and Hollywood.

 2 
Agnes Varda
(Filmmaker and Pioneer of French New Wave Film Movement of the 1950s and 1960s)
Agnes Varda
3
Birthdate: May 30, 1928
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium
Died: March 29, 2019

Agnes Varda was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter, and artist. She was a key figure in the development of the French New Wave film movement of the 1950s and 1960s. She often made films addressing women’s issues and other social justice problems. She was honored with an Academy Honorary Award. She was married to director Jacques Demy. 

 3 
Louis Le Prince
(French Inventor Who Was the First Person to Shoot a Moving Picture Sequence Using a Single Lens Camera)
Louis Le Prince
3
Birthdate: August 28, 1841
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Metz, France
Died: September 16, 1890

Louis Le Prince was a French inventor and artist. He is credited with inventing an early motion-picture camera and is often referred to as the Father of Cinematography. However, Louis Le Prince's work failed to influence the commercial development of motion picture because of the secrecy surrounding his invention.

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 4 
Maurice Krafft
(French Volcanologist and Filmmaker)
Maurice Krafft
3
Birthdate: March 25, 1946
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Alsace, French
Died: June 3, 1991
 5 
Darius Khondji
(Iranian-French Cinematographer)
Darius Khondji
2
Birthdate: October 21, 1955
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Height: 6'3" (190 cm)
 6 
Claude Lelouch
(French Writer, Film Director, Actor, Cinematographer, and Producer)
Claude Lelouch
3
Birthdate: October 30, 1937
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Paris, France
 7 
André Weinfeld
(Film producer)
André Weinfeld
2
Birthdate: April 6, 1947
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Paris, France

André Weinfeld is a TV and film producer, cinematographer, director, screenwriter, journalist, and photographer. In addition to covering the rock and roll and pop scenes of the 1960s and 1970s, André Weinfeld also worked as a war correspondent, covering wars such as the Six-Day War, Vietnam War, and the Yom Kippur War.

 8 
Pierre Morel
(French Cinematographer and Film Director)
Pierre Morel
2
Birthdate: May 12, 1964
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: France
 9 
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
(Academy Award-Winning French Filmmaker and Series Director)
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
1
Birthdate: July 1, 1963
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mirande, France

French filmmaker and series director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade initially studied law and journalism but later launched his own TV news agency. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning. He is also known for the 2004 film The Staircase, based on author and murder convict Michael Peterson.

 10 
Bruno Delbonnel
(French Cinematographer)
Bruno Delbonnel
2
Birthdate: 1957 AD
Birthplace: Nancy, France
 11 
Arnaud Desplechin
(César Award-Winning French Filmmaker)
Arnaud Desplechin
1
Birthdate: October 31, 1960
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Roubaix, France

César Award-winning French director Arnaud Desplechin is best known for his critically acclaimed drama film My Golden Days. Starting his career as a cameraman, he later gained recognition with the thriller The Sentinel. He was nominated for the Palme d'Or for the films Jimmy Picard and Oh Mercy!

 12 
Raoul Coutard
(French Cinematographer)
Raoul Coutard
1
Birthdate: September 16, 1924
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: November 8, 2016
 13 
Henri Alekan
(French Cinematographer and Writer)
Henri Alekan
1
Birthdate: February 10, 1909
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Montmartre, Paris, France
Died: June 15, 2001
 14 
Luc Jacquet
(French Screenwriter and Film Director)
Luc Jacquet
1
Birthdate: December 5, 1967
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bourg-en-Bresse, France
 15 
François-Arnold Reichenbach
(Film Producer, Director, Screenwriter, and Cinematographer)
François-Arnold Reichenbach
0
Birthdate: July 3, 1921
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: February 2, 1993

François-Arnold Reichenbach was a French film producer, director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He was active from 1954 until his death in 1993, during which he directed 40 films. Some of François-Arnold Reichenbach's best known films include America As Seen by a Frenchman, Arthur Rubinstein – The Love of Life, and Do You Hear the Dogs Barking?