Alexis Barbier-Bouve

Alexis Barbier-Bouvet has been working in the world of documentary film for over twenty years. Trained as an editor, he soon expanded his skills to include sound recording and drone piloting, which allowed him to join film crews on location. This enabled him to combine his love of travel with his passion for documentaries. This dual experience, both in the field and in the editing room, naturally led him to directing. He has collaborated on numerous highly acclaimed expedition films, such as The Tears of the Crocodile, The Road to the Pole, Under the Pole, and Gombessa. At the same time, he has participated in investigative documentaries such as Copenhagen: Chronicle of an Unfinished Agreement and Biodiversity, Research and Protection: The World of Colors. In 2002, Alexis Barbier-Bouvet directed his first films as part of the Exploration Planet series. On the eve of COP21, he teamed up with Elena Sender to co-direct Climate: A Few Degrees Less, a journey to the heart of potential climate solutions.

A nature enthusiast, he directed a documentary for Arte in 2017 about the world’s largest underground river, continuing the style he developed in his two films for the series A Tomorrow on Earth. In 2018, he followed in Commander Cousteau’s footsteps with the 110-minute documentary Céline Cousteau, The Adventure Continues, co-directed with Stéphane Jacques for France 3. In 2020, he turned his attention to the marine environment with Didier Noirot and directed two 52-minute films for Arte: Feast of the Orcas and Fifty Shades of Sharks. The following year saw the release of The Man Who Loved Bears, a 110-minute documentary broadcast in prime time on France 3, and Sentinels of the Mediterranean, co-directed with Elena Sender for France 2. Their collaboration continued in 2022 with Climate: 50 Years of Struggle, a 75-minute documentary broadcast on France 5. That same year, he also directed Zebras: A Life in Full Color in Zambia for France 5. Always prolific, Alexis released two more notable films in 2022: The Bird That Sings in Men’s Ears (France 3) and The Elephants of Yunnan (Nat Geo/Arte). In 2023, his collaboration with Elena Sender continued with two films for the documentary series Grand Vent, broadcast on Arte. He has recently completed two new films: Low Tide Trap, a 90-minute naturalist camera piece for Love Nature and Arte, and Nature: Our Unexpected Ally, a scientific documentary for France 2 about carbon sinks, co-directed once again with Elena Sender.