Directing

Thierry Robert

Born on August 3, 1967, Thierry Robert is a French documentary filmmaker specializing in adventure expeditions around the world. He works with leading French documentary production companies. It all began at the Magnetic North Pole in 1997 with Arnaud Tortel; together, they created *La Grande Traversée* (Gédéon Programmes) in 2000, which won seven international awards. He directed *Voyage au Tibet Interdit* (Bonne Pioche), winner of the Grand Prix at the Montreal Festival in 2004. This was followed by *L'Odyssée Climatique du Southern Star*—a multi-award-winning field investigation comprising four 52-minute films made with sailor Olivier Pitras. He has also directed socially conscious films, such as *Tibet, le mensonge chinois?* (Cinétévé), featuring the Dalai Lama, as well as works like *Cayar*, a film about sustainable development in West Africa. In a different vein, Thierry Robert directed *K.O. Debout* with the band Têtes Raides, and *Quitter la route* (Universal), a feature-length film about the rock band Matmatah’s tour in India and the culture shock the musicians experienced. In 2009, he directed *Ouaga Paradiso*, a documentary about the film industry in Burkina Faso—a film capturing the spirit driving four filmmakers to pursue their dreams to the very end. He returned to the polar regions with *On a marché sous le pôle* (Docside / France TV / National Geographic), which garnered 13 awards (including seven Grand Prix), and *La Voie du pôle* (Le Cinquième Rêve / MFP / Planète+ / France TV) in 2011 with Sébastien Roubinet, winner of the Grand Prix at the 2012 Nuits Polaires Festival. In 2013, *Le Piège Blanc* achieved the highest ratings of the year for the program *Thalassa* on France 3. Subsequently, *Babouchka, l'enfer du pôle* aired in prime time on *Thalassa* (France 3). The series *Seuls En Mer* (Planète+/MFP) was a success, and 2015—the year of COP21—saw the release of *Climat, Pour Quelques Degrés de Moins* (Bonne Pioche/Arte), followed by *Bébés Sur Mesure* (Scientifilms/Arte), a dizzying dive into the world of genetics. In 2017, Thierry Robert directed *L’Homme Qui Voulait Plonger sur Mars*, followed in 2018 by *Fort Comme Un Ours* (Le Cinquième Rêve/Pôles d'images/ARTE France). In 2022, he created *Un Monde Nouveau*, a major three-part documentary series co-written with environmental activist Cyril Dion and broadcast on ARTE, highlighting global initiatives to regenerate the planet. In 2025 came *Des Fraises Pour Le Renard*, a project focused on biodiversity and wildlife.