DOCUMENTARIES

Documentary filmmaking has been at the heart of my work for more than twenty years, combining interviews, archival research, film history and first-hand testimony from filmmakers, actors and other industry professionals.

I began directing and producing documentary material in 2003, initially creating interviews and bonus features for home-video editions. My first projects were produced for Wild Side and its landmark Shaw Brothers collection in France, giving me the opportunity to document the careers and memories of many figures from Hong Kong cinema at a time when relatively little material about their work was available to Western audiences.

Since then, I have produced documentaries, interviews, video essays, archival features and other original editorial content for numerous film distributors and publishers in France and internationally. These projects have ranged from individual interviews and short contextual pieces to more ambitious documentaries combining newly filmed material with archival interviews, film excerpts, photographs and historical research.

Over the years, I have collaborated with labels including StudioCanal, Carlotta Films, Arrow Video, Eureka Entertainment, The Criterion Collection, Vinegar Syndrome, Spectrum Films, The Jokers, 88 Films and Imprint, among others.

A central element of my documentary work is the extensive audiovisual archive I have built since the early 2000s. Many of the filmmakers, actors, producers, action directors and technicians I interviewed were documenting careers extending back to the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Some of these personalities have since passed away, making their recorded testimonies increasingly valuable as historical documents.

This archive now allows me to approach documentary filmmaking across different periods of time. Interviews filmed twenty or more years apart can be brought together, supplemented by new research, contemporary interviews, photographs and previously unseen material to explore both individual careers and broader aspects of film history.

While Asian cinema — particularly Hong Kong cinema — remains one of my principal areas of expertise, my documentary work is not limited to it. Over the years, I have interviewed and filmed personalities from Asian, European and American cinema, as well as figures from other areas of popular culture.

Alongside commissioned projects, I am increasingly developing independent documentaries and long-form video projects based on my own archives and research. These include subjects related to Hong Kong film history, martial arts cinema, action filmmaking, exploitation cinema, filmmakers and performers, as well as the cultural exchanges that have shaped popular cinema across different countries and generations.

My approach remains fundamentally centred on the people who make films. Rather than simply recounting production histories, I am interested in preserving memories, personal experiences and perspectives that might otherwise disappear, and placing those testimonies within a wider historical context.

This page brings together my completed documentaries, commissioned productions, archival projects and works in development, as well as news and behind-the-scenes material documenting their creation.

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