Philippe
Brault

Philippe Brault

biography

Philippe Brault inherited not only the salty breezes of the Atlantic, but also a way of seeing: one that scrutinises the fractures of the world and the stubborn beauty hidden within them. His passion for visual storytelling took root in the army in 1989. Six months in Lebanon during the civil war provided his baptism of fire, forging his commitment to documenting the harshest realities and the most poignant stories.

Since then, he has continuously pointed his lens at the fault lines of reality. As a photographer and cinematographer, he has spent more than three decades documenting the political, economic and environmental violence inflicted on civilians around the world.

“If the stakes are still political, Philippe Brault’s photography cannot, however, be limited to its journalistic purpose alone, the question of the time of the shooting being considered independently of the media event. His approach, his aesthetic are fully in the vein of a new documentary, always more poetic and distant.” wrote Joana Anisten in 2010.

Internationally recognised — World Press Photo, Visa d’Or at the Perpignan Festival, among other distinctions — Philippe Brault has also made his mark on contemporary storytelling with the interactive experiences Prison Valley (2010) and Fort McMoney (2014), which have redefined reporting in the digital age.

More recently, he created the images for the documentary series Urbex Rouge (Arte, 2019) and Toxic Tour (Arte, 2022), exploring the invisible traces left by industry and the memory of places.

Now based in Brittany, between Finistère and Côtes-d’Armor, he continues his work between sea and wind, where reality is stripped of its artifice. A member of the VU’ agency since 2010, he continues to passionately defend his commitment. Through each shot, each image captured, he reminds us of the power of visual storytelling to shed light on the darkest corners of the world and inspire change, applying this force to Là où la terre se tait (2025-Ongoing).

Series

The lost sailors, 2022

Series | A testimony on the daily life and the difficult working conditions of the fishermen of Boulogne-sur-Mer, who live at the rhythm of the fishing seasons and the twists and turns of the Franco-British agreements.

Urban Exploration in Former USSR, 2019

Series | In Eastern Europe, the great buildings of fallen communism are deserted, looted and finally forgotten. Today in a state of ruin, these spectacular and threatening decors have remained frozen in the past, witnesses of an era.

Fort McMurray, 2014

Series | A disproportionate city, a boomtown, a polluted city: Fort McMurray, Alberta (Canada) is the largest energetic project on earth.

On the road with "Le Jeu des 1000€", 2013

Series | A portrait of contemporary France through its oldest daily radio-show: "Le jeu des 1000€".

Prison Valley, 2010

Series | Prison Valley is a story on the industry of punishment, on the Colorado valley « Out of sight, out of mind », which centralises in a few square miles all of America’s contradictions.

Cairo Forgotten Persons, 2009

Series | The buildings rest on the sand at the foot of Mount Sinaï. In the past, Haggana used to be a border. But today it is one of the largest slum of the city.

USA, 2004-2008

Série | "I think you find the heart and soul of America right here in West Virginia". G.W Bush, August 2004.

An Ordinary Week in Guatemala City, 2008

Series | More than ten years after the peace agreement which put an end to the longest (36 years) and bloodiest civil war in Central America, the violence hasn't ceased in Guatemala, and remains the major preoccupation of the country's population.

The Serbian Memory of Kosovo, 2008

Series | Under UN protection since June 1999, the Albanians of Kosovo have declared their independence on February 17, 2008.

Bitter Frontiers, 2007

Series | On July 12, 2006, following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah Shiite militia, Israel launched during 34 days, an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon.

The lost sailors, 2022

Series | A testimony on the daily life and the difficult working conditions of the fishermen of Boulogne-sur-Mer, who live at the rhythm of the fishing seasons and the twists and turns of the Franco-British agreements.

Urban Exploration in Former USSR, 2019

Series | In Eastern Europe, the great buildings of fallen communism are deserted, looted and finally forgotten. Today in a state of ruin, these spectacular and threatening decors have remained frozen in the past, witnesses of an era.

Fort McMurray, 2014

Series | A disproportionate city, a boomtown, a polluted city: Fort McMurray, Alberta (Canada) is the largest energetic project on earth.

On the road with "Le Jeu des 1000€", 2013

Series | A portrait of contemporary France through its oldest daily radio-show: "Le jeu des 1000€".

Prison Valley, 2010

Series | Prison Valley is a story on the industry of punishment, on the Colorado valley « Out of sight, out of mind », which centralises in a few square miles all of America’s contradictions.

Cairo Forgotten Persons, 2009

Series | The buildings rest on the sand at the foot of Mount Sinaï. In the past, Haggana used to be a border. But today it is one of the largest slum of the city.

USA, 2004-2008

Série | "I think you find the heart and soul of America right here in West Virginia". G.W Bush, August 2004.

An Ordinary Week in Guatemala City, 2008

Series | More than ten years after the peace agreement which put an end to the longest (36 years) and bloodiest civil war in Central America, the violence hasn't ceased in Guatemala, and remains the major preoccupation of the country's population.

The Serbian Memory of Kosovo, 2008

Series | Under UN protection since June 1999, the Albanians of Kosovo have declared their independence on February 17, 2008.

Bitter Frontiers, 2007

Series | On July 12, 2006, following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah Shiite militia, Israel launched during 34 days, an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon.

The lost sailors, 2022

Series | A testimony on the daily life and the difficult working conditions of the fishermen of Boulogne-sur-Mer, who live at the rhythm of the fishing seasons and the twists and turns of the Franco-British agreements.

Urban Exploration in Former USSR, 2019

Series | In Eastern Europe, the great buildings of fallen communism are deserted, looted and finally forgotten. Today in a state of ruin, these spectacular and threatening decors have remained frozen in the past, witnesses of an era.

Fort McMurray, 2014

Series | A disproportionate city, a boomtown, a polluted city: Fort McMurray, Alberta (Canada) is the largest energetic project on earth.

On the road with "Le Jeu des 1000€", 2013

Series | A portrait of contemporary France through its oldest daily radio-show: "Le jeu des 1000€".

Prison Valley, 2010

Series | Prison Valley is a story on the industry of punishment, on the Colorado valley « Out of sight, out of mind », which centralises in a few square miles all of America’s contradictions.

Cairo Forgotten Persons, 2009

Series | The buildings rest on the sand at the foot of Mount Sinaï. In the past, Haggana used to be a border. But today it is one of the largest slum of the city.

USA, 2004-2008

Série | "I think you find the heart and soul of America right here in West Virginia". G.W Bush, August 2004.

An Ordinary Week in Guatemala City, 2008

Series | More than ten years after the peace agreement which put an end to the longest (36 years) and bloodiest civil war in Central America, the violence hasn't ceased in Guatemala, and remains the major preoccupation of the country's population.

The Serbian Memory of Kosovo, 2008

Series | Under UN protection since June 1999, the Albanians of Kosovo have declared their independence on February 17, 2008.

Bitter Frontiers, 2007

Series | On July 12, 2006, following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah Shiite militia, Israel launched during 34 days, an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon.

web documentary

Toxic Tour, 2021

From the poisoned lake in Romania to the radioactive wolves of Chernobyl, explorations in ultra-polluted areas to the borders of Europe. Take your ticket for a “toxic tour” to discover six places of fatal beauty whose toxic poison remains invisible at first sight. Contaminated areas, visually hallucinating and ecologically deadly, heralding a future where nothing seems to be able to stop the unbridled race of productivism. Fans of “dark tourism”, dive into the industrial waste of the 21st century.

Watch

The programme was launched on May 30, 2013
A documentary game of Philippe Brault
Co-produced by Upian et France Inter

The Jeu des 1000 histoires, an interactive portrait of contemporary France, is based on The Jeu des 1000 euros game show. The documentary game humorously depicts the daily life of the famous show hosted by Nicolas Stoufflet and produced by Yann Pailleret.

A little story factory, where a game of chance allows the viewers to get to know the people behind the Jeu des 1000 euros, its audience, and its participants.
All told, a 75-minute program with 1000 possibilities.

Prison Valley – 2010

Welcome to Cañon City, Colorado. A town in the middle of nowhere with 36,000 souls and 13 prisons, one of which is Supermax, the new ‘Alcatraz’ of America. A prison town where even those living on the outside live on the inside. A journey into what the future might hold. A web documentary by David Dufresne & Philippe Brault.

Exhibitions

Urbex Rouge
–
Galerie Guigon, Paris, France
–
November 7-9, 2019

More informations

Le jeu des 1000 histoires
–
La Mégisserie, France
–
From July 27 to October 4, 2013

More informations

books

Prison Valley

Democratic Books et Arte Edition - 2010

Cela commence par...

Actes Sud - 1997

Prison Valley

Democratic Books et Arte Edition - 2010

Cela commence par...

Actes Sud - 1997

Prison Valley

Democratic Books et Arte Edition - 2010

Cela commence par...

Actes Sud - 1997

Awards

Webdocumentaire Award

For his project ” Fort McMoney ”

2014

AIB de la meilleure production online / cross média Award
—
1st Prize World Press Photo multimedia contest
—
Adolf Grimme Award (Germany)

For his project ” Prison Valley ”

2011

France 24 / RFI du webdocumentaire Award
—
Crossmedia Award of the Bellaria Film Festival
—
Italia Award for the best website related to a radio of TV program
—
Innovation Award of the Sheffield Festival

2010