Raymond Depardon

Raymond Depardon is a photographer a journalist and a filmmaker but above all his eyes view humans with compassion He respects others and is kind with the reality of their lives He was born into a family of farmers in 1942 in Burgundy and went to Paris in 1958 wishing to be a photographer He was first taken on as a messenger in an agency and was sent to take photos of an openingnight at the cinema the movie was none other than JeanLuc Godards Breathless He finally established his own agency Gamma together with three reporters in 1966 not for money but for the freedom He suggested to set up a cinema department we bought an Eclair camera and tried to make newsfilms for television in addition to taking newsphotograhs It was then that I learned to hold the camera When Depardon films people he is silent If one has the impression that he always keeps his eyes lowered in the face of the worlds miseries it is untrue Raymond Depardon looks as through a lattice and reacts like quicksilver keeping his deepest innermost emotion secret and allow his pictures to speak for themselves His films are now screened in all international film festivals from Cannes to Hong Kong