Christophe Leroy
I studied philosophy and sociology, which provided me with a gateway to reflecting on the issues raised by the representation of reality. Documentary film is ultimately the language I chose to question my era. In 2005, I co-founded the association La Troisième Porte à Gauche (The Third Door on the Left) in Bordeaux with the aim of finding associative pathways for the production and distribution of documentary films. Within this structure, I co-directed several short and feature-length documentaries with Adrien Camus: Bordeaux-Nouakchott (2005); Lui, m’appelle Kéba (He Calls Me Kéba) (2011); Jikoo. La chose espérée(Jikoo. The Hopeful Thing) (2014); Parti pris (Taking Sides) (2016). I also participated in the creation and organization of the Passager du réel (Passenger of Reality) festival, which helped establish La Troisième Porte à Gauche as a key player in the distribution of documentary film in Bordeaux. In collaboration with the artist Olivier Crouzel, we explored ways to take films out of cinemas and create site-specific performance screenings, placed as close as possible to local residents. We conducted two editions in the Landes and Médoc regions.
For several years, I have taught screenwriting at the Faculty of Anthropology in Bordeaux at the undergraduate (L3) and master’s (M1) levels, where I work with students to explore a more sensitive anthropology. I contribute to the discussions held by the seminar “It’s Not Very Academic” which explores the question of open science and approaches oriented towards society. I am also involved in the production of research films in France and abroad.
Céline Ségalini
I turned to documentary filmmaking after an academic career built at the intersection of philosophy, social sciences, and fieldwork abroad. In Cameroon, then in Senegal, I became interested in the precarious employment that lies beneath the veneer of development aid. To grasp these issues, I immersed myself in the daily lives of Cameroonian and Senegalese project leaders in urban centers and rural areas. After a doctorate in political science and two years as a teaching and research assistant at Sciences Po Bordeaux, I turned to documentary filmmaking. Moved by the richness of documentary filmmaking in its approach to reality, I participated in programming film screenings followed by discussions and in the creation of the Passagers du réel festival in Bordeaux. Within the vibrant community of this association, I was able to explore a cinematic style that could express my experience of the world and my visual sensibility. This period of discovery allowed me to work on the production of my first film, Things Of A Lifetime. Intimate Archeological Exercices (2023), a film produced by Novanima. Today, I work at the intersection of research and documentary filmmaking. I collaborate with research teams on the production of films and documentary-style documentaries related to their work, undertaking the fieldwork necessary for film production. As part of these scientific collaborations, I directed Holding On (2025). I also lead screenwriting workshops for researchers, as well as for sociology students, empowering them to independently create their own films.
Loïc Villiot
A graduate of INSAS in Brussels with a degree in sound in 2009, I began my professional career in Belgium. I explored various areas of sound creation: from live performance as a sound designer to classical music and opera as a sound and video technician in several art centers and musical institutions.
My work focuses primarily on sound for film, with a particular attention to documentary forms, unique narrative styles, and films with social and political themes and resonances. On set as a sound recordist, as well as in the studio during post-production, I am committed to supporting films in the development of their sonic identity.
My experiences, notably within the GSARA production workshop in Brussels and through my work on diverse international productions, have allowed me to collaborate with numerous writers and refine an attentive, sensitive approach to sound, deeply connected to dialogue with filmmakers and the exploration of different perspectives.
Having lived in the Basque Country for about ten years, I founded Echo Sauvage, a sound post-production studio dedicated to creative documentaries, podcasts, and fiction. The studio aims to be open, a space for experimentation and research, both thematic and formal. I support films from pre-production to final deliverables, with the ambition of revealing the full narrative and emotional power of sound.
Émilie Balteau
I am a sociologist and documentary filmmaker specializing in the visual documentation of social science research, particularly urban research. My work results in texts—primarily methodological (see theFrench Journal of Visual Methods)—but it also takes the form of research films. I have directed three medium-length documentaries as part of this research: Bonjour Bonsoir (2019) on urban renewal policy, L’Envol (2023) on urban agriculture in development projects, and Aider au quotidien (2024, with P. Cesaro) on social intervention in families’ homes. In 2025, I co-directed with Alex Tilman This is not a zoo nor a museum, focusing on the work of photographer and anthropologist Ralf Marsault—the first episode of a series dedicated to research-creation, one of the collective productions of CIREC—the Center for Research-Creation on Social Worlds (which also includes an exhibition project on mental health, planned for spring 2027). I co-facilitate workshops on the sound and visual writing of research and support research projects through image and sound.