Thierry Michel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thierry Michel (born 13 October 1952) is a Belgian film director, mostly making social and political documentaries. His office and company ''Les films de la passerelle'' is located in Liège, where he works with the producer Christine Pireaux. Over a twenty-year period he has made a series of documentaries on different aspects of
Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
(now the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
). Taken together his films provide a unique overview of the social, economic and political life of the country.


Belgium

Thierry Michel was born in Charleroi in Belgium on 13 October 1952 in an industrial region called "The Black Country". At the age of 16 he began cinema studies at the Institute of broadcast arts in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. While there he experienced the last student upheavals of 1968. He became one of the leaders of an emerging Walloon cinema movement. His 1982 ''Chronique d'une saison d'acier'' (''Chronicle of a steel season'') is set in the mining and steel region of his childhood. This "factional" film, combining fiction and fact, analyzes the rapid decline of the Walloon steel industry that began in 1974 and the way in which this affected the region. His first feature film '' Hiver 60'' (''Winter 60'') which tells of the 1960–1961 Winter General Strike in Belgium was made in 1982. The film was entered into the
13th Moscow International Film Festival The 13th Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; ab ...
. He was among the signatories of the
Manifesto for Walloon culture The Manifesto for Walloon Culture (french: Manifeste pour la culture wallonne, links=no), was published in Liège on 15 September 1983 and signed by seventy-five "key figures in artistic, journalistic and university circles" of Wallonia. Wal ...
in 1983. He again combined fiction and fact with his 1985 ''Hôtel Particulier'' (''Mansion'') about the prison system. In 1993 Thierry Michel made a film about a scandal that had deeply shaken Belgium: ''La Grâce Perdue d'Alain Van Der Biest'' (''The fall from grace of ''). This tells a story of a senior politician who became involved in corruption and organized crime, his drinking problem and eventual suicide. Michel's '' Métamorphose d'une gare'' (2010) documents the construction of the new station of Guillemins in Liège over a nine-year period. It does not hide the problems and frictions in this huge project, but also draws out the enthusiasm and pride of the builders.


Zaire and other countries

Thierry Michel became interested in ethnographic work in developing countries, particularly Africa. He directed his second feature film ''Issue de Secours'' (''Emergency Exit'') in 1987, a poetic and mystical work set in the Moroccan desert. This film was co-produced by RTBF, the Belgian radio and TV broadcaster. He depicted the street urchins and slums of
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in the documentaries ''Gosses de Rio'' (''Kids from Rio'') and ''À Fleur de Terre'' (''Grass roots''), both released in 1990. His award-winning ''Zaïre, le cycle du serpent'' (''Zaire, the Cycle of the Serpent'') portrays the famous and the outcasts of Zairian society. It was released in 1992. He investigated charity operations in the dangerous conditions of
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
with his 1994 ''Somalie, l'Humanitaire s'en va-t-en guerre'' (''Somalia, the Humanitarian Goes to War''). Thierry Michel returned to
Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
in 1995 to make a film about the legacy of colonialism and the white presence in the country 35 years after independence. He was arrested, jailed and deported a few days after arriving and his equipment was seized. However, he managed to complete ''Les Derniers Colons'' (''The last colonials'') using images from the preliminary shooting. The same year he made a documentary on white settlers in Zaire following independence named ''Nostalgie post-coloniale'' (''Post-colonial nostalgia''). He returned to Africa in 1996 to make ''Donka, radioscopie d'un hôpital africain'' (''Donka, fluoroscopy of an African hospital''), which depicts the bleak conditions in Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea. In 1998 after the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko Thierry Michel made the historical journalism film '' Mobutu roi du Zaïre'' (''Mobutu, King of Zaire''), a Franco-Belgian co-production. Michel watched over 950 hours of archived films to make the documentary, selecting extracts and interleaving them with interviews of many witnesses, both opponents and supporters of Mobutu. In 2003 he released ''Iran, sous le voile des apparences'' (''Iran, under the veil of appearances''), contrasting the religious fervor of some with the desire for freedom of others. In the film Michel defends president Mohammad Khatami, using extracts from the president's propaganda without commentary to present his struggle for the liberty of the people. Thierry Michel returned once more to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
in 2004, making a film that explores the majestic
Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
(2005) and the life it creates in '' Congo River, Beyond Darkness''. His first assistant in making this movie was the local director Guy Kabeya Muya. Thierry Michel made the TV documentary ''Katanga, la guerre du cuivre'' (''Katanga, the copper war'') in 2009, the basis for the film '' Katanga Business''. The film surveys the industrial and
artisanal mining An artisanal miner or small-scale miner (ASM) is a subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as su ...
industry in Katanga Province. It explores the murky dealings between the state-owned
Gécamines La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) is a Congolese commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Lubumbashi, in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a state-controlled corporation founded in ...
, other mining companies and individuals like George Forrest, Chinese companies and state officials in the copper industry, and questions who benefits from the mining operations. A book was published with the same title with photographs by Thierry Michel.
Floribert Chebeya Floribert Chebeya Bahizire (13 September 1963 – 2 June 2010) was a leading Congolese human rights activist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hailed by the United Nations as "a champion of human rights". His death led to calls for an inve ...
, a human rights activist in the Congo, was assassinated on 2 June 2010. Thierry Michel made the documentary '' L'affaire Chebeya'' covering the trial and events leading up to it.


Reception

Thierry Michel has drawn criticism for lack of analysis in his documentaries. ''Katanga Business'' lets the images and people in the film tell the story, as in a drama, rather than providing explanations of causes and effects. His ''Iran, sous le voile des apparences'' was said to take the propaganda of president Mohammad Khatami at face value. A reviewer described ''Mobutu roi du Zaïre'' as more cinematographic than televisual, with a tension between the factual investigation and the artistic creation. Writing on ''Métamorphose d'une gare'', a reviewer said Thierry Michel's film was nothing but a tissue of anecdotes. Another says that, fascinated by the technical challenges, Thierry Michel sees the men involved with a less clear eye. ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' said of ''L'affaire Chebeya'' that because the analysis is subtle, the documentary is probably only accessible to those who already known something of the Congo. However, Thierry Michel's work has been widely recognized. ''Les Derniers Colons'' received critical acclaim. The three-part documentary ''Mobutu roi du Zaïre'' was a nominee for Best Documentary at the 1999 International Documentary Association, received a special mention at the 1999 European Film Awards and won the European Film Academy's Prix Arte. ''Iran, sous le voile des apparences'' was shown at the major festivals and won several international awards. ''Congo River'' won a number of awards at different festivals. ''L'affaire Chebeya'' won the Grand Prize at the International Film Festival of Human Rights in Paris in March 2012. ''Katanga Business'' was nominated for a Magritte Award in the category of Best Documentary in 2011. ''The Man Who Mends Women: The Wrath of Hippocrate'' (2015) is a documentary about Doctor
Denis Mukwege Denis Mukwege (; born 1 March 1955) is a Congolese gynecologist and Pentecostal pastor. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and I ...
, Winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
2018, known as the man who mends thousands of women who have been raped during the 20 years of conflicts in the East of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
.


Filmography

Films directed by Thierry Michel include: *1970 : ''Mines (court métrage)'' *1971 : ''Ferme du Fir (court métrage)'' *1973 : ''Portrait d'un auto-portrait'' *1975 : ''Pays Noir, Pays Rouge'' *1982 : ''Chronique des saisons d'acier'' *1982 : ''Hiver 60'' *1985 : ''Hôtel particulier'' *1987 : ''Issue de secours'' *1990 : ''Gosses de Rio'' *1990 : ''À fleur de terre'' *1992 : ''Zaïre, le cycle du serpent'' *1993 : ''La Grâce perdue d'Alain Van der Biest'' *1994 : ''Somalie, l'humanitaire s'en va-t'en-guerre'' *1995 : ''Les Derniers Colons'' *1995 : ''Nostalgies post coloniales'' *1996 : ''Donka, radioscopie d'un hôpital africain'' *1999 : '' Mobutu roi du Zaïre'' *2003 : ''Iran, sous le voile des apparences'' *2005 : '' Congo River, Beyond Darkness'' *2009 : '' Katanga Business'' *2010 : '' Métamorphose d'une gare'' *2012 : ' *2013 : '' The irrésistible rise of Moïse Katumbi'' *2015 : '


Bibliography

* *


References

;Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Thierry 1952 births Living people Belgian film directors Belgian documentary film directors People from Charleroi