Jean Painlevé

1902, Paris - 1989, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

For Jean Painlevé, scientific filmmaking is an instrument for sharing his discoveries by making the invisible visible. The subjectivity he introduced into his scientific approach lent a poetic dimension to his work. For over 60 years, Jean Painlevé shot short films on marine animals, focusing on just one species at a time to capture the defining moments of their existence. He is best known for his brilliant synthesis of scientific research and cinema. According to Jean-Luc Godard, "There would have been no Nouvelle Vague without Jean Painlevé and his unsinkable camera".