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Lilou Lemaire
Paris Phone: +33 6 64 82 81 21 Email: contact@liloulemaire.com
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Lilou Lemaire is a multi-award-winning French director with over 25 years of experience in image-making and documentary filmmaking. Internationally represented by agent Hugo Hayat, she crafts visually powerful and emotionally resonant films that explore the vital intersections between nature, identity, and the human condition. Originally trained as a portrait photographer, Lilou developed an acute sensitivity to natural light, composition, and atmosphere—an artistic signature that infuses each of her films. Her documentaries offer intimate, immersive access to hidden worlds, revealing the lives of those rarely seen or heard, with a perspective that is both compassionate and cinematic. Her work has been broadcast worldwide on Netflix, Discovery Asia, France Télévisions, Al Jazeera, and more.
In 2024, she directed HORIZON, the first wildlife series shot in Saudi Arabia in Dolby Vision and Atmos, with cinematography by Gavin Thurston (Planet Earth). Premiered on Netflix, the series was critically acclaimed and received the Best Saudi Environmental Documentary award at the 10th Saudi Film Festival. Driven by a commitment to biodiversity and social justice, Lilou has directed standout films such as: Shuklaphanta, the Other Wild Nepal (Winner, Best Feature, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival NYC). Manaslu, The Fragile Kingdom (on climate change in the Himalayas). After the Fire (on the return of life after devastation, France Télévisions, 2024). Tell the Future That We Are Coming! (portrait of climate-resilient women farmers - Best Documentary BpiFrance Green Deauville Festival).
She is also known for tackling sensitive and underreported stories through unique institutional collaborations. Throughout her career, she has worked with the Ministries of Defense, Justice, and the Interior, gaining rare access to elite units and protected environments. She directed: Women on Duty, the first documentary filmed at the heart of Operation Barkhane in Mali. Mission Covid, inside a French military hospital during the pandemic. G.A.P., an unprecedented look at a special police unit fighting sexual violence in rural France. In 2025–2026, Lilou is leading new international productions across the Middle East, Europe, and South America. Among them: an environmental investigative documentary. She is also directing Sadok, the Mysterious Voice, a historical musical investigation co-produced with ArteTV. Her filmmaking blends aesthetic finesse, narrative depth, and ethical commitment, offering powerful films that reveal the beauty, urgency, and complexity of our world.
AWARDS Winner – BpiFrance Documentary Prize 14e Deauville Green Awards 2025 Winner — Best Saudi Environmental Documentary & Jury Golden Palm Nominee 10th Saudi Film Festival 2024 Best Editing, Mimizan International Wildlife Film Festival (France, 2019) Award Best Feature, NY Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (USA, 2017) Platinum Award – Short Documentary IPAMA International Film Festival, Jakarta 2015
Find out about Lilou´s latest films about nature: After the Fire: liloulemaire.com/apres-le-feu – Summer 2022. After an unprecedented heatwave and severe drought, France experiences its first true mega-fire. Over 30,000 hectares go up in smoke in the Landes — a forest never before so deeply scarred by climate change. How do we respond? Can we afford to rebuild flammable monocultures for the sake of economic return? Or is this the moment to rethink our relationship with forests and resilience? An urgent documentary that questions the legacy of industrial forestry and explores a new vision for tomorrow’s ecosystems. Blue Holes: liloulemaire.com/blueholes – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the discovery of many Blue Holes in the Red Sea. These unique marine ecosystems, found along the southern Saudi coasts, hold remarkable biodiversity and serve as a sanctuary for marine creatures. The National Center for Wildlife, in collaboration with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, will lead research and conservation efforts to protect these treasures. Seven Pearls: liloulemaire.com/itba – In Saudi Arabia, the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Reserve — established by royal decree in 2018 — protects one of the country’s most overlooked desert ecosystems. This wildlife-driven documentary ventures deep into a land where iconic species have learned to survive the harshest conditions. But beyond its natural richness, the reserve holds remnants of a forgotten past — ancient archaeological traces whispering the region’s long-lost stories. A poetic journey beneath the stars, where nature, memory, and rebirth merge in a living desert. Horizon: liloulemaire.com/horizon-netflix – The first-ever wildlife documentary series filmed across Saudi Arabia — in stunning 4K, Dolby Vision & Atmos. A breathtaking journey through one of the planet’s least explored biodiversity hotspots. From the depths of the Red Sea to the desert mountain peaks. |
memories – More than a showreel, this is a personal and emotional piece – the distilled essence of my work. It weaves together fragments from documentaries and commercials I’ve directed over the past 15 years, reflecting my aesthetic language and my sensory, emotional approach to storytelling. Most of the footage was shot and framed by me, echoing a lifelong love for photography, composition, and natural light. The voice you hear is my grandmother’s, grounding the film in memory, tenderness, and legacy:
All Photographs on this page © Lilou Lemaire
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