Mathieu makes visually stunning films with an approach that is at once intimate, poetic and visceral.
Mathieu Le Lay is a filmmaker, cinematographer, writer, editor, and producer based in the French Alps.
Driven by a deep passion for nature and cinema, he first earned a degree in wildlife conservation from the University of Salford (UK). He then studied at IFFCAM, the French wildlife film school.
Since 2008, he has directed documentary films that tell authentic stories. His work explores the deep connection between humans and the natural world.
He favors natural light to create evocative atmospheres. Over the years, he has developed strong technical and creative skills. This allows him to film in some of the most remote and extreme environments on Earth.
2007
Enrolment at IFFCAM, the French wildlife film school. He learnt the techniques and methods of wildlife documentary filmmaking, making his first film, Les Ailes du Marais, about the marsh harrier in Brouage. Graduated top of his class.
2011
Production of the documentary film Des Gypaètes et des Hommes, co-produced with Mona Lisa Production and the Association des Amis de l’IFFCAM. This 52-minute film was well-received by audiences and broadcast internationally on television. It was selected for several festivals, including the 60th Trento Film Festival, and garnered multiple awards, including the Best Newcomer prize at the Ya’an Panda International Animal & Nature Film Festival in China.
2012
The year was marked by his collaboration with the artist-photographer Alexandre Deschaumes on the film The Quest for Inspiration. A documentary with numerous selections and awards, notably at festivals that are members of the International Alliance for Mountain Films. Télérama and its two T feature a director who is “just as enamoured of light as his subject, building up his images as if he were creating a rhythm.”
2014
A solitary trip to the American West, where he brought back the documentary film American Loneliness, recounting his adventure in the vast wilderness. Recognition on the Vimeo platform with a Vimeo Staff Pick following the making of his short film Keep Exploring with photographer Brice Portolano. Three more Vimeo Staff Picks followed between 2014 and 2018 for the short films Kumano (2015), A Sense of Wonder (2017) and Echo of the Wild (2018), which helped him establish and grow as an artist.
2015
Taking a documentary approach to filmmaking, he directed the short film West Empire, which explores the notions of time and space through the portraits of some of the inhabitants of the ghost towns and vast deserts of the American South West. This auteur documentary has been selected for several prestigious international festivals, including the Krakow Film Festival in Poland and the Odense Film Festival in Denmark, both of which are eligible for the Oscars.
2018
Release of the film In the Starlight, co-produced with Camera Lucida and Ushuaïa TV. Screened at a number of international festivals, including the Banff Mountain Film Festival and the Festival Objectif Aventure, where it won the Directing Award, In the Starlight has been hailed for its exceptional cinematography and its inspiring message about the connection between man, nature and the universe. The film has also been distributed worldwide in English and French versions.
2020
Production of the film A White Dream, dedicated to the world of wildlife photographer Jérémie Villet, co-produced by Bonne Pioche Télévision and Arte France. The film, which is to date the most awarded work in Mathieu Le Lay’s filmography, has met with considerable success on the international circuit of adventure, mountain and nature film festivals, winning numerous awards including several Grand Prizes.
2021
Release and broadcast of the film event for Ushuaïa TV, Félins Noir sur Blanc, about the wildlife photographer Laurent Baheux, in search of Africa’s big cats. The film won the Hérisson d’Or at the Festival du Cinéma Nature & Environnement and the François Bel Grand Prix at the Festival Les Rendez-Vous de l’Aventure.
The year was also marked by his inclusion in the team of ambassadors for Sony Europe, a brand he has represented and supported ever since.
2022
Participation in the filming of two episodes of the documentary series Corridors Sauvages for the Arte channel, with the production of the episode devoted to cohabitation with the Carpathian bear in Romania.
Since 2010, his professional experience in the documentary film industry as a director and cinematographer has grown and developed, notably through numerous documentary series produced for Arte and France Télévisions group channels.
As a Sony Pro Ambassador, Mathieu currently owns a Sony PXW-FX9 camera and an α7S III body with a wide range of Sony lenses and has experience with most of the professional video cameras on the market.
