Pierre Carles

Directing

Pierre Carles

Born 1962-04-02 · Talence, Gironde, France

Pierre Carles was born in 1962 in Gironde. He spent part of his childhood and adolescence in Chile and Colombia with his mother, a teacher in French schools. He returned to France in the late 1970s and studied socio-cultural animation, then journalism. He worked in television from 1988, first as a news cameraman for France 3 Régions, then as a columnist or author of humorous subjects in variety shows (TF1, France 2, Canal +, M6). From 1993, he made short documentaries for the Belgian-French show Strip-tease (France 3) and for the magazine Brut (ARTE). In 1998, he created a production company in Montpellier, with around ten audiovisual and cinema workers involved in the production of his first feature film, Pas vu pas pris, including producer Annie Gonzalez. From 1998 to 2020, he directed or co-directed around ten feature-length documentaries for the cinema, which deal with media criticism (Pas vu pas pris, 1998; Enfin pris?, 2002; Fin de concession, 2010; Les Ânes ont soif, 2004), the questioning of wage labor and the possibility of living differently (Attention danger travail, 2003; Volem rien foutre al païs, 2007), armed struggle (Ni vieux, ni traîtres, 2006)... He is also the author of filmed portraits of singular personalities such as Professor Choron (Choron dernière, 2008, with Éric Martin) or Pierre Bourdieu, whom he followed for three years to produce La sociologie est un sport de combat (2001). Through the exchanges of the great researcher with colleagues, journalists or activists, the profound nature of sociological practice and its critical potential are expressed.

Acting credits

Volem rien foutre al païs poster
6.5

In this economic war, promised to us many years ago and which advances like bulldozer, does there still exist a surge of imagination offering resistance ? Ordered to choose between the breadcrumbs of precarious employment and the meager charity still offered by the system, some abandon the society of consumption to claim back their lives. “Neither exploitation nor handouts!” many of them exclaim. They’ve chosen another path, that of autonomy, of consciously choosing to undertake certain activities, and of uniting together with other like-minded people.

Volem rien foutre al païs

2007

Les Ânes ont soif poster
6.3

The french mainstream media ignored the last visit in Paris of the leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. It's however this small country of Latin America, Equator, that serves as a model for Greek activists who are taking part in Syriza party or for non-orthodox economists from the spanish movement Podemos in order to solve the issue concerning the public debt. The Correa government declared a part of this debt « illegitimate » to implement public investment, and social inequalities reduction policies.

Les Ânes ont soif

2015

The Abdallah Case poster
8.5

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian communist resistance fighter, is France's longest-serving political prisoner. Incarcerated for 40 years, he remains a symbol. He was suspected of being behind the attacks that sowed chaos in 1980s Paris and was convicted of murdering two diplomats. In the film *The Abdallah Affair*, which Pierre Carles dedicates to him, we discover a deeply troubling story: a country choosing an ideal scapegoat. An incredible piece of fake news and intense pressure exerted by the United States on France are at the root of this extraordinary length of detention. The official media machine went into overdrive, serving a national interest, blind and deaf to all the ambiguities of this case, which this documentary exposes. Georges Abdallah was imprisoned in France for nearly 41 years. Wrongfully. At 74, he managed to leave prison, standing tall, his political convictions intact.

The Abdallah Case

2026

Neither Old Nor Traitors poster
6.5

Pierre Carles and Georges Minangoy go to meet former French and Catalan partisans engaged in the anti-Franco anarchist struggle of the 1970s.

Neither Old Nor Traitors

2006

Aaltra poster
6.2

In this pitch black comedy the rivalry between two neighbors escalates into an all out war. Through a maintenance error on a tractor they both end up, paralyzed, in a wheelchair. It seems they are doomed to stay together. They no longer focus their rage on each other but on the manufacturer of the tractor, in Helsinki. So get ready for a hilarious wheelchair road movie.

Aaltra

2004

Enfin pris ? poster
6.8

Pierre Carles, the dispenser of justice seen in “Pas vu, pas pris,” is back in the saddle. After attacking French television star reporters, his new target is television critics as represented by Daniel Schneidermann, host of the "Arrêt sur images" show. “Enfin pris ?” analyzes censure at work in television. It is also a thought-provoking look at how power changes people and the intimate forces between ambition and loyalty. A cruel, biting comedy from which no one really comes out unscathed.

Enfin pris ?

2002

Not Seen, Not Caught poster
7.5

On April 2, 1995, the television channel Canal+ censored the documentary "Pas vu à la télé" (Not Seen on TV), directed by Pierre Carles, which had been commissioned a few weeks earlier by the program director, Alain de Greef. "Pas vu à la télé" was slated to be featured in Canal+'s "TV Day" segment, under the heading "Television, Power, Morality." Carles recounted this censorship in the feature film "Pas vu pas pris" (Not Seen, Not Caught), released in theaters on November 18, 1998. It drew over 160,000 viewers. Eighteen years later, "Pas vu à la télé" remains unaired on French television. As for "Pas vu, pas pris," it has still not been broadcast on French television. However, it has been shown on television in Belgium, Quebec, and Switzerland. Since then, nine billionaires now control more than 80% of the media in France, while eleven of them account for 57% of the television audience.

Not Seen, Not Caught

1998

Fin de concession poster
6.8

Pierre Carles questions the privatization of the leading French televisions channel : is it not scandalous that the TFI-Bouygues concession has been automatically renewed since 1987 ? Taking up the anti-television fight he initiated with "Pas vu Pas pris", his first film, he confronts the people responsible for the news who have always avoided tackling this taboo subject. But the investigation does not go as planned : the old dinosaurs and young guardians now how to handle this media critic. To find his "fighting spirit" again, Carles calls to arms his friends and changes methods : Henceforth, no more concessions !

Fin de concession

2010

Nino (Une adolescence imaginaire de Nino Ferrer) poster
NR

Nino is 16, the vacation is starting and his heart is torn between Natacha, a beautiful girl who is an actress both in the theater and in life, and the delightful Nathalie, whom he's known all his life. She refuses to let the "man of her life" drift away from her as inexorably as his childhood did...

Nino (Une adolescence imaginaire de Nino Ferrer)

2012

Sociology Is a Martial Art poster
6.8

"I often say sociology is a martial art, a means of self-defence. Basically, you use it to defend yourself, without having the right to use it for unfair attacks." (Pierre Bourdieu) The world has witnesses who speak out loud what others keep to themselves. They are neither gurus, nor masters, but those who consider that the city and the world can be thought out. The sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu is one such witness." Over a three- year period, Pierre Carles' camera followed him through different situations: a short conversation with Günter Grass, a lively conference with the inhabitants of a working-class suburb, his relations with his students and colleagues and his plea that sociology be part of the life of the city. His thinking has a sort of familiarity, which means it is always within our reach. It is the thinking of a French intellectual who has chosen to think his times.

Sociology Is a Martial Art

2001

Behind the camera

No artwork available
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Juppé, forcément...

1995

Choron dernière poster
7.0

Georges Bernier, alias Professor Choron, died January 10, 2005. He was 75 years old. The few death notices that appeared in the French press mainly focused on the scatological nature of his humor, or on the good man's provocative side. No one recalled the essential, which was that with his passing not only had one of the great proprietors of the French press disappeared, but he'd taken with him an artist in his own right, quite unique in his own way : Professor Choron.

Choron dernière

2009

Volem rien foutre al païs poster
6.5

In this economic war, promised to us many years ago and which advances like bulldozer, does there still exist a surge of imagination offering resistance ? Ordered to choose between the breadcrumbs of precarious employment and the meager charity still offered by the system, some abandon the society of consumption to claim back their lives. “Neither exploitation nor handouts!” many of them exclaim. They’ve chosen another path, that of autonomy, of consciously choosing to undertake certain activities, and of uniting together with other like-minded people.

Volem rien foutre al païs

2007

Les Ânes ont soif poster
6.3

The french mainstream media ignored the last visit in Paris of the leftist Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. It's however this small country of Latin America, Equator, that serves as a model for Greek activists who are taking part in Syriza party or for non-orthodox economists from the spanish movement Podemos in order to solve the issue concerning the public debt. The Correa government declared a part of this debt « illegitimate » to implement public investment, and social inequalities reduction policies.

Les Ânes ont soif

2015

The Abdallah Case poster
8.5

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian communist resistance fighter, is France's longest-serving political prisoner. Incarcerated for 40 years, he remains a symbol. He was suspected of being behind the attacks that sowed chaos in 1980s Paris and was convicted of murdering two diplomats. In the film *The Abdallah Affair*, which Pierre Carles dedicates to him, we discover a deeply troubling story: a country choosing an ideal scapegoat. An incredible piece of fake news and intense pressure exerted by the United States on France are at the root of this extraordinary length of detention. The official media machine went into overdrive, serving a national interest, blind and deaf to all the ambiguities of this case, which this documentary exposes. Georges Abdallah was imprisoned in France for nearly 41 years. Wrongfully. At 74, he managed to leave prison, standing tall, his political convictions intact.

The Abdallah Case

2026

The Abdallah Case poster
8.5

Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian communist resistance fighter, is France's longest-serving political prisoner. Incarcerated for 40 years, he remains a symbol. He was suspected of being behind the attacks that sowed chaos in 1980s Paris and was convicted of murdering two diplomats. In the film *The Abdallah Affair*, which Pierre Carles dedicates to him, we discover a deeply troubling story: a country choosing an ideal scapegoat. An incredible piece of fake news and intense pressure exerted by the United States on France are at the root of this extraordinary length of detention. The official media machine went into overdrive, serving a national interest, blind and deaf to all the ambiguities of this case, which this documentary exposes. Georges Abdallah was imprisoned in France for nearly 41 years. Wrongfully. At 74, he managed to leave prison, standing tall, his political convictions intact.

The Abdallah Case

2026

Neither Old Nor Traitors poster
6.5

Pierre Carles and Georges Minangoy go to meet former French and Catalan partisans engaged in the anti-Franco anarchist struggle of the 1970s.

Neither Old Nor Traitors

2006

Neither Old Nor Traitors poster
6.5

Pierre Carles and Georges Minangoy go to meet former French and Catalan partisans engaged in the anti-Franco anarchist struggle of the 1970s.

Neither Old Nor Traitors

2006

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Bages-Sigean à la rame

2007

Enfin pris ? poster
6.8

Pierre Carles, the dispenser of justice seen in “Pas vu, pas pris,” is back in the saddle. After attacking French television star reporters, his new target is television critics as represented by Daniel Schneidermann, host of the "Arrêt sur images" show. “Enfin pris ?” analyzes censure at work in television. It is also a thought-provoking look at how power changes people and the intimate forces between ambition and loyalty. A cruel, biting comedy from which no one really comes out unscathed.

Enfin pris ?

2002

Not Seen, Not Caught poster
7.5

On April 2, 1995, the television channel Canal+ censored the documentary "Pas vu à la télé" (Not Seen on TV), directed by Pierre Carles, which had been commissioned a few weeks earlier by the program director, Alain de Greef. "Pas vu à la télé" was slated to be featured in Canal+'s "TV Day" segment, under the heading "Television, Power, Morality." Carles recounted this censorship in the feature film "Pas vu pas pris" (Not Seen, Not Caught), released in theaters on November 18, 1998. It drew over 160,000 viewers. Eighteen years later, "Pas vu à la télé" remains unaired on French television. As for "Pas vu, pas pris," it has still not been broadcast on French television. However, it has been shown on television in Belgium, Quebec, and Switzerland. Since then, nine billionaires now control more than 80% of the media in France, while eleven of them account for 57% of the television audience.

Not Seen, Not Caught

1998

Not Seen, Not Caught poster
7.5

On April 2, 1995, the television channel Canal+ censored the documentary "Pas vu à la télé" (Not Seen on TV), directed by Pierre Carles, which had been commissioned a few weeks earlier by the program director, Alain de Greef. "Pas vu à la télé" was slated to be featured in Canal+'s "TV Day" segment, under the heading "Television, Power, Morality." Carles recounted this censorship in the feature film "Pas vu pas pris" (Not Seen, Not Caught), released in theaters on November 18, 1998. It drew over 160,000 viewers. Eighteen years later, "Pas vu à la télé" remains unaired on French television. As for "Pas vu, pas pris," it has still not been broadcast on French television. However, it has been shown on television in Belgium, Quebec, and Switzerland. Since then, nine billionaires now control more than 80% of the media in France, while eleven of them account for 57% of the television audience.

Not Seen, Not Caught

1998

Le Rond-Point de la colère poster
NR

The roundabout in Aimargues is one of the first emblematic places of the Yellow Vests’ movement, the symbol of an outlier France. The story of this mobilisation is told through nothing more than the images they shot with their mobile phones.

Le Rond-Point de la colère

2020

On revient de loin poster
5.0

Since 2007 in Ecuador, Rafael Correa's government has refused to pay a part of the public debt, recovered sovereignty over the country's natural resources, defying multinationals. Thanks to redistribution policies, poverty and inequality have been greatly reduced while the middle class has doubled in eight years. Wildly enthusiastic, Pierre Carles, Nina Faure, and their team land in this new Eldorado. But upon their arrival, the populace takes to the streets, in a state of unrest. By traveling throughout this country in turmoil, our two directors learn different, sometimes conflicting lessons : one would like for Correa to come and straighten out France, the other questions the need for a 'right man for the job' kind of leader.

On revient de loin

2016

Un berger et deux perchés à l'Elysée ? poster
6.0

The former shepherd, Jean Lassalle, decides to run in the presidential election. Neither one nor two, Pierre Carles and Philippe Lespinasse, two filmmakers labeled left, but a bit politically lost, decide to take action: They proclaim themselves his campaign advisers, with the secret ambition to reveal his true nature, that of an anti capitalist revolutionary, lost among the centrists for 30 years.

Un berger et deux perchés à l'Elysée ?

2019

Un berger et deux perchés à l'Elysée ? poster
6.0

The former shepherd, Jean Lassalle, decides to run in the presidential election. Neither one nor two, Pierre Carles and Philippe Lespinasse, two filmmakers labeled left, but a bit politically lost, decide to take action: They proclaim themselves his campaign advisers, with the secret ambition to reveal his true nature, that of an anti capitalist revolutionary, lost among the centrists for 30 years.

Un berger et deux perchés à l'Elysée ?

2019

Hollande, DSK, etc ... poster
6.2

No synopsis available yet.

Hollande, DSK, etc ...

2012

Attention danger travail poster
6.9

With the energy of the dying, those in power apply themselves to reasserting the value of work – with force, if need be. But more and more workers have understood that, to truly value their work, they have to do without it. They also have to get rid of the society of consumption that goes along with it. It may not be easy, but it is certainly amusing. We present a panorama of a mass desertion destined to spread.

Attention danger travail

2003

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

10 Petits films pour « Strip-Tease »

Fin de concession poster
6.8

Pierre Carles questions the privatization of the leading French televisions channel : is it not scandalous that the TFI-Bouygues concession has been automatically renewed since 1987 ? Taking up the anti-television fight he initiated with "Pas vu Pas pris", his first film, he confronts the people responsible for the news who have always avoided tackling this taboo subject. But the investigation does not go as planned : the old dinosaurs and young guardians now how to handle this media critic. To find his "fighting spirit" again, Carles calls to arms his friends and changes methods : Henceforth, no more concessions !

Fin de concession

2010

La Vache et le Député poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

La Vache et le Député

2017

Pas vu à la télé poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Pas vu à la télé

1995

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Charlie Hebdo se fait Hara Kiri

2008

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Tant pis tant mieux

2020