Thierry Michel

Hiver 60

In 1960, the announcement of social regression measures decided by the Belgian government triggered a wildcat strike by workers. Albert and Fred were at the forefront of a struggle that promised to be heated and risky. The great Walloon strike shook Belgium to its core. Violence, demonstrations, internationalists, red flags, Walloon flags. For five weeks, the country was paralyzed by a movement that often took on the air of an insurrection.

Empire of Silence

For 25 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been ravaged by a war that has largely been ignored by the media and the international community. The victims run into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The perpetrators of these crimes are countless: rebel movements, but also armies, those of the Congo and neighboring countries.

Zaïre, le cycle du serpent

In the heart of the African continent, after thirty years of independence and twenty-five years of Mobutism… what future awaits Zaire? Over the course of five weeks, Thierry Michel filmed Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, from every angle. A Kinshasa marked by poverty, beggars, outcasts, and the forgotten. A Kinshasa also inhabited by the business bourgeoisie, religious leaders, and military dignitaries. And finally, a Kinshasa whose working-class neighborhoods bury their dead, victims of the dictatorship.

The Damned

In April 1945, a group of Nazis and collaborators gather in Oslo to board a submarine headed for South America, aiming to avoid justice. Kidnapped Doctor Guilbert is forced to accompany them.

Steel running through our veins

« Steel running through our veins » immerses us in the world of Liège's steelworkers, revealing an exceptional industrial and human saga. This captivating documentary explores the destinies forged by iron and fire through personal testimonies and previously unseen archives spanning 50 years. It highlights the social struggles and resilience of a community in the face of economic challenges. More than just a reflection on the past, this essential film questions our present and future, emphasizing the importance of solidarity and collective memory.

Katanga Business

After Mobutu, King of Zaire and Congo River, the Belgian director Thierry Michel pursues his exploration of Central Africa. His new documentary, entitled Katanga Business, is a kind of political economic thriller, which takes place in this south-eastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s richest regions in mining resources. While the inhabitants of Katanga continue to live in extreme poverty, multinationals are rivalled by China, newly arrived with its billions of dollars.

Children of Chance

In the small local school of Cheratte, a former mining town, 11-year old students with and immigrant background are coming to the end of their primary school education with Brigitte. She is a dynamic teacher whose particular pedagogical approach aims to give these pupils a firm foundation to build on in this constantly changing world.

Mobutu, King of Zaire

This film is the result of more than two years of work tracking down archive material and witnesses close to Mobutu in Africa, Europe and the U.S. More than 950 hours of footage have been seen by the world. Among the 104 hours selected as the basis for this film, are 30 hours of archives recently discovered in Kinshasa and never before released. Completing these exceptional documents, are more than 50 hours of interviews with those close to the former president and the events surrounding his reign, conducted by the director in Kinshasa, Brussels, Paris and Washington. Like a vast historical puzzle, this film pieces together the tragic history of a country, and its self-styled leader - the dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, "King of Zaïre".

Hiver 60

In 1960, the announcement of social regression measures decided by the Belgian government triggered a wildcat strike by workers. Albert and Fred were at the forefront of a struggle that promised to be heated and risky. The great Walloon strike shook Belgium to its core. Violence, demonstrations, internationalists, red flags, Walloon flags. For five weeks, the country was paralyzed by a movement that often took on the air of an insurrection.

Empire of Silence

For 25 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been ravaged by a war that has largely been ignored by the media and the international community. The victims run into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The perpetrators of these crimes are countless: rebel movements, but also armies, those of the Congo and neighboring countries.

Zaïre, le cycle du serpent

In the heart of the African continent, after thirty years of independence and twenty-five years of Mobutism… what future awaits Zaire? Over the course of five weeks, Thierry Michel filmed Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, from every angle. A Kinshasa marked by poverty, beggars, outcasts, and the forgotten. A Kinshasa also inhabited by the business bourgeoisie, religious leaders, and military dignitaries. And finally, a Kinshasa whose working-class neighborhoods bury their dead, victims of the dictatorship.

The Damned

In April 1945, a group of Nazis and collaborators gather in Oslo to board a submarine headed for South America, aiming to avoid justice. Kidnapped Doctor Guilbert is forced to accompany them.

Steel running through our veins

« Steel running through our veins » immerses us in the world of Liège's steelworkers, revealing an exceptional industrial and human saga. This captivating documentary explores the destinies forged by iron and fire through personal testimonies and previously unseen archives spanning 50 years. It highlights the social struggles and resilience of a community in the face of economic challenges. More than just a reflection on the past, this essential film questions our present and future, emphasizing the importance of solidarity and collective memory.

Katanga Business

After Mobutu, King of Zaire and Congo River, the Belgian director Thierry Michel pursues his exploration of Central Africa. His new documentary, entitled Katanga Business, is a kind of political economic thriller, which takes place in this south-eastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the world’s richest regions in mining resources. While the inhabitants of Katanga continue to live in extreme poverty, multinationals are rivalled by China, newly arrived with its billions of dollars.

Children of Chance

In the small local school of Cheratte, a former mining town, 11-year old students with and immigrant background are coming to the end of their primary school education with Brigitte. She is a dynamic teacher whose particular pedagogical approach aims to give these pupils a firm foundation to build on in this constantly changing world.

Mobutu, King of Zaire

This film is the result of more than two years of work tracking down archive material and witnesses close to Mobutu in Africa, Europe and the U.S. More than 950 hours of footage have been seen by the world. Among the 104 hours selected as the basis for this film, are 30 hours of archives recently discovered in Kinshasa and never before released. Completing these exceptional documents, are more than 50 hours of interviews with those close to the former president and the events surrounding his reign, conducted by the director in Kinshasa, Brussels, Paris and Washington. Like a vast historical puzzle, this film pieces together the tragic history of a country, and its self-styled leader - the dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, "King of Zaïre".

L'affaire Chebeya, un crime d'Etat?

Iran, Veiled Appearances

Depicts contemporary Iran at a turning point in its history, exposing both an extreme fundamentalism being fostered by its leadership and the seeds for change in its youth culture.

Congo River

Following the great explorers’ footsteps, “Congo River” takes us up one of the world’s greatest river basins, from its mouth to its source. All the way along its 2,716 miles, we pass places that testify to the country’s tumultuous history, and encounter the ghosts of those who shaped its destiny: Stanley, the explorer, Leopold II, the colonizer, Mobutu, the despot. We also cross paths with an entire people – boatmen guiding their dugout canoes, fishermen, traveling salesmen, military personnel and rebels, women and children – searching for light and dignity.

Donka, X-Ray of an African Hospital

This film follows daily life in the largest public hospital in the Republic of Guinea, Donka Hospital in Conakry.

L'École de l'impossible

Two years in the life of a Belgian college, in Seraing, which tries to put back on track students with chaotic journeys, confronted with violence and social injustice.

Gosses de Rio

The Man Who Mends Women: The Wrath of Hippocrates

Winner of the Sakharov Prize 2014, Doctor Mukwege is internationally 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, one of the poorest countries on the planet, despite its extremely rich sub-soil. His endless struggle to put an end to these atrocities and denounce the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators is not welcome. At the end of 2012, the Doctor was the target of another attempt on his life, which he miraculously survived. Threatened with death, this doctor with an exceptional destiny now lives cloistered in his hospital in Bukavu under the protection of the United Nation peacekeepers. But he is no longer alone in his struggle. The women to whom he has restored physical integrity and dignity, stand beside him, true activists for peace, hungry for justice.

Mobutu, roi du Zaïre