Filmmaker: Director of Photography & Colorist at Face-C ; Director at Earthling Productions
Biography
Damien Molineaux graduated from the Brooks Institute of Photography (Santa Barbara, CA). He aquires his first professional experiences and perfects his skills working as an Assistant Camera on a couple feature films and for a photo studio in Los Angeles, before returning to Switzerland in 1996. He then starts working as a cameraman/reporter, among others, for Greenpeace International with whom he travels around Europe (between 1997 and 2000).
In 1999 as a way of producing his own projects, he creates Earthling Productions, which in 2006 becomes an association of filmmakers. Earthling promotes documentaries and fiction films on development related issues: social, economic, environmental and political. In 2000 is relased Earhling’s first film, which he co-directs, with Thibaut Kahlbacher. “In Africa… it is memory which sings” is a documentary about the evolution and the transmission of traditional music in western Africa. He also directs numerous short films and documentaries, among others, for Swiss Television.
Questioning the evolution of communication media, he follows a Post-graduate course at the Geneva University of Applied Arts (since renamed HEAD). In parallel, he works as a teachers’ assistant in the same school. He graduates in 2004 with a research projet exploring the interactive possiblities of the DVD medium.
Between 2002 and 2008 he works as a director/designer (part-time) for the City of Geneva’s cultural services. He contributes to the creation of the program “DACtualité” (renamed “InSitu” in 2008) ; a monthly show aired on local TV stations Léman Bleu and TV8 Mt Blanc, see the department’s YouTube page.
In 2008 he becomes a partner of C-Side Productions SA, focusing his attention on digital imaging, and its many aspects: from capture through post, to the different final distribution methods. He works on an variety of projects, today mainly as a Colorist and Director of Photography, after having aquired a lot of experienc as a Camera Assistant & DIT.
Today he continues to play an active role as a in the development of project and as a director with Earthling Productions. Among others, he produced in 2005 a series of films for the « Nous Autres » exhibition of Geneva’s Ethnography Museum; in 2006 the documentary « Hasta la última piedra » by Juan Lozano. In 2010 is relased « Raclette Kirghiz » by Sandra Hebler, a film on which he is also Director of Photography. The film was selected in numerous festivals and won the Grand Prize at the Festival du Film Pastoralismes et Grands Espaces. In 2011, « La terre tremble » by Vania Aillon, is selected at the Festival Cinéma du Réel à Paris and at Visions du Réel in Nyon. In 2012, « Le jour viendra » by Cicero Egli is selected at the Festival du film de Locarno. In 2013, « Canorta » by Aline Suter & Céline Carridroit, co-produced by the RTR (Radio Télévision Romanche) is selected at the Journées de Soleure. In 2014, two films are selected at the festival Visions du Réel, « La Trace » by Gabriel Tejedor & Enrico Pizzolato and « Resuns » by Aline Suter & Céline Carridroit, co-produced by RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse). In March 2023, « Lettres ouvertes » premiered at the Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights. The film, which he worked on as Director of Photography, was directed by Katharine Dominicé and co-produced with Gena John and the Kids. Today Earthling Productions is an active beehive with numerous projects in development, as well as organizing the bi-anual radiophonic festival “Les yeux grands fermés“.
From 2014 to 2020, he volunteered as co-organiser, with Sandrane Ducimetiere, of the Geneva Kino Kabaret, a filmmaking laboratory. This event is part of the worlwide kino network, a movement aiming to give filmmakers, technicians and actors a chance to practice their art and talent, to experiment and to extend their network. The first edition took place in January 2014 and met with an immediate succes with over 100 participants making 18 short films in one week. The films were shown during the Black Movie International Film Festival. A second edition took place in January 2015, which extended over ten days with 3 filmmaking sessions (of 3 days each). The number of participants exceeded 150 and they created 32 short films. The third edition in 2016 numbered 279 participants making 38 short films, among which 4 were shot on Super8 film thanks to a partnership with ZebraLab. The 6th edition took place in January 2020 and assembled over 250 people who created some 35 short films over a 15 day period.
Damien Molineaux also teaches periodically and gives workshops for numerous schools and institutions, including HEAD, ECAL, eracom, the École d’art de la Chaux-de-Fonds, SAE Institue, Fonction:Cinéma, FOCAL, CFP Arts, etc. He has also been hireed to author numerous DVDs, including “Stephen Dwoskin, 14 films, Box 1/3“, “Treaty Bodies” (an interactive DVD produced for the UNHCR, in 3 languages, in PAL and NTSC formats), “Autrefois Genève” (volume 1 and 2), “Michel Soutter, 4 films“, “Guy Milliard, l’intime et le monde“, “À la recherche des pas trouvés” an archival DVD of famous dancer and choreographer Noemi Lapzeson, which pushes the interactive possibilities of the DVD medium to its limits.
Today, he shares his time between his technical and artistic work as a Director of Photography and Colorist on various projects ranging from documentaries to fiction, including advertisement and institutional films, at Face-C SA; directing and development of projects with Earthling Productions, in order to promote films about issues that our society is facing; creating both audio-visual content and assisting in photography and video teachers as well as students at the CFP Arts (Professional Educational Center for the Arts, Geneva), as well.
