Born in 1971 in Nancy, he grew up between France and Germany, where he studied political science and journalism. He has long been a journalist for ART (Arte Info, Arte Journal, Métropolis, le Blogueur, Invitation au Voyage) and since 2013 he has been director of the Dessous de Cartes program of the ARTE network. In 2000 he began his career as a documentary filmmaker and has been interested in changes in society and the environment. He has made two TV documentaries on North Korea and a documentary for festivals: "Corée, l'impossible réunification? (Korea, the impossible reunification? – 2013)" "Corée, la guerre de 100 ans" (Korea, the 100 years war - 2019) and "Pyongyang s'amuse" (Pyongyang has fun – 2019)
Critique
In North Korea, a place that has often been portrayed to us as oppressive and without a future. Can you have fun in such a place? Absolutely, Pierre-Olivier François in an eight-year round trip shows just how North Koreans have fun. In a completely new portrait, the most humane and least propagandistic part of the people north of the Korean Peninsula is shown. The documentary shows how Pyongyang has changed over the years to become a city not too far from any city of the 60s, in the midst of an economic boom. It is perhaps the first time that this modern aspect of North Korea has been told with the pure purpose of telling the reality and change of this society which, however, does not forget its strong socialist spirit linked to Kim Il-sung's family.
