Television experiments In the 1980s, he worked in collaboration with the French
Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA) and the television channel
La Sept/Arte where he helped develop new cinematographic forms and formats that reconsider some basic principles of film writing such as the conventions behind documentary, information and film essays. In 1990, he created the “Live” film research laboratory, which produced one-hour-long sequences by
Robert Kramer,
Robert Frank,Thierry Kuntzel,
Nick Waplington, Dominique Dubosc, Daniele Incalcatera, Christian Argentino, Lasse Naukkarinen among others.
Feature films In 1998, his first feature
Sombre (112’) won the Special Jury Prize at the
Locarno Film Festival. Starring
Elina Lowensohn and
Marc Barbé. In 2002,
A New Life (102’) was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Zach Knighton,
Anna Mouglalis, Marc Barbé and Zsolt Nagy. In 2008,
A Lake (90') was ready for the
65th Venice Film Festival. It won a Special Mention in the Orizzonti Section which rewards movies that initiate new cinematographic trends. With Dmitry Kubasov, Natalie Rehorova, Alexei Solonchev. In 2016,
Despite The Night (150’), with Christian Marr,
Ariane Labed,
Roxane Mesquida,
Paul Hamy,
Aurélien Recoing, was premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. The film was also at Critics' Week during the Berlinale, at Film Comment Selects - Lincoln Center - New York. In 2018, Grandrieux directed
La Lumière, la lumière (10') in the frame of "Liminal" including four films, from
Lav Diaz, Manuel de Laborde, Oscar Enriquez and Philippe Grandrieux. The proposal was to play on the poetic affinities between cinema and music. Liminal was commissioned by FICUNAM and
UNAM. With Camille Grandrieux and Lola Norda. 2025 Grandrieux prepares his new feature film
Marcus. Screenplay co-written with
Jonathan Littell.
Video clip In 2007
Marilyn Manson asked Grandrieux to direct the video for the song "Putting Holes in Happiness" from his album Eat Me, Drink Me.
Documentary His last documentary
It May Be That Beauty Has Strengthened Our Resolve - Masao Adachi won in 2011 the New:Vision Award at
CPH:DOX - Copenhagen, in 2012 the Great Experimental Prize at Festival Côté Court - Pantin, France and in 2013 The Great Prize For Documentary at the Tripoli Film Festival - Lebanon. This film was previewed at the Cinémathèque Française, at the Centre Pompidou, at Fid Marseille (international selection) and then in more than 40 festivals.
Films, performances, installations In 2012 Grandrieux started a work inspired by the concept of «the bare life» from the philosopher
Giorgio Agamben. Each movement,
White Epilepsy,
Meurtrière and
Unrest, is a film and a performance with dancers. Each film was presented for the first time at
FID Marseille (international or national competition). This work (performances or films) was also presented at the
Whitney Museum of American Art, the Radcliffe Institute - Harvard University, the University of Chicago, Centre Pompidou-Metz, ICI-CCN - Montpellier, and CCN - Le Havre. In 2019, The Empty Gallery (Hong Kong) presented the exhibition "The Bare Life" with the trilogy
White Epilepsy, Meurtrière, Unrest, and
The Scream, an installation of eleven projections.
Staging and videos In May and June 2023, his staging and videos for
Richard Wagner’s opera
Tristan and Isolde were presented at the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp and Ghent (Belgium), then in June 2024 at the Opéra de Rouen, France.
Teaching 2012 / 2013: Visiting Fiction Film Professor at
Harvard University Fellowship 2015 / 2016: Fellowship from The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University ==Awards==