Photographers Make Their Own Movies!

Since 1999, photography students at ENS Louis-Lumière have been taking part in a unique exercise. Equipped with large-format cameras, black drapes, and analogue sheet film, they meet image professionals to create their portraits.

Year after year, layer upon layer, this work has built a monumental archive bringing together some of the most prominent figures in photography and cinema. Over the past 27 years, more than 1,500 portraits have been produced, and the project continues to grow. Unique in both its nature and scale, this photographic collection offers a living history through the faces of those who have shaped the worlds of photography and film.

As part of the French Film Festival London, the centenary of ENS Louis-Lumière, and the bicentenary of photography, ENS Louis-Lumière presents here a selection of portraits that playfully nod to the world of cinema. The photographers deliberately draw on cinematic conventions: lighting, posing, and framing evoke a rich film culture, inviting viewers to imagine stories as they engage with each image. At times, the subjects themselves embrace the theatrical spirit, hamming it up for the camera and turning the portrait session into a performance of its own.