Starting out in the world of Fine Arts and Social Sciences, Jérémie Magar swapped paint brushes for a DSLR and Zoom recorder, transforming both his writing and studio-based practices into a less defined creative form. The catalyst for this departure from his formal training was the discovery of films such as « Rails » by Wang Bing, « Mafrouza » by Emmanuelle Demoris or « Colossal Youth » by Pedro Costa. These film-makers demonstrated that great cinema could made today thanks to the ability to film solo and with minimal kit.

2011 saw Magar embark on a self-funded project titled ON CHRIST AND DRUMS, where for three months he explored the idiosyncratic aesthetic and social relations around the Easter Holy Week in Sevilla, Spain. Magar naturally embraced a hybrid approach between documentary and video art, immersing in an utterly foreign world. The experience of knocking at the doors of complete strangers, stripped from time or production constraints, scripts or political agenda provided a unique liberty whereby film-making becomes a search for gold: subject matter is captured in length, the film-maker`s social intelligence and responsiveness become key skills, and the editing process takes on a crucial role. Since then, Magar has produced and directed documentaries of various lengths from commissioned pieces to personal projects. These include portraits of second generation of immigrants in France, aesthetics, memory and music-making in Loyalist communities in Northern Ireland, architectural heritage in cities in Egypt or life-stories in the disadvantaged Northern suburbs of London.

Filmography:

2017: “On Parade” (director), Belfast, Londonderry, Northern Ireland

2016: “Monuments” (director), co-produced by University of the Arts London, England

2015: “Megève. L’été” (co-productor and director), commissioned by Town Hall of Malakoff, France

2013 : “Origines” (co-productor and director), in association with Anis Gras, Le lieu de l’autre, France/Belgium

2013: “Port-Saïd” (co-productor and director) commissioned by the Alliance Française of Port Said, Egypt

2011: “Cristos y Tambores” (productor and director), Seville, Spain

2003: Co-directing the documentary “Des expériences du commerce équitable au Pérou” (co-productor and co-director), with the support of the Ile-de- France Council, Peru and France

Education:

2014 – 2016: MA Fine Art, (Distinction), Central Saint Martin, London, England

2007 – 2010: BA Fine Art, (First Class Honours), Dartington College of Art, Totnes, England

2006 – 2007: Masters of History in Spanish Contemporary History, La Sorbonne, Paris, France

2004 – 2005: Licence of History, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras (Erasmus Bursary), Cordoba, Spain