Marie-Clémence Paes

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Marie-Clémence Paes (born 1959) is a Malagasy-French filmmaker who works as a director, producer and writer. She was born in Madagascar to a French father and a Malagasy mother. She earned a master’s degree in sociology and a CELSA-Sorbonne marketing diploma.

In 1988, Paes started Laterit Productions in Paris with her husband, César Paes. The company handles production, distribution and publishing. She has written and produced several acclaimed documentaries, often using music as a storytelling element.

Key works and achievements:
- Angano... Angano... Tales from Madagascar (1989) won first prize at the Festival dei Popoli in Florence.
- Saudade do Futuro (2000) won the Audience Award at the Rencontres Internationales de Cinéma.
- Mahaleo (2004/2005) was co-produced with ARTE Cinema with Canal+.
- L'opéra du bout du monde (2012) tells the story of creating a contemporary opera on Réunion Island.
- Fahavalo, Madagascar 1947 (2019) centers on Madagascar’s 1947 uprising.

Personal life:
- Paes is married to César Paes, a Franco-Brazilian director.

Selected filmography (years and roles, chosen highlights):
- 1989: Angano... Angano... nouvelles de Madagascar — director, producer, writer
- 1992: To the Warriors of Silence — producer
- 1992: Songs and Tears of Nature — producer, writer
- 2000: Saudade do Futuro — producer, writer
- 2005: Mahaleo — producer
- 2005: Le Sifflet — producer (short)
- 2006: Batuque, l’âme d’un peuple — director, producer
- 2012: L'opéra du bout du monde — director, executive producer, writer
- 2014: The Malagasy Way — co-producer
- 2016: Songs for Madagascar — producer
- 2016: De la Sakay à la Carapa — producer
- 2018: Fahavalo, Madagascar 1947 — director, producer, writer

Marie-Clémence Paes continues to make documentary films that mix music, culture and social history, earning recognition in France and internationally.