Alix François Meier began his career as a television journalist in 1990 at SPIEGEL TV. Since then, he has worked as an author, director and producer for private and public television channels, especially for the European culture channel ARTE. By nature, the German-Frenchman has a soft spot for France: from culinary forays to biographies of famous personalities to the discovery of unusual places, he also realises unusual topics with great passion.

He has also travelled halfway around the world for the ARTE programme Discovery, documenting the spectacular nature of the mangrove forests in the Irrawaddy Delta, the Inuits' search for shells under the Arctic pack ice or the excavation of sapphires on Madagascar.
His film "Shell Hunt in the Arctic Ice" (ZDF/ARTE) was awarded Best Documentary at the "Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival" (Malaysia).

Alix François Meier, born in Essen in 1967, was trained as a documentary filmmaker from 1990 to 1992 in the newsroom of SPIEGEL TV. Since then he works as a producer and writer for private and public television channels, especially for the European cultural channel Arte.

 meier (at) apollofilm.com

Filmography:

2020

Santería in Cuba - Cult and Ecstasy, ARTE Wunderwelten (43', ZDF/ARTE), production: Apollofilm - production, screenplay and direction

Cooking live in Aquitaine, documentary series (26', ZDF/ARTE), production: Berlin Producers, writer and director

Brazil: How Covid-19 is dividing the country deeper, ARTE Reportage (ARTE G.E.i.E), production: Apollofilm, producer

2019

Argentina: Women against men-violence, ARTE Reportage (24', ARTE G.E.i.E), Production: Apollofilm, Producer

Chile: Uprising for Dignity and Justice, ARTE Reportage (24', ARTE G.E.i.E), Production: Apollofilm, Producer

Next Exit - Kaiserstuhl, documentary series (45', SWR), production: SWR, writer and director

Xenius - Wine without chemicals, The charm of vintage cars, Hornets, magazine (3 x 26', ZDF/ARTE), production: AVE, moderation direction

Country Life 4.0 - Plittersdorf and its pub for all (45', SWR), production: AV Medien,script and direction

South Africa - Radical Land Squatters, ARTE Reportage (24', ARTE G.E.i.E), Production: Apollofilm, Producer & Camera

2018

Deltas of the World: Irrawaddy - Wonder World Mangroves, 5 part docu-series ARTE Discovery (52' & 43', ARTE G.E.I.E), production: Apollofilm; producer, writer & director

Deltas of the World: Amazonas - Healing Tropics / Rhine-Meuse - Land of Canals / Yukon - Arctic Wilderness / Ebro - The Green Jewel, production: Apollofilm; co-production: Filmtank, supported by: CNC, Region Grand Est, Eurometropole Strasbourg, MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg.
Production: Apollofilm; Producer, Writer & Director (Irrawaddy Delta)

Royals in the Balkans, ARTE History (52', ZDF/ARTE), production: Neue Artfilm, writer and director

2017

Cooking live in the Provence, docu-series (26', ZDF/ARTE), production: Berlin Producers, writer and director

Garden of Eden - ennobled by the King: The Ardèche Marone, docu-series (26', ZDF/ARTE), production: docstation, writer and director

Indonesia: Against the Christians, ARTE Reportage (24', ARTE G.E.I.E), Production: Apollofilm, Camera & Production

2016

Thailand - We want Democracy, ARTE Reportage (24', ARTE G.E.I.E), Production: Apollofilm, Camera & Production

Greece - Europe closes its borders, ARTE Reportage (19', ARTE G.E.I.E), production: Apollofilm; production, screenplay & direction

Malagasy Gospel - The Voice of the Children (40'), documentary for the Aqua de Coco Foundation; production, screenplay, direction, camera

2015

Cooking live in Ile de Ré, documentary series (26', ZDF/ARTE), production: Fernsehbüro, writer and director

Turkey: The Erdogan System, ARTE Reportage (24', ARTE G.E.I.E), production: Apollofilm, producer & co-director

War in Kurdistan again, ARTE Reportage (24', ARTE G.E.I.E), Production: Apollofilm, Producer & Camera

Insights into - the Technik Museum Sinsheim & Speyer, (43', SWR), production: Eikon Südwest, writer & director

2014

Conquest of the seven seas - The Logbook of Ferdinand Magellan (29', Webdok), crossmedia project in co-production with ARTE G.E.I.E, Filmtank and Berlin Producers, funded by CNC, producer

Turkey: Profit through Children's Hands, ARTE Reportage (26', ARTE G.E.I.E), Production: Apollofilm, Producer

Cooking live in Alsace, documentary series (26', ZDF/ARTE), production: Fernsehbüro, writer and director

2013

Kurdistan: Retreat towards Peace, ARTE Reportage (26', ARTE G.E.I.E), funded by the CNC, production: Apollofilm, producer & co-director

A man flees to Europe, ARTE Reportage (26', ARTE G.E.I.E), funded by CNC, production: Apollofilm, producer & co-director

2012

Illegal immigrants at the Greek-Turkish border, currently in the works, ARTE Report (26 ')

2011

Cookery at the summet - The Aravis mountains, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Haute-Savoie is the home of the former starred chef Marc Veyrat. He introduces us to the secrets of his cooking of which wild mountain herbs are the main component.

Cooking live in Rheinhessen, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a family of German winegrowers, who have been cultivating vineyards in the village Ober-Hilbersheim for thirteen generations.

2010

Valldemossa - the most beautiful place in the world? Govern Baleares, Comisión Chopin 2010, Institut Ramon Llull, Ajuntamento Valldemossa, Helmut Arenz Kulturstiftung (52 '). On the footsteps of the holiday location of the composer Frederic Chopin in Valldemossa and writer George Sand. During the winter of 1838-1839, they lived in the cells of an ancient monastery. But the welcome was as cold as the winter weather that prevailed.

Cooking live in Nord Pas-de-Calais, Arte documentary series(ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a gardener family who grows cauliflowers in the Audomarois swamp.

Cooking live in the Camargue, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a family of rice farmers in the marshes of the Camargue.

The King of Palma, documentary (66 '). The Frenchman Bruno Maulmin Regnault (1943-2007) imagines himself to be the King of Palma. A documentary about the last years of his life.

2009

The coastline of the North Sea - Pas-de-Calais, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Ferries daily link Dover to Calais in the midst of an intense maritime traffic. The risk of a disaster remains high.

Cooking live in Aude, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of the Bonnery family, winner of the Arte casting for the 100th program. They are not farmers, but musicians.

Mountains under the sea - An exploration of the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, "Arte Discovery" (Radio Bremen, 43 '). An exploration of the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Underwater mountains that stand on the seabed rise to more than 4000 meters high and are a home to rare plant and animal species.

2008

Poor despite the job, Arte Theme "Miserable pay or a boss’s salary " (MDR, 60 ', several co-authors). About social dumping, low wages, temporary employment and the minimum wage in France and Germany.

Cooking live in Agen, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a farmer family who produces the famous Agen prunes.

2007

Shell hunters in the Arctic, "Arte Discovery" (ZDF, 43 '). For a thousand years the Inuits have been living in a stunning landscape of ice. Traditionally, they prefer to eat meat and raw fish or mussels that they fish at low tide under the ice. The film received the award for "Best Documentary" at the Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival.

My life - Hélène Grimaud, a series of Arte documentaries (ZDF, 43 '). After the United States, it is now in Switzerland that the French pianist Hélène Grimaud has taken up residence. This documentary follows the young woman in her new life and accompanies her to New York on her travels. A portrait of a spontaneous and generous woman, always looking for new challenges.

Cooking live in Catalonia, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a family of fruit grower in northern Spain. Best Foreign audiovisual coverage of the XIX Pica Estates in Catalonia.

2006

Madagascar and the sapphire fever, "Arte 360° GEO" (EEIG Arte, WDR, 52 '). Ten years ago, Ilakaka was a village like many others in Madagascar. Since a shepherd came across a sapphire, hordes of adventurers arrive there every day in the hope of digging up the jackpot.

Wine tasting - Majorca Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Flying Winemaker: this is how the winemaker Juan Mora depicts himself. He wishes to make the wines of Mallorca known outside the island. He regularly visits twenty producers to improve their wines.

Wine tasting – Beaujolais, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Wine growers complain that the production of Beaujolais Nouveau, of which the quality is questionable,eclipses the other Beaujolais wines vinified according to tradition.

Wine tasting - Sauternes, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). The great secret of making Sauternes is to harvest the grapes preserved by Botrytis cinerea, noble rot which gives the wine a high sugar concentration. This technique requires of the pickers a unique know-how as well as patience.

Cooking live in Marseille, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a family that owns a shipyard in the old port of Marseille.

2005

Wine tasting - Loire Valley, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Along the Loire, between castles and medieval towns, on old vines of the Pinot Noir from Sancerre after the ravages of phylloxera in the late nineteenth century, are grown the famous Sauvignon Blanc grapes that have been grafted onto highly resistant American strains. The mineral soils of the region do the rest.

Wine tasting - Pomerol, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Located east of Bordeaux and covering an area of 800 hectares, the land which gives its name to the prestigious appellation Pomerol is a flat land that stretches as far as one can see. There is a notion of femininity when it comes to these fine and vigorous wines. Is it due to the Merlot grape or th soil so characteristic of the region?

Wine tasting - Roussillon, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). The wines of Roussillon vineyards no longer bring in money. Even the traditional sweet wine is no longer in fashion. Producers are gradually banishing mass production in favour of lower yields but higher quality.

2004

Laughter for only luggage - Clowns Without Borders in Bosnia and Madagascar, Arte "Life in front" (ZDF, 52 '). Humanitarian aid has many faces. While "Doctors Without Borders" or the "Red Cross" arrived on the scene just after the disaster, "Clowns Without Borders" come a little later to heal through laughter.

Wine tasting – the Priorato, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Only fifteen years ago, nobody knew the wine region of Priorato, Catalonia, in northeastern Spain. René Barbier, oenologist aged sixty-eight, was infatuated with the region to the point of settling there in the 1970s with a few friends, with the avowed aim of "producing the best wine in the world."

Wine tasting - the Rioja, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). The Rioja with its special exposure is the most famous Spanish wine. Stored in oak barrels, it is subjected to a long period of aging.

The boarding school Le Rosey on the shores of Lake Leman, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). 90 teachers, 360 students, 57 nationalities ... the Swiss boarding school Le Rosey is one of the most prestigious in the world. Founded in 1880, it offers courses of a high level and offers a full sports program for the modest sum of ... € 43 000 per year.

2003

Wine tasting – Tuscany, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). Thirty years ago, Sassicaia, Tignanello and Il Pergole Torte announced the renewal of Italian wines. Wine on the menu on the trail of the "revolution of oak barrels" which saw the birth of the "Super Tuscans".

Cooking live in Majorca, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a nature-orientated family in the village of Valldemossa.

The tasters - The booming market of pet food, Süddeutsche TV (VOX, 32 '). The market for pet food is measured in billions. New recipes are subjected to four-legged tasters daily.

2002

Cooking live in Quercy, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a retired couple and their pig Niki who searches for truffles in winter.

Cooking live in Lithuania, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a family of farmers and fishermen in the East of the Curonian Spit.

The cow market in the Mark Brandenburg - The organic farm is committed to a new approach, ORB report (ORB, 29 '). A family implements wacky ideas to support their organic farm.

My life - Paul Bocuse, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 43 '). The chef tells us his memories and the secrets of his success.

2001

Between Camping and Casino - Formula 1 in Monaco, Süddeutsche TV (VOX, 33 ').
Two worlds intersect in the stands of the grand prix formula 1 in the Principality of Monaco.

Cooking live in Andalusia, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). A portrait of a family of farmers in the Alpujarras.

2000

To be a part of it at all costs - a matter of survival for reporters from the tabloids, Süddeutsche TV (VOX, 32 '). Tabloid journalists must compete with ingenuity to get a scoop.

1999

I dream of Majorca - The East Germans on the pursuit of their happiness, MDR Report (ARD / MDR, 29 '). Many East German chose to settle on the holiday island, but they face numerous difficulties.

My country, my love: All rivers are as the Loire - Catherine Clément and the Anjou, Arte documentary series (ZDF, 26 '). After twelve years abroad, following her ambassador husband in his various positions, Catherine Clément returned to settle in her family estate in Anjou, on the banks of the Loire.