Le Chant des forêts (Whispers in the Woods)
In the heart of the tranquil Vosges forests, where lynxes, bears and deer roam freely, Vincent Munier accompanies his father on his expeditions. He not only seeks to capture the visual wonders of this forest kingdom, but also aims to make its sounds audible. Every whisper of the forest is a reminder of the knowledge of nature that his father once imbued in him – knowledge that Vincent now passes on to his own son. Vincent Munier combines breathtaking footage of nature and its sounds to create a fairytale-like cinematic experience that slows time down.
Producers: Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin, Laurent Baujard, Vincent Munier
Director: Vincent Munier
Cinematography: Laurent Joffrion, Antoine Lavorel, Vincent Munier
Writer: Vincent Munier
Editing: Vincent Schmitt
Sound: Romain Cadhilac, Marc Namblard, Olivier Touche, Olivier Goinard
Composer: Warren Ellis
Director’s Biography
Vincent Munier is a French wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker born on 14 April 1976 in Épinal in the Vosges, northeastern France. He began photographing animals at age twelve in the Vosges forests with his father's camera and dedicated himself to wildlife photography after high school. He is known for his respectful, slow paced approach and for photographing in snow, and received the Eric Hosking Award three times at the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. His quest to photograph snow leopards involved six trips to Tibet before his first encounter in 2016, which became the subject of The Velvet Queen, co-directed with Marie Amiguet. The film won the César Award for Best Documentary Film in 2022, and his second feature, Le Chant des Forêts, won the César again in 2026.