06/03/2025 - The French producer explains why she still has hope documentary films can make the world more beautiful

Elise Hug studied visual arts, cinema and film theory for four years. She then obtained two Master’s degrees, one in documentary filmmaking and one in documentary production. In 2014, Elise joined Alter Ego Production (based in Orléans). The films she defends are auteur-driven documentaries that express a unique and affirmative point of view. In recent years, Elise has been a member of film commissions for the CNC and regional funds. She is also a Eurodoc alumna (2020). An interview with her, now selected for the 2025 Emerging Producers programme (read her EP profile here).

Why do you produce documentaries? Do you see documentary cinema as an instrument of social and political change?
Elise Hug: What I love about creative documentaries is their polymorphic nature – they can embrace a wide range of aesthetics, from cinema vérité to desktop documentaries, borrow from fiction, use animation techniques, or found footage. I think it's enriching that films can fully embrace a singular point of view, while the media keeps trying to make us believe in the illusion of neutrality. Part of me is pragmatic – I feel that social, climate, and political issues are so vast and complex that our documentaries can't truly change things against the dominant narratives of those in power. But I still have hope. On a smaller scale, I believe that if a film deeply impacts or moves someone, it can make them feel more connected to an issue, encourage them to think differently about it, maybe even inspire them to take action. And even if cinema can’t change the world, it can at least make it more beautiful, more livable, more enlightened.

How do you achieve and maintain work-life balance and foster overall well-being?
I'm not a city girl, I need to be close to nature and I hate wasting time on the metro. But film production in France is still very centralized in Paris. I was lucky enough to join Alter Ego Production right after graduation. Our company is based in Orléans, a small town just an hour from Paris by train, where I was able to buy a house with a large garden (where two chickens and a tortoise live). I don't work from home – I share an office with my collaborators, and also with another production company, a graphic artist and a web designer. This allows me to interact with other people, and not feel left alone with my problems. Finally, the last change I made to maintain a balance between my personal and professional life came after the birth of my second child. I decided to work only 4 days a week: this allows me to be more relaxed, more available to my family and more efficient in my work.

Where do you find audiences for your films?
When I start a project, I don't have a pre-established production strategy or target audience. It's a process that's gradually shaped as the film is written and developed. Yet, in France, we are asked to decide at a very early stage whether a film is designed for cinema or for television, as if they were incompatible. To reach wider audiences, we must break out of this framework. After festival premieres and initial releases, we look for other audiences: bringing TV films to cinemas, selling features to TV channels, approaching VOD platforms, working hard on non-commercial distribution through institutions, libraries and associations.

I've also learned that I can't do everything alone, that I need allies. Finding a sales agent for each film is crucial – they bring fresh energy and perspective after years of production work. And above all, they are experts, dedicated to the job! Finally, working on international co-productions is also a way of making films less inward-looking and more open to the world: by collaborating with people from other countries, we can reach a wider audience and build it up before the film is released.

What projects do you have underway?
I'm nearing the finish line on two exciting films after a long and rewarding production journey! Both projects were developed through Eurodoc 2020. The first, Gabin, a Youth in the Backland by Maxence Voiseux, is a feature-length documentary that follows a young boy from the age of 8 to 18 in a coming-of-age family saga. After nearly a decade in the making, we're on the home stretch to finish shooting and editing – I can't wait to see it come to life! The second, Under the Dance Floor by Sara Timar, is a Hungarian co-production – an intimate, historical, and political investigation into the past of the director’s home, once used as a torture villa during the communist era. The film is currently being edited by the talented Qutaiba Barhamji and we're on track to complete it by the end of the year.

----------

EMERGING PRODUCERS is a leading promotional and educational project, which brings together talented European documentary film producers. The programme is organised and curated by the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Deadline for applications to the EMERGING PRODUCERS 2026 edition is 31 March 2025.