François Lespes is a French filmmaker, journalist, and cultural administrator with extensive experience in international documentary production, interfaith cultural dialogue, and institutional governance in an intergovernmental academic context. He serves as a member of the Oversight Council of EUCLID (Euclid University)—a treaty-based intergovernmental university established under United Nations Treaty Series 49006/49007—providing strategic oversight and contributing to the institution's mission in global education, sustainable development, and inter-cultural understanding. He is based at the EUCLID/EULER Joint Seminar and Training Center in France (Château de l'Hermitage).
Key Qualifications in International Administration & Cultural Diplomacy
- Long-standing member of the Oversight Council (statutory governance body) since the early foundational years of EUCLID, participating in high-level institutional decision-making for a multilateral university serving multiple participating states.
- Expertise in cultural heritage, religious studies, and inter-cultural communication, fields that support EUCLID's interfaith mandate and programs in global governance, diplomacy, and sustainable development.
- Extensive international production experience, having directed and produced documentaries broadcast across Europe and North America (France, Switzerland, USA), involving multinational teams, historical research, and cross-cultural collaboration.
- Skilled in narrative development, media strategy, and public diplomacy through visual storytelling on themes of religion, history, ethics, and human resilience—valuable for educational content creation and institutional outreach in intergovernmental settings.
Professional and Academic Background
François Lespes is an accomplished independent filmmaker and journalist specializing in religion, culture, and history, with a particular focus on Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. Born in 1969, he began filmmaking at a young age and later worked as a journalist-reporter for KTO Catholic Television and other networks, producing hundreds of international reports. Since 2008, he has focused on feature-length documentaries and series.
Notable works include:
- Bienheureuses: La véritable histoire des carmélites martyres de Compiègne (2024) — a documentary on the 16 Carmelite nuns martyred during the French Revolution.
- Valaam, l'archipel des moines (2012) — on Russian Orthodox monasticism.
- Jérôme Lejeune – Aux plus petits d'entre les miens (2015) — on the life of geneticist and servant of God Jérôme Lejeune.
- Other titles such as J'entrerai au ciel en dansant and series on liturgy and monastic cuisine.
In 2026, his documentary Blessed: The True Story of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne received the Silver Fish Award for Best Director at the Mirabile Dictu International Catholic Film Festival in Rome, recognizing its historical accuracy and spiritual depth.
His combination of long-term governance experience in an intergovernmental university, international media production, and deep expertise in religious and cultural history positions him as a senior official capable of bridging academic, diplomatic, and cultural dimensions in multilateral institutions. He resides in France.
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