Olivier Jobard

Olivier Jobard is represented by the photo agency M.Y.O.P.

In 1990, at the age of 20, he joined the Louis Lumière School of Photography in Paris where he was offered an end-of-course internship at the Sipa Press agency. He then joined the Sipa Press agency for 20 years.

Olivier then covered many conflicts around the world: Croatia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Colombia, Iraq and more.

In 2000, he travelled to Sangatte, a French camp for illegal migrants. There, he met Afghans, Bosnians, Chechens... All were asylum seekers who had fled their countries because of war. These countries Olivier had gone to for news coverage, for the fighting, for the war... Without seeing the broader consequences.

From this moment, he decided to dedicate his work to the underreported issues of migration. Illegal migrants are too often described in numbers, shown as an army of ghosts, zombies, like wild animals.

Olivier's photographic approach changed into a long term documentary work focusing on human stories, getting as close as possible to the migrants, and staying with them on the long run. He wants to depict them as human beings. It's a way to give them back their humanity.

For this purpose, Olivier has decided to move to documentary filming as well.