Born in St.-Andre-de-Cubzac, France. As a French naval officer in the mid-30s, he became interested in underwater exploration and was partly responsible for the invention of the aqualung, a portable breathing apparatus for divers. In 1942 he began recording his explorations on film, using an underwater camera of his own design. Developing his camera skills through a series of excellent shorts, he made a big splash in 1956 with his first feature length film, THE SILENT WORLD, which he co-directed with Louis Malle. The film won the Golden Palm (the grand prize) at the Cannes Festival as well as Hollywood's best documentary Academy Award. An Oscar also went to his second feature THE GOLDEN WORLD WITHOUT SUN (1964). He also made many TV specials recounting the scientific adventures of his now-famous ship, Calypso.  Documentary (Features) 1956: THE SILENT WORLD - Producer  Short Subjects (Live Action) 1959: THE GOLDEN FISH - Producer  Documentary (Features) 1964: WORLD WITHOUT SUN - Producer 3 nominations, 3 Awards