There is a beauty in what photography can capture. It extends one’s vision and shows something that you might not have otherwise seen. For Dimitri Jean, photography has become more than just his career. With his sight leaving him, his camera has become his shield from the world. Giving him a sense of peace, he has learned new ways of life. Until the last day he can see, Dimitri has set out to capture light and bodies, to share with the world the hidden face of the Earth.
As a cinematographer, Arnaud Alain knows the importance of what is seen in a single shot. Using his skill behind the camera, he changes pace with his directorial debut, The Hidden Face of the Earth. To take the life of a simple man and share it with the world allows for another perspective. An idea you would not normally think of, but upon seeing requires great thought and reflection. With its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday February 17, 2026, The Hidden Face of the Earth exposes a new way to view the world.
Dimitri is a photo journalist based in Paris, France. He loves to photograph those around him; friends, strangers, lovers. In recent years, his eyes have begun to fail him. The inevitability in him losing his sight approaches, until one day he will no longer be able to see. Unable to take photos the way he used to, he makes something in this. Using his talents, he uses his camera as his eyes and gathers light and bodies. Within his products are an invitation to those who see them: to look at the world in a new light, hidden beneath the surface.
Shooting The Hidden Face of the Earth on film provides an additional element to the film. The eyes see film print differently rather than a simple digital projection. With this comes a heightening of your internal emotions while following Dimitri’s journey. Alain uses his knowledge to showcase Dimitri’s skills and the importance, not only of the image, but of friendships and love as well. He encloses a multitude of ideas within one simple seeming documentary.
Accompanying Dimitri through the streets of these cities, the viewer gets to witness his want to capture his subjects so they “…feel seen and heard…”. A truly powerful idea when it comes to photography such as his. Unlike portraits or studio photography, Dimitri captures his images out in the wild allowing them to be more natural. Two forms of capturing occur: the photos Dimitri takes, as well as the film we are watching of Dimitri. Everything is connected in The Hidden Face of the Earth. He becomes an open book for the viewer to try and understand. A welcome into his life and how losing his eyesight has truly affected him.
It may seem simple from the surface, but The Hidden Face of the Earth uncovers the insights into one man and his struggles. No one would want to lose their eyesight, but when it is part of your career and what you love, it would be even worse. Thankfully for himself, and the world, Dimitri has taken his condition and turned it into something beautiful. Capturing the lights and figures of those around him, his ideas shine and share a new surface to the Earth.
