Stéphane Fontaine is a French cinematographer. He graduated from the École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière in 1985, and began his career as first assistant camera on films directed by Arnaud Desplechin, Jim Jarmusch, Leos Carax and Olivier Assayas, among others. He won the César Award for Best Cinematography in 2006 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet. Source: Article "Stéphane Fontaine" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Cinematographer
- 20 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
What are Stéphane Fontaine's films like?
Across their 19 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 17
Light 1 · Serious 6 · Dark 11
Grounded 15 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 7 · Intense 8
Steady 6 · Shifting 12 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 5
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 11
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 10 · Ambiguous 3
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet14
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Stéphane Fontaine's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Captain Fantastic (2016) · cinematographer · free
- Revoir Paris (2022) · cinematographer · free
- Ammonite (2020) · cinematographer · free
- Samba (2014) · cinematographer · free
- My Zoe (2019) · cinematographer · free
- The Kill Team (2019) · cinematographer · free
- What Just Happened (2008) · cinematographer · free
- ALLBLK, show their title on ALLBLK
- France Channel, show their title on France Channel
- Howdy, show their title on Howdy
- Lionsgate+, show their title on Lionsgate+
- Shout! TV, show their title on Shout! TV
- Sony Pictures Core, show their title on Sony Pictures Core
- Sundance Now, show their title on Sundance Now
Subscription and free streaming for Stéphane Fontaine's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
29 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Conclave(2024)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Revoir Paris(2022)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
Ammonite(2020)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
My Zoe(2019)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
The Kill Team(2019)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Jackie(2016)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Captain Fantastic(2016)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Elle(2016)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Samba(2014)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Rust and Bone(2012)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Goodbye First Love(2011)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
The Next Three Days(2010)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
The Other Dumas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
A Prophet(2009)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Spy(Ies)(2009)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
What Just Happened(2008)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Talk to Me(2007)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Call Me Elisabeth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Charlie Says (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Look at Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Playing 'In the Company of Men' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
A New Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Un atelier de Patrice Chéreau à la Manufacture des Œillets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Nobody Loves Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Travolta and Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Career shape
A full career of 29 titles from 1993 to 2024.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
3 major nominations and no wins, 2016–2025.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
+1 other major body · 1 nomination
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Stéphane Fontaine's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 19; across their 18 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 77th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the cinematography 70/100 in their films, across 18 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 58. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Stéphane Fontaine's work okay for kids?
Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Stéphane Fontaine work with?
People who share at least 2 of Stéphane Fontaine's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Pascal Caucheteux shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Jacques AudiardShared titles: Rust and Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009), The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Jacques Audiard
- Arnaud DesplechinShared titles: Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013), My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Arnaud Desplechin
Writers
- Thomas BidegainShared titles: Rust and Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Thomas Bidegain
Actors
- Stanley TucciShared titles: Conclave (2024), What Just Happened (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Stanley Tucci
- Virginie EfiraShared titles: Revoir Paris (2022), Elle (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Virginie Efira
- Tahar RahimShared titles: Samba (2014), A Prophet (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Tahar Rahim
- Mathieu AmalricShared titles: Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013), My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Mathieu Amalric
Composers and editors
- Juliette WelflingShared titles: Rust and Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009), Spy(Ies) (2009), The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)See all 4 shared titles with Juliette Welfling
- Alexandre DesplatShared titles: Rust and Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009), The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Alexandre Desplat
- Volker BertelmannShared titles: Conclave (2024), Ammonite (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Volker Bertelmann
- Laurence BriaudShared titles: Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013), My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Laurence Briaud
Producers
- Pascal CaucheteuxShared titles: Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013), Rust and Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009), The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005), My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument (1996)See all 5 shared titles with Pascal Caucheteux
- Martine CassinelliShared titles: Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013), Rust and Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Martine Cassinelli
- Grégoire SorlatShared titles: Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013), Rust and Bone (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Grégoire Sorlat
- Antonin DedetShared titles: Rust and Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Antonin Dedet
