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Olivier Sarbil

Olivier Sarbil

Cinematographer, director and producer

Olivier Sarbil is a multi-award winning French documentary Director and two-times Emmy® winning Cinematographer based in New York. Over the two past decades, Sarbil has worked extensively in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America and Asia, on many of the most pressing global conflicts and social issues that the world has faced. Sarbil continues to work as a cinematographer on a number of films that are currently in production, while also developing his own films as a director.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Cinematographer, director and producer
Titles
5 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 10% in 30 days

What are Olivier Sarbil's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
29%
Power
19%
Self
17%
Morality
16%
Society
15%
Ideas
5%
Survival2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 3

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Full focus: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their full focus movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 2

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 3

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 1 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Contemplative
3
Dread
2
Melancholic
2
Hopeful
1

How their films linger

Thought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous2

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 Olivier Sarbil's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Olivier Sarbil'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

12 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.

  • Marines(2025)

    Show Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows

  • Viktor(2024)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Checkpoint Zoo(2024)

    Additional Photography · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn(2023)

    Show Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows

  • Retrograde (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Cinematographer · Co-Producer

  • The Riots 2011: One Week in August (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Cinematographer

  • Escaping Eritrea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Additional Camera

  • On The President's Orders(2019)

    Director · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Mosul (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • Hunting ISIS (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Producer

  • Frontline (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Show 1 episode · Additional Camera

  • Words from the Oven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 10 titles, 9 of them dated from 1983 to 2024.

Most popular right now

Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn (2023)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing4 of 10: 1 only directing, 3 with another roleProducing3 of 10: 0 only producing, 3 with another roleCinematography5 of 10: 2 only cinematography, 3 with another roleOther crew3 of 10: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

10 titles, 4 with more than one role — cinematography and directing overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · crew2010s3 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Olivier Sarbil's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 5 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 5 titles are Mixed.

  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · cinematographer

Checkpoint Zoo (2024)

91st percentile spread · 19% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Checkpoint Zoo (2024)

Midcredits 92nd · 75% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 81/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 85, detractors 30. 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.

Who does Olivier Sarbil work with?

People who share at least 2 of Olivier Sarbil's MovieCove titles; James Jones shares the most, 2.