Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai are French documentary filmmakers, best known for directing the films Lourdes, Rocco, Reset, Rookies, and the Netflix docuseries Move.

Thierry Demaizière was born in Saint-Rémy in France. Alban Teurlai was born in Brou-sur-Chantereine, France. Demaizière studied literature and obtained a degree at Sorbonne University, and Teurlai studied cinema at the University of Paris. Prior to their collaboration, Demaizière worked as a radio journalist for RTL, Canal+ and TF1 while Teurlai worked as an editor for short films and music videos for Kavinsky among other artists as well as for creative advertising companies for 10 years.^[1]

Demaizière and Teurlai began their collaboration directing documentaries about Karl Lagerfeld and Vincent Lindon for France Télévisions broadcasters.^[2] Their documentary Reset about Benjamin Millepied's debut as artistic director for the Paris Opera Ballet premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was distributed by Canal+.^[3][4]

Their critically acclaimed film Lourdes documenting families and individual stories of those with chronic medical conditions, terminal diagnoses, disabilities, and marginalized communities seeking solace at the Lourdes sanctuary site was nominated for the César Award as well as the Lumières Award for the Best Documentary category.^[5][6][7]

In 2020, Netflix brought on Demaizière and Teurlai for a 5-episode docuseries Move featuring Lil Buck, Israel Galván, Akram Khan, Ohad Naharin, among other dancers with guidance from Octavian Saiu. In 2022, their feature documentary film Rookies about a specialized hip-hop program within a Parisian school premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for another César Award under the Best Documentary category.^[8]

Demaizière and Teurlai are currently in production for a feature documentary about Paralympic athletes, including triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant, Oksana Masters and para taekwondo practitioner Zakia Khudadadi.

In an interview with the French newspaper Libération, Demaizière and Teurlai described their shared directorial approaches—with Demaizière managing interviews and broader storylines, and Teurlai focusing on the detailed visual manifestation of the themes as the cinematographer and editor as well for the majority of their films. ^[9]