Biography
Stéphanie Barbey, born in Geneva (Switzerland) in 1972, initially studied International Relations at the Institut Universitaire des Hautes Études Internationales in Geneva (1991-95) and Political Science at the London School of Economics (1995/96). She then worked at the World Economic Forum (until 1998) and the World Bank (until 2000), among others. Barbey came to film in 2002 as an assistant director at the Swiss production company Amata Film. In 2003, she completed a directing workshop at the Ateliers Varan in Paris, whose training courses specialize in documentary film.
In 2004, Barbey joined the team of the Swiss production company Intermezzo Films as an editor. Together with Luc Peter, she made the feature-length TV documentary "Magic Radio" (CH 2007), about the social significance of regional radio stations in Niger. Barbey went on to make several documentary short films and industrial films. Again with Luc Peter she directed the documentary "Broken Land" (CH 2014), in which seven Americans with very different attitudes tell how the strictly secured Mexican border and illegal migration influences their lives. The film screened at numerous international festivals and was released in Swiss cinemas at the beginning of 2015.
Barbey and Peter once more tackled the topic of migration in the USA in their third joint documentary film: in "Dreamers" (CH/DE 2023), the two accompany a 38-year-old Mexican who has been living and working in the USA without papers for 20 years, and who has to live in constant fear of deportation despite being well integrated. After taking part in several festivals, "Dreamers" was released in German cinemas at the beginning of 2024.