Olivier Père was born in Marseille in 1971 and holds a master's degree in modern literature from the Paris-Sorbonne University. In 1995, he joined the Cinémathèque Française, where he became Head of Programming and was responsible for numerous retrospective screenings and themed seasons until 2009. In 1996, alongside his work at the cinémathèque, he began a 12-year collaboration with the Belfort Entrevues Film Festival, for which he organized retrospectives. From 1997 to 2012, he wrote about films, television, and DVD releases for the cultural magazine Les Inrockuptibles. Between 2004 and 2009, Père was General Delegate of the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes. Between 2009 and 2012, he was Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival. Since 2012, he has been CEO of Arte France Cinéma and Director of the Cinema Unit at Arte France.