# Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (born 1 July 1963) is a French writer, director and producer of films and television series.

## Early life and education

Lestrade was born in Mirande, Gers, in southwestern France. He studied law and journalism in Paris, and turned to making documentaries which scrutinize the mechanisms of society.

## Career

Lestrade won an Oscar for Best Documentary for his ninth feature, Murder on a Sunday Morning, in 2001. He is also known for his film The Staircase, about the murder trial against author Michael Peterson, who was accused of killing his wife. He is an executive producer for the TV series Sin City Law (2007), which has been shown on the Sundance Channel in the US. His miniseries Laetitia, based on the tragic case of Laetitia Perrais, aired on HBO and HBO Max in late August 2021. In 2023, he directed the six-part French language true crime series Sambre - Anatomy of a Crime.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1989 | Beauty Parlor | Cinematographer | Short |
| 1995 | La cavale des innocents | Director | TV movie |
| 1998 | Une Australie blanche et pure | Director, Writer & Cinematographer | TV movie Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels - Reports and Social Issues |
| 1998 | La vie jusqu'au bout | Director | TV movie |
| 1998 | Des enfants plein d'espoir | Director | TV movie |
| 1999 | D'un amour à l'autre | Director | TV movie |
| 2001 | La justice des hommes | Director & Producer | TV movie Albert Londres Prize - Audio-Visual |
| 2001 | Murder on a Sunday Morning | Director | Documentary Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Christopher Award - Television & Cable Prix Italia - Documentary - Current Affairs |
| 2002 | Madame la principale | Producer | TV movie |
| 2003 | Qui a tué Cécile Bloch ? | Writer & Executive Producer | Documentary |
| 2003 | Un rêve algérien | Producer | Documentary |
| 2004 | Soupçons | Director, Writer & Cinematographer | TV mini-series International Documentary Association - Limited Series |
| 2004 | L'affaire Dubois | Writer & Executive producer | TV movie |
| 2004 | Avant les assises, une affaire de viol | Executive producer | Documentary |
| 2004 | Avant les assises, une affaire de meurtre | Executive producer | Documentary |
| 2006 | L'aventure MSF | Producer | TV mini-series |
| 2007 | How Much Is Your Life Worth ? | Executive producer | TV movie |
| 2008 | Sur ta joue ennemie | Director, Producer & Writer | |
| 2008 | Sin City Law | Writer & Producer | TV series (2 episodes) International Documentary Association - Limited Series |
| 2009 | Hors Série | Director, Producer & Writer | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2010 | Cigarettes et bas nylon | Producer | TV movie |
| 2010 | FBI : Police d'Etat | Co-Producer | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2011 | Un si long voyage | Executive producer | Documentary |
| 2012 | La disparition | Director, Writer & Producer | TV movie |
| 2013 | The Staircase II: The Last Chance | Director, Writer & Executive producer | Documentary |
| 2014 | 3xManon | Director & Writer | TV mini-series Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels - Fiction French Syndicate of Cinema Critics - Best Television Series |
| 2014 | Infrarouge | Director | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2015 | Malaterra | Director | TV mini-series |
| 2016 | Infrarouge | Producer | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2023 | Sambre - Anatomy of a Crime | Director | TV series (6 episodes) |