From India to China, via the Philippines, Hong Kong, Paris and Béarn where he comes from, the life of Antoine Védeilhé (34 years old) resembles a U2 tour. Or the life of a “great reporter”. In this profession, the Béarnais journalist is constantly on the move, where the news needs him, in often dangerous areas (wars, political investigations) where he investigates “hot” subjects. Based in New Delhi, he freelances for Arte, France Télévisions and various foreign channels including the BBC. That's it for the CV.
This was further expanded on Wednesday evening in Paris, when his film “Philippines: the little convicts of gold” on the work of dangerously exploited children, co-directed with Germain Baslé and broadcast on Arte, earned him the 40th Albert-London audiovisual prize, the most prestigious distinction in the profession. A consecration, “even if we don’t do this work for the prices”. “More than a source of pride, it is an honor to be recognized by people in the profession whom I admire and whose work made me want to be a journalist. It's quite dizzying because I'm being rewarded for a subject that I haven't done any better than the others, even if it was considered to be in line with my previous achievements. »
Among these, some loyal readers may remember his articles in the local pages of “Sud Ouest” where he started in 2013 with an internship in our agencies in Orthez and Oloron-Sainte-Marie. “I have very good memories of this experience during which I worked with Marcel Bedaxagar (our colleague, now correspondent in Soule, Editor's note). It was a great school: I worked alone and I had to fill out a page every day, on the scale of a small territory, with the anxiety of the blank page, it was tough! When I see that today, I work on the scale of a continent…”
“I remember Antoine well,” says Marcel Bedaxagar. He was a very nice boy, very positive. He had done a good job in Oloron. It's a great school, we have had many young reporters who have made their way, like Antoine or Simon Le Baron, who I hear regularly on France Inter. »
From Béarn to Asia
Antoine Védeilhé has grown up a lot over the past ten years. His career testifies to this: “I grew up in Gan, went to college in Gabard (Jurançon), high school in Barthou (Pau), college in Bordeaux, journalism school at ESJ (Lille), the first jobs in Paris. » Allergic to a sedentary lifestyle, the young man then left to settle in China, in 2016, at the age of 26, after several experiences at France Télévisions, where he was nevertheless on the path to tenure. “I don't dream of a permanent contract at all, I like my independence too much. »
Antoine Védeilhé (right) won the Albert-Londres prize on Wednesday evening, with Germain Baslé.
Laurent Villeret
In China, he is a correspondent for Arte, France 24 and several foreign channels. He was nominated for the first time for the Albert-London prize in 2019 for a subject on the internment of Uighurs. He also produced the very first live reports and reports on the Covid-19 pandemic. Before settling in New Delhi in 2020, with his partner, France 2 correspondent in India.
“These changes, this adaptation, that’s why I did this job: my life is extraordinary, every day is an adventure! » The next one will take place in Hong Kong for a subject on the end of freedoms after China took power.
