With a grandmother who was a member of the Supreme Soviet, Stéphane Edelson dreamed of being an international political figure. Law would form the basis for everything, he went to university and afterwards worked as a legal advisor for Club Med, but “seeing the world through the abuse of law really disturbed my equilibrium!”, he states. In 1990, at the age of twenty seven, Stéphane Edelson decided to become a freelance journalist writing in several newspapers, paid by the line. During the Gulf War, he worked for the political department of France-Soir. Then he wrote for the Evénement du Jeudi, l’Equipe Magazine, le Figaroscope, Capital… Confirming his vocation when he received the grant from the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation for a subject close to his heart: Women in Bangladesh.  “A real social revolution is taking place in Bangladesh every day “, he wrote. And in a truly original way, it’s the women of the Grameen Bank, who have taken the lead. This financial institution, which provides funds and loans, has become the largest in the country with 900,000 female clients, the majority of them illiterate women farmers. Women for whom the Grameen Bank provides financial and social independence, until now reserved for men. A report, which covers numerous questions relating to this new found freedom for women in an Islamic country. Already eager before he set off, Stéphane returned full of enthusiasm from this trip, which proved to be the turning point in an eventful career! 

Achievements since winning the grant

In 1992, Stéphane Edelson’s reportage, which was awarded the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation grant, appeared in Ha’aretz, an Israeli newspaper. In the same year, Stéphane Edelson produced a documentary on the Indian economy for Arte entitled Made in India.
Between 1995 and 1998, he produced C.Net, a program broadcast on Canal Plus and was President of La Momie rouge association.
In 2000, he produced a weekly program covering new technologies for France 5 entitled Net plus ultra.
In 2001, he produced a 52 minute documentary for Canal Plus entitled Depardieu à la télé.
In 2002, thanks to “Edelson Jurisprudence”, from now on television journalists would be able to obtain press certification. In the same year, he produced a documentary series for Canal Plus entitled A la demande générale (4 X 52 minutes).
In 2007, Stephane Edelson produced Bondy sur scène, a documentary on the theatre workshop set up in Jean Renoir highschool in Bondy as part of an educational experiment initiated by Sciences Po in Seine-Saint-Denis.