A witness to the history of the Fifth Republic for more than half a century, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach left his mark on the profession of radio and television journalism. This film tells the story of the man and his career through the voice of his daughter, Emmanuelle Bach, and previously unseen private interviews recorded shortly before his death in 2023. It offers a portrait of this hyperactive, versatile, demanding, and inventive journalist, and reveals the private man: funny, sensitive, warm, and secretive.

Born in Oran, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach was a kid from Algeria who came from a long way back: he lost his father at the age of eleven and plunged into poverty with his family. Driven by boundless curiosity, he became a journalist by chance, an event that changed his life, making possible all the encounters and discoveries he had never dared to dream of. He accompanied General de Gaulle on his travels around the world, then helped invent modern television in the 1970s, in tune with the international scene and a French society in the midst of transformation.

For decades, he interviewed politicians, ministers, and French and foreign heads of state, from Valéry Giscard d’Estaing to Emmanuel Macron, and from Margaret Thatcher to Vladimir Putin, not to mention Nelson Mandela. He invented an energetic, incisive style that set a precedent and inspired many young journalists.
Several political and media storms brought him down, notably in 1981 and 1996, but each time he got back on his feet by returning to the fundamentals of his profession.
Emmanuelle Bach recounts with tenderness and humor her father, absorbed by his all-consuming passion for journalism, and with whom she struggled to find her place.