A filmmaker, he currently works with his wife, the Madagascar-born Marie-Clémence Paes, also a filmmaker. In 1988 they founded the film company Laterit Productions, based in Paris. Their films explore oral cultures and set out to fight prejudice. The films Angano...angano... lendas de Madagascar, from 1989; Aos Guerreiros do Silêncio, from 1992; Ensopado de Awara Dende, from 1996; Saudade do Futuro, from 2000; and Mahaleo, from 2005, have won prizes at several events, including Festival de Cinéma Du Réel, at Centre Pompidou in Paris; Festival dei Popoli, in Italy, and in Leipzig, Germany. Their work has also been shown at theaters across the entire European Union. In 2012, the couple premiered L'Opéra du Bout du Monde, whose Portuguese title was Ópera das Mascarenhas. The Videobrasil Festival was the first event ever to show the work of César and Marie-Clémence Paes in Brazil, having screened Aos Guerreiros do Silêncio in 1992.