French director Jacques Perrin attends this year's Beijing International Film Festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Sciences cannot tell us if the birds are tired, and what they are thinking," he said. "But films help science offer a viewpoint."

He added: "Compared with regular films, where you have a detailed script, nature documentaries are more impromptu. There will always be something unexpected. What you record is life, and life is dynamic."

In his recent production Seasons, which was screened at the Beijing film festival, Perrin goes back tens of thousands of years to explore animal life during the Ice Age, but he still prefers today's reality in his films.

"We talk about animals from 20,000 years ago, and we can reconstruct images of animals like mammoths," he said. "But I prefer filming animals from that time which survive today."

Speaking about Perrin's films, Shu Yun, a Chinese documentary maker, said at a forum during the film festival: "We've seen tributes to nature in his films. Today's China needs this more than at any time in its history because our natural resources are dwindling."

"Perrin's films contain ancient Chinese philosophies that advocate harmony between humans and nature, which is often ignored by our people," she said.

Yang Lan, a TV anchor, entrepreneur and a jury member in the documentary section of the film festival, said: "Good documentaries tell stories and stir emotions among filmgoers. But, excellent documentary filmmakers can influence people's actions through their works.

"Jacques Perrin is one of them."