Pineau’s expertise lies in Africa, with over a decade of reporting experience. She has reported for CNN, BBC, NPR, VOA, Radio France Internationale (RFI) and other major worldwide broadcasters. Her films include Africa: Open for Business, Africa Investment Horizons, and Kenya Stories. She is also the author of multiple articles found around the globe as well as a book.
Africa: Open for Business was Pineau’s first documentary film which she wrote, directed, and produced. It was one of the six BBC Documentaries of the Year in 2006, and won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. Highlighting ten stories of local African entrepreneurial businesses, Africa shows the true stories of pioneering companies in challenging economies. Countries portrayed in the film include Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Botswana, Uganda, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and more. In detailing the successes found in these nations, Pineau divests her viewer from the common misconceptions and myths of the Africa seen in the vast media today. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, said to Pineau of the film, “Your analysis of the situation in Africa was very perceptive, and much more balanced than one usually finds in articles about the continent.”
Pineau received the “African Vision Award” by Agoralumiere at the Cannes Film Festival where Africa: Open for Business was originally screened. It was also broadcast on BBC and PBS in addition to the US-Africa Business Summit in 2005 and has screened at World Economic Forum where Pineau was a plenary speaker, United Nations, US State Department, US Congress, and numerous other high level venues.
After launching at the New York Stock Exchange in April 2008, Africa Investment Horizons was broadcast on PBS stations.
Kenya Stories was a film that originally depicted the potential of young Kenyan entrepreneurs in their pursuit to get investment. Unfortunately the national Kenyan elections that took place during filming caused violent conflict, killing over 1,000 and displacing over 300,000. The film is not yet complete, continuing progress through the nation’s struggle and following their progress through this difficult time. Clips of the film have aired on CNN.