Well, I was born in London but moved to the south of France, around Nice, when I was a kid. I’m English/American. My life as a child was great! I moved to study in California and I now live in New York. I travel a lot in my daily life!
Film is what came first and I started photography after. I studied Film at Berkeley, but started making stuff afterwards, once I moved to LA. I always wanted to tell stories one way or another.
Making films isn’t easy but making a living from it was even harder. My first video was a big deal! It was about my friend Tennessee Thomas passing her driving test in the Los Angeles valley.
Well, I was always more interested in narrative videos, so it was all about finding the right music to make video to. The ones I did for M83 where a perfect fit because their music is so cinematic.
He’s a character I spent a lot of time with him during Wassup Rockers. He’s a sweet guy who has a very clear idea of what he likes and what he thinks is shit!
There are so many people’s work that I love but there’s not one thing or any specific person I systematically go back to. As long as it makes me laugh and has a good story... I am a big photography book fan and I love collecting them. I have a Bill Owens book in front of me right now called Our Kind Of People.
I love working with Delphine Dahnier who’s a good friend and a great stylist. Alexi Zabe is also a talented cinematographer I’ve been shooting with a lot. If they’re both with me on set, I know I can be myself and everything is going to be OK!
I love directing commercials, it’s an amazing job to be able to do. I’m glad I can bring what I know to the table, show how I would do it and be of help in that world.
Yes, I like a more subtle approach to humor. For me the more direct it is, the more negative and finger pointing, the less funny it is. Humor is one of the most important things in communication in general, it can smoothen anything out and really helps to get a point across. At least for me!
At first photography was a way of keeping busy in between film projects but I then started getting assignments and begun to take it more and more seriously.
Glad you noticed the “Falling Down Cancun” series! For once, and it’s rare, I was able to portray a real character that you felt was going through some kind of emotional turmoil. I wish I had made a film about him, so I guess that if I’m thinking that it is a good sign! Especially in the course of a fashion story that is usually stale after a couple of pages, repetitive and overly referential to other people’s work… I do look forward to more photo stories with a fashion element in which I’m able to do that. However, film still is a much harder and ambitious format with which I get a lot more pleasure out of specially because of that.
I think for me it’s just about putting myself in situations where I’m forced to use my instincts in order to get it done. Even if the project requires a lot of precise preparation, I always try and keep room for not knowing what is going to happen. Whether it’s good or bad it will feel more unique to you.
This came from the M83 video Graveyard Girl initially. A couple of years later, I went back to pet cemeteries everywhere I would travel to and compiled enough pictures to make the small book with the help of my designer friend Laurent Fetis. I’m actually thinking of taking more pet cemetery pics and turning it into a bigger book!
Yes, that is my goal. I have a lot of opportunities right now and I’m making sure I choose the right project for it, so I’m writing and working on several ideas! Writing is so much fun but also a game of patience and endurance!
