Simon Frenay
Born
21 August 1987 (38)
Place of Birth
Montluçon, Allier, France
Biography
Trained at the Cours Florent, he began his career as an actor, notably appearing in films by Robert Guédiguian and the duo Olivier Ducastel & Jacques Martineau, while also working on international sets and in television. He quickly shifted his focus behind the camera. His first produced short film, Youssou & Malek, was selected in around forty festivals worldwide and received several awards, establishing a distinctive voice that is both intimate and political. With Carpobrotus, in which he also...
Trained at the Cours Florent, he began his career as an actor, notably appearing in films by Robert Guédiguian and the duo Olivier Ducastel & Jacques Martineau, while also working on international sets and in television. He quickly shifted his focus behind the camera. His first produced short film, Youssou & Malek, was selected in around forty festivals worldwide and received several awards, establishing a distinctive voice that is both intimate and political. With Carpobrotus, in which he also performs, he continues this sensitive exploration of identity and desire. He is currently developing If She Is Somewhere, a project rooted in his Réunionese origins, while also shooting a documentary dedicated to the reconstruction of young exiles who have crossed the Mediterranean. At the crossroads of romanticism and reality, his cinema explores queer narratives grounded in contemporary social and racial issues. Echoing his artistic work, he founded the association Sous le Même Ciel in 2020, a deeply committed initiative supporting exiled people, with a strong focus on unaccompanied minors, whose on-the-ground engagement profoundly nourishes his films.
Filmography (21)
Carpobrotus
2024
The Male Gaze : French Connection
2024
🎬 Director
Sweet Sixty
2023
One Year, One Night
2022
Youssou & Malek
2022
The French Boys 4
2022
Dreaming Like Louis
2020
Not That Kind of Guy
2020
Don't Look Down
2019
Faces
2018
Bioscopewala
2018
The Trial of Klara Wendel
2018
Discreet
2017
Night
2017
Ce qui nous lie
2016
The Forgiven
2015
At All Costs
2014
Elias
2013
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
2011
Stretch
2011
Army of Crime
2009