Tabakalera wants to give the opportunity to “know or rediscover” Simon’s film through the cycle that starts this week. According to the organizers, in the trajectory of the director born in London he has stood out for having composed a work "free and brave".
Although born in 1955 in the United Kingdom, Simon’s career has always been closely linked to the French State. After working as a assembler, in the late 1970s he began to make short films as self-taught. A stay at Varan’s workshops changed her perspective: There he met Jean Rouch, one of the founding directors of “Cinéma verité”, and immersed himself in other forms of film making.
In 1997 he debuted with Sinon, oui in fiction and was selected to participate in the well-known Fortnight of Directors of Cannes. The following year, with Récreations, he achieved international fame with a reflection on how to organize society from a school playground.
Tabakalera pointed out that Simon’s filmography has an important feature: the importance of observation and listening, which can also be seen in the documentary Geógraphie humaine (2013) or in the fictional work Gare du nord (2013).
The programming starting on 7 April will be extended for three months and several parallel activities have been organised to support Simon's films. Among others, the writer Katixa Agirre will present on 21 May the film Simonen Mimi (2003), directed by Julian Iantzi. At the end of the cycle, a film chosen by the director, Amsterdam Global Village, from Johan van der Keuten (Netherlands) will be screened.