Matthias COUQUET
Film director

Matthias received a writing grant for his next short film     

What is your artistic background?
Regarding cinema, I have a fairly "classic" path: film studies, in school and at university, the first short films during my studies (including Lune de guerre, co-written and co-directed in 2012 with my friend Thomas Mercillon), then a first short film outside of studies, more or less self-produced, Les Appelés in 2018 (still co-written with Thomas), and finally, my very latest short film, Lui, produced by Insolence productions, and for which I had the chance to benefit from the Porosus fund in 2024, through the Saint-Jean-de-Luz International Film Festival. In the meantime, I worked on many other projects, both short and feature-length, and even considered other formats, such as comic books, which is one of my passions. Currently, following Lui, I am developing new stories and new film proje

How do you see your profession today?
First, we must agree on what this "profession" is, which is very diverse and can be approached in many different, and sometimes contradictory, ways. Personally, I think from the perspective of storytelling and the transmission of stories, whether through writing, image and sound, and more broadly any conceivable narrative form. In this sense, I don't so much cast a view on this activity as I ask myself the question of my own place in this gigantic ecosystem — some would say this "industry" — and in the uninterrupted flow of stories, original or not, from the most archaic to the most current, that are broadcast on screens, of all sizes and at all moments of life. I believe I seek more to understand where I stand in this context, on my scale and according to my worldview — and from there what I can do — than what a "profession" can do more broadly, whose stakes and scope largely escape me.

How do you see yourself in five years?
My seasoned optimism would make me answer, to begin with: alive! With my loved ones, in good health, and steering my ship as well as I can in a chaotic world, remaining faithful to my values and especially to what remains most precious in us once we reach the trials of adulthood: the spirit of childhood. If this happens through, or aligns with, making films, I will be very happy.

This interview was conducted in 2025
Photography credit: Isabelle Chapuis