SébastienDavid
Director — Switzerland
Sébastien David is a Swiss director, co-founder and managing director of SIMCAST Prod. sàrl. His work moves between documentary and fiction, with a particular focus on light, texture and a retro-contemporary aesthetic.
A cinema where reality remains present, but the image shifts it slightly.
I am a Swiss director, co-founder and managing director of SIMCAST Prod. sàrl. Born in 1995 and originally from Echallens, my work moves between documentary and fiction, with a particular focus on light, atmosphere and the construction of the image. My path has developed alongside a very different world: pre-hospital emergency medicine. Trained as an ES paramedic, I work in an environment where observation, adaptability and decision-making are essential. That experience has deeply shaped my relationship with reality, as well as the way I approach the people, places and stories I film. In 2019, I co-founded SIMCAST Prod. sàrl, which I now lead. Through SIMCAST, I have developed my experience in directing, audiovisual production and cinematography, while continuing to pursue a more personal artistic practice. My work combines rigorous preparation with a strong visual approach. I am drawn to images that carry a distinct texture and identity: sculpted light, neon, slightly faded or veiled colours, strong contrasts, grain, texture and analogue materiality. My visual world draws in part from the aesthetics of the 1970s and from a certain kind of retrofuturism. I am interested in the feeling of a world that seems familiar yet slightly displaced, like the memory of a future that never existed. Whether working in documentary or fiction, I am less interested in simply depicting reality than in giving it a form, a rhythm and an atmosphere. Alongside my artistic work, I hold a Swiss Federal Diploma as an SME Management Specialist and serve as a staff officer. These may seem like very different fields, but they reflect the same way of working: structuring, anticipating, adapting and building collectively.
I look for imagesthat leave a mark.
Light is often my starting point: a hard source, a colour that spills over, a neon tube, a silhouette partly disappearing into shadow. I am drawn to slightly altered images, faded colours, haze, grain and textures that keep an image from being perfectly clean. My world borrows as much from cinema as from photography and graphic design. It draws in particular on certain 1970s aesthetics, on brutalism and on a form of retrofuturism where past and future seem to merge. I like the feeling of a familiar world, slightly displaced, like the memory of a future that... never existed. This visual research must never take over the subject. Staging, light, framing and colour are tools to build an atmosphere and strengthen what is happening in front of the camera.
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1995
Born in Switzerland. Childhood in Échallens. Pre-hospital care Training and work as a paramedic, Professional Bachelor. This practice develops a particular relationship to reality, observation, adaptation and decision-making. 2019 Co-founded SIMCAST Prod. sàrl. Gradual development of a professional activity in audiovisual production, directing and cinematography. Cinema Developing projects between fiction, documentary and visual research. Management SME Management Specialist, Professional Bachelor. Service Staff officer in the Swiss Armed Forces. Today Managing director of SIMCAST Prod. sàrl and film director.
Commercial work
Alongside my work as a director, I am co-founder and managing director of SIMCAST Prod. sàrl, an audiovisual production company based in Switzerland. Commercial productions, campaigns and institutional commissions are presented directly on the SIMCAST website.
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