Simon Arnal

Only the Animals

Following the disappearance of the glamorous and secretive Evelyne Ducat during a blizzard in the highlands of southern France, the lives of five people inextricably linked to Evelyne are brought together to devastating effect as the local police investigate the case.

A Bigger World

In an attempt to move on from the death of Paul, the love of her life, Korine leaves Paris to undertake a project in Mongolia. But after meeting the shaman, Oyun, her trip takes a different direction. Korine has a rare gift that Oyun intends to unveil. She agrees to initiate herself in the practice of Shamanism, leading her to discover an ancient and forgotten culture, but most importantly herself.

The Night Eats the World

After waking up to find himself all alone in an apartment where a massive party was being held the night before, Sam is immediately forced to face a terrifying reality: the living dead have invaded the streets of Paris.

150 Milligrams

In the hospital where she works in Brest, France, a lung specialist discovers a direct link between suspicious deaths and state-approved medicine. She fights single-handedly for the truth to come out.

The Lobster

In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into animals and sent off into The Woods.

Journey Through China

Liliane, a provincial nurse in her peaceful fifties, must cope with the accidental death of her son in China. She decides to fly there in order to repatriate the body. This mourning journey will soon turn out to be a trip of discovery of her son whom she didn't see for years and a trip to make a fresh start through the insight of a new culture.

Sanctuary

In the mid-1980s, the GAL, a Spanish paramilitary group, pursues and assassinates members of the terrorist gang ETA who have taken refuge in the sanctuary they have created in the south of France. Grégoire Fortin, advisor to the French Minister of Justice, and Domingo 'Txomin' Iturbe, leader of ETA, are forced to negotiate in order to find a solution to the violence that plagues the region.

Back in Crime

Inspector Richard Kemp never got around to putting the handcuffs around the Eardrum Slasher, a dangerous serial killer whose rampage began 20 years before. When Hélène, a psychologist, witnesses the Slasher’s latest crime and offers to testify, Kemp falls in love with her at first sight. In a mysterious turn of event, Kemp is suddenly transported back in time to the site of the Eardrum Slasher’s first murder, he realizes that this could provide a second chance to catch the killer...

Foxfire

Set in the 1950s, a a group of young girls in upstate New York form their own gang.

The Woman in the Fifth

An American writer moves to Paris to be closer to his daughter and finds himself falling immediately on hard times.

Black Heaven

An innocent young man becomes enamored with a mysterious girl. He is lured into "Black Hole" - a dark, obscure video game world of avatars with deadly serious intentions in the real world.

Coco Before Chanel

Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing.

The Class

Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.

Sonetàula

A disenchanted young shepherd's world is torn apart when his father is unjustly incarcerated for a murder he didn't commit.

Heading South

A story of three female tourists who visit Haiti, in order to enjoy the sexual nature of the young men.

Grand Sons

Story of grandmother helping grandson mourn the loss of his mother.

Kiss of Life

Helen lives in London with her father and her kids. John, her husband, is an aid-worker in Eastern Europe. He has been gone many months. Helen is desperately anxious that he should come home. Taking the kids to school one morning, she is killed in a car accident. She remains caught in limbo, trapped between life and death. Many miles away, in war-torn Eastern Europe, John is unaware that his wife has died. As Helen herself is unaware that she is dead. Thus begins, a four-day Odyssey: Grandpa and the kids must come to terms with Helen's death; John must travel across a war-torn land as he tries to reach home; and Helen must stand helplessly observing her own existence as it comes back to haunt her - until at last she is reconciled with John, and thus released.

Tiresia

Based on the legend of Tiresias, it tells of a transsexual who is kidnapped by a man and left to die in the woods. She is then saved by a family and receives the gift of telling the future.

The Red Siren

Nearly 13, Alice rebels, telling the Paris police that her mother is a murderer. Alice has no evidence; her mother, Eva, rich and powerful, avoids charges. Alice promptly runs away, determined to find her dad whom she claims lives in Portugal. The police believe he is dead and that Alice is in denial. Nonetheless, they dispatch Anita, an Italian police officer on loan to the French, to find Alice and bring her back. Meanwhile, Eva has launched her own paramilitary force to hunt for Alice, and Alice has found a protector in Hugo, an ex-soldier turned hit man and gang member. He promises to get her to her father. All roads lead to a small town on the Portuguese coast.

The Pornographer

A former porn director, who once elevated the genre with 1960s counter-culture ideals, returns to filmmaking after 20 years, clashing with his producer's hard-core vision. Estranged from his son over the family business, they begin reconnecting as the son embraces political activism, while the director seeks personal renewal.

Time Out

An unemployed man finds his life sinking more and more into trouble as he hides his situation from his family and friends.

New Dawn

On the spur of the moment, 30-year old Alain gives up his well-paid job as a tester of computer games, but is uncertain over what do next. He takes up the offer of a place on a course to learn how to operate a bulldozer, although this means spending time away from home. During his training, he is paired up with a child-like younger man, Manu, who is passionate about wanting to drive a bulldozer but has no aptitude for the job. While his marriage starts to fall apart, Alain finds himself becoming more dependent on his relationship with Manu.

The Hole

In the final days of the year 1999, almost everyone in Taiwan has died from a strange plague that ravished the island. As rain pours down relentlessly, a single man is stuck with an unfinished plumbing job and a hole in his floor. This results in a very odd relationship with the woman who lives below him.

Something Organic

After 5 years, a young Montreal's couple's marriage begins to collapse.

The Book of Life

New Year's Eve takes on new meaning when the Devil, Jesus Christ, and Christ's assistant Magdalena discuss and debate the End of the World.

The Sanguinaires

In December of 1999, François organizes a retreat to a small island for himself, some friends, and their children to avoid the craziness of Paris during the turn of the millennium. Things quickly become tense between François and the young man who is the island's caretaker. Boredom and bickering add to the growing foreboding. By the end, will millennial noise in Paris seem mild in comparison to violence in the pastoral retreat?

Majorettes in Space

Dimitri, a Soviet cosmonaut of Soyouz 27 likes majorettes. Catherine and Laurent like making love. Jean-Paul II loves airports. Vincent loves boys.

Sworn Oath

A commissioned short film about the AIDS crisis in France in the late 1990s.