Olivier Ducastel

Fascinated by the 7th Art, Olivier Ducastel spent his teenage years in Rouen and, after studying cinema and theater at university, he enters the IDHEC. In 1987, he shoots Le Goût de plaire, a short film that already reveals his love for the musical comedy. In 1988, he works as an assistant on his master Jacques Demy's last film, Three Seats for the 26th.

In 1995, Olivier Ducastel meets Jacques Martineau, a cinephile with a literary and musical background. Both embarks on writing and directing their first film, Jeanne and the Perfect Boy, which premiered in Berlin in 1998. Inspired by Demy's films, this musical tells the love story of a young girl, played by Virginie Ledoyen, and a boy with AIDS, played by Mathieu Demy.

Ducastel and Martineau release their second opus, The Adventures of Felix (2000), a road movie starring Sami Bouajila. Another initiatory tale, The True Story of My Life in Rouen (2002), portrays a teenager who discovers his own desires by filming those around him with a DV camera. In 2005, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and Gilbert Melki star in their fourth film, Cockles and Muscles, a non-conformist vaudeville that also reflects the filmmakers' taste for music and dance. Their collaboration continues with Born in 68 (2008), Family Tree (Jean Vigo Prize 2009), It's Only the End of the World by Jean-Luc Lagarce for the Comédie Française (2020), Paris 05:59 (Audience Award at the Teddy Awards, Berlinale 2016) and Don't Look Down (2019).

Olivier Ducastel was also director of La Fémis’ Directing department from 2013 to 2020.