Ian Simpson

Ian Simpson. Born in Balham, London in 1967. After studying media and film, Ian Simpson worked as an assistant to chief documentary editor Jane Val Baker at the BBC. In 1989, as part of the BBC British Art Week, Ian Simpson assisted the Scottish contemporary sculptor David Mac. In 1991, Ian Simpson made his first short film ‘Ingredients’, a visual poem exploring themes such as loss, violence, eroticism, birth and death in an ode to cinema.

Several short experimental Super 8 and 16mm projects followed, before independently directing and producing a documentary on the popular hip- hop group the Fugees. Another short, ‘Actress’, was shot in 1999 with the Parisian production Mic Mac, a wry and vicious comedy about an actress’ love affair with her co-star. 2000 brought Ian Simpson’s first feature film ‘Toothache’ aka ‘Rage De Dent’, a bitter satirical comedy following a group of bored middle class artists and their troubles in love during a weekend in Paris.

Starring Julie Depardieu, Ludivine Sagnier, and Marc Barbé, Toothache was produced by Arte France Cinema and Mic Mac productions. Ian Simpson’s second feature ‘Nadine’ was shot in September 2006. The film follows a teenage self-harmer who suffers regular abuse from the locals and her family. Nadine premiered at the Odyssee Cinema in Strasbourg, France in July 2007 as part of the British cycle of films with Ken Loach’s ‘The wind that shakes the barley’ and Stephan Frear’s ‘The Queen’.

It was also shown in competition at Ghent film festival and Cork film festival. ‘I am Kombi’ (2012), a documentary directed by Claudia Marschal for France Television, was co-written by Ian Simpson. His third feature ‘Man in Wood’ is currently in production.