Josef Bentayou, 25, grew up in Verfeil, a small village between Tarn and Haute-Garonne, France. Passionate about theater, he spent part of his teenage years in a local classical theater troupe. After earning a high school diploma in performing arts in Toulouse, he moved to Vancouver to learn English and pursue boxing, his second great passion.
Back in France, he began studying psychology before switching to a business school, which took him to Cardiff for a year and then to Barcelona for another year. During his time in Wales, he biked across the country with a camera and a tent, capturing landscapes and encounters.
His passion for cinema emerged during an internship on Vincent Perez’s film Une affaire d’honneur. He then decided to return to school, enrolling at ESEC Paris to study directing, while also pursuing a double curriculum in theater at the Cours Simon in the evenings.
Now based in Toulouse, he has founded an audiovisual production company to develop his creative projects.