Lionel’s visual style has a magical quality, so it’s unsurprising that as a child he thought films were organic entities that just existed on their own. He believed there was no need to imagine them, write them, or make them. He thought it was enough to turn on the television or to go to the movies to make them appear spontaneously. This singular and naive vision made this “world” very intriguing but as he got older, Lionel started to see things different while never forgetting his first memories, the taste of adventure his imagination had built piece by piece. For this reason, Lionel threw himself into filmmaking like an explorer, eager and curious. Even today, each time he faces a new project, Lionel feels the same childish enthusiasm.

Until 1995, Lionel worked both as a unit production manager and as the founder/director of a theatre collective rooted in a closed factory in the Parisian suburbs. This experience in production taught him the nuts and bolts of a production, the importance of details, the strength of rigor. This experience in theater opened up the doors to a universe where his fantasies could be expressed endlessly. In 1996, Lionel directed his first short film, which was picked by Charles Gassot from The Telema society. Acclaimed by critics, this film led to the world of advertising where since then, Lionel has directed campaigns for a wide array of clients including Chevignon, Citroën, Peugeot, Axa, Dodge, Kronenbourg, Nestlé, Mercedes, Audi, Airness, etc.

Lionel remains based in Paris where he continues to write and direct short films that have been aired on Canal +, Ciné + and on channels across Europe.