Alix - Portraits

Alix has been Production Director at L’Imagerie Films for two and a half years. A former production company founder with a passion for the mountains and outdoor sports, he coordinates shoots on a daily basis while always keeping an eye on the weather forecast in the Alps.

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1 - Do you have an early memory related to photography or filmmaking that made you want to turn it into a career ?

I was 15 and really into longboarding (downhill skateboarding). To film myself, I used to borrow my dad’s Canon 70D. I’d set it up on a bend, hit record, walk back up the hill and then ride down.
That’s how I shot my very first frames and made my first edit.

At the time, seeing a friend shoot photos and videos with his own camera was what really sparked my interest. I thought it was pretty cool to be able to capture what we were doing and keep those memories.

2 - How did you end up becoming a Production Director ?

Like pretty much everyone starting out, I began by doing everything myself : producing, writing, directing, shooting and editing.
I first started my own production company with a business partner, so I had a hand in everything. Over time, I realised that post-production just wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy editing, I didn’t have the patience to learn new techniques or spend hours watching tutorials.
What I really enjoy is organisation and project management.

After a skiing injury kept me from working for several months, I initially joined L’Imagerie as temporary cover… then became a full-time member of the team and eventually left my previous business behind for good.

3 - What does being a Production Director at L’Imagerie actually involve ?

It means being the client’s main point of contact and coordinating all the different people involved in a project, from our in-house teams to external partners.
We’re essentially at the top of the pyramid, making sure everyone is moving in the same direction and distributing the work: ensuring the director is working on the script, managing the technical crew during the shoot, or overseeing the teams in post-production.
We also handle all the logistics surrounding a shoot, including prop sourcing, casting and putting together the crew.
Our main responsibility is to make sure the project runs smoothly and that the client ends up with a film they’re happy with, while carefully respecting both the budget and the schedule. Ultimately, we’re responsible for the quality of the final deliverables.

4 - What do you enjoy most about your job ? And, on the other hand, what can still make you break out in a cold sweat during a production ?

What I enjoy most : Executive productions for foreign production companies. Organising a major shoot from A to Z, seeing everything go exactly according to plan on the day, and then handing the post-production back to them, that’s pretty much perfect.

What gives me cold sweats : The nightmare of forgetting something on set. My memory is very selective, so if I don’t write something down, it basically disappears from my brain.
Other than that, searching through endless shops for props and writing client presentations are probably my ultimate punishments.

5 - You do a lot of outdoor sports : paragliding, mountaineering, climbing… Where does that passion come from, and what do these activities give you ?

I grew up in Saint-Sigismond, the small village where I still live today, so the mountains have pretty much always been my whole life.
I like sports that come with a bit of a thrill ( freeride skiing, climbing, mountaineering, paragliding, downhill skateboarding ) where making a mistake can have serious consequences. You have no choice but to be 100% focused.
They also create incredibly strong bonds and memories that stay with you forever.

6 - So living a little further away from work is worth it ?

Before you keep reading, there’s something you should know about Alix: he is the ultimate “Would you rather?” enthusiast, an exercise he subjects the rest of the team to on a daily basis.

There’s one “Would you rather ?” that sums up my situation pretty well : “Would you rather live 15 minutes from work somewhere pretty average (like Annecy), or live in paradise but have to drive an hour to work every morning ?”
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For me, it was an easy choice : I’ll take the drive without hesitation!
My village is south-facing, I can see Mont Blanc from there, and I’m 10 minutes away from the ski slopes. I think there are two things I’ll never get tired of in life : skiing and the view from my home.

7 - Of all your outdoor adventures, which one has left the biggest impression on you ?

Climbing the Matterhorn in October 2025 with my friend Simon.
As someone who’s both French and Swiss, the Matterhorn was always the ultimate mountain for me. We had always imagined climbing it in June, during the main season, when we could follow the guides and never risk losing the route.
In the end, we did it completely out of season: the hut was closed, the lifts were shut, we had a 20 km approach on e-bikes, a camping stove in our packs, and a lot of snow on the face. We were completely alone on this legendary mountain.
Beyond the physical challenge, reaching that summit represented the culmination of our first years of training and cemented our friendship around an experience we’ll never forget.

We left the hut at 5 a.m., took five and a half hours to reach the summit, then seven and a half hours to descend back to the hut, followed by another hour of walking and 20 km on the bikes. We finally reached the car at 9 p.m… before driving another three hours home.
And I had a shoot in Geneva with L’Imagerie the next day…

8 - Finally, is there a project you still dream of achieving ? Or maybe a few words to wrap up our conversation ?

In the mountains, my long-term goal is still to pass the entrance exam to become a High Mountain Guide. And on my dream list are the Alps’ 82 peaks above 4,000 metres, which I hope to climb over the coming years.

To wrap things up, I’d say that the mountains give me the discipline and rigour I apply to production every day, while production gives me the balance I need to keep the mountains as my real space of freedom.
In the end, the two worlds complement each other pretty well !