He was born in Paris suburbs. he studied History of art at the Louvre School and at the Paris I university. Between 1989 and 1992, he was an assistant to the curator of contemporary art at George Pompidou center. He then assisted Suzanne Lafont, photographer and fine arts artist. In 1994, he directed his first short film. He had a training period in direction with Claire Denis making Nénette et Boni. His medium length film, Les Corps ouverts, was shown in many international or national festivals; it won the Jean Vigo Prize in 1998.