Born on the French Riviera, Michel Ocelot spent his childhood in Guinea, grew up in the Loire valley and then settled in Paris. He has dedicated his entire career to film animation. Since the beginning, all his works have been based on his own scripts and graphics.
In 1998, Michel Ocelot became known to the general public with the success of his first feature film
Kirikou and the Sorceress. He then released
Princes and Princesses, fairy tales in a shadow theatre, using cut out animation, and
Kirikou and the Wild Beasts, co-directed with Bénédicte Galup.
Azur & Asmar (2007), his 4th feature film, is another fairy tale, set on both sides of the Mediterranean. It was selected for the Cannes Film Festival for its Director’s Fortnight.In late 2008, he released a compilation DVD of his short films,
The Hidden Treasures of Michel Ocelot, his life and work before Kirikou…
In July 2011, and for the first time in 3D, Tales of the Night, another silhouette film, was released. It was the only French feature film to be selected for the main competition at the 61st edition of the prestigious Berlin Film Festival. In 2012, Michel Ocelot completed the shooting of new Kirikou adventures, Kirikou and the Men and Women."
Dilili in Paris", set in the Belle Epoque, won the 2019 Cesar award, France's highest film honor.