Valentin Simonelli

Already recognized in the independent cinema environment, Valentin Simonelli understands the needs of filmmakers with ease. It's in 2010 that he signed his first original soundtrack, at the age of 18. The film wins the Young Public Prize at FIFAV (Montpellier, France). He wrote the original soundtrack for more than 40 movies, short and feature films, documentaries and fiction.

With 10 years of experience, the symphonic and demanding feather of Valentin opened the door of recognition, with several nominations and awards. In 2014 he was nominated in competition with the very famous Alan Silvestri (Back to the Futur, Forrest Gump, Ready Player One...) for the original soundtrack of the documentary The Chookman. He received two awards for the best original score in 2016 for Observation, in France and in Los Angeles (USA), as well as a university trophy for his musical contribution to the web series Genome same year. He received also an award for the best music for D'Amour et d'Eau Fraîche in 2018.

Born close to Paris, Valentin began his approach to music by the piano, his fondest instrument. This was followed by an acute interest on other instruments, in particular such as organ, harpsichord and violin. After studying for a A-Level with Hons, and a DEUG of Law, his passion has definitely caught him up and redirected him towards music. His entrance into the Conservatory of Music (Perpignan, France) in 2012 marked a turning point in his approach to music. While assimilating rigor of classical composition, he is open to other music and sound horizons such as Acousmatic music under the teaching of Jonathan Prager and Denis Dufour. In 2013, he was a jury member of the 6th Polish Film Festival in Perpignan (France), dedicated to the famous director Andrzej Wajda, and chaired by the equally famous composer Joanna Bruzdowicz.

It's in 2014 that he was nominated at the International Sound and Film Music Festival (Samobor, Croatia), in competition with the very famous Alan Silvestri (Back to the Futur, Forrest Gump, Ready Player One...), for the original soundtrack of the documentary The Chookman. In 2015, he was selected to participate at the Masterclass of the International Film Festival of Aubagne (France), led by Marc Marder. He was able to live a unique and enriching experience with 11 other young composers, sometimes came from the other side of the world to participate in the adventure... Valentin has finished his forming musical travel at the Aix-Marseille University, SATIS department (Sciences, Arts and Techniques of Image and Sound), in an audiovisual environment where every exercise becomes a concrete project and trainer, granted him to a Master 2 degree in audiovisual post-production, music for screen specialty.

Since 2017 he works for independent cinema having joined the French Association for Independent Cinema (AFCI). He is the organizer of the International Independent Film Festival SMR13 for which he has been a member of the jury twice.

The experience gained and his passion leads him to create a still unique and relevant universe of sounds for each film or audiovisual project. Many directors trust him, for which he invests all his inspiration.