We recently connected with Sacha Picard and have shared our conversation below.

Sacha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

In a way, I always knew I wanted to do something creative. I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment that was very conducive to my creative development. From a very early age, my parents made me read a lot, I was able to visit countless museums, and a little later discovered a lot of very good films thanks to them. Both my parents work in the film industry – my father is a director and my mother is an actress – which also gave me an early exposure to film sets. They would take me along with them on movie sets, and I would discover the fascinating behind-the-scenes aspects of film-making.

I’ve always been fascinated by the creative process in general, although I didn’t go into film at first. As I love drawing, I initially studied art and animation, before gradually moving on to film. I ended up studying cinema for five years at the Paris Sorbonne University.
During these years, I practiced a lot on my own, and started doing small projects: a mini-series, and a number of music videos.
By practicing very regularly, I realized that there was nothing I liked more in the world, so I decided to give it my all.

I knew how tough the film business is and how few are chosen, but thanks to the supportive environment around me, I never hesitated to throw myself fully into this artistic career.

Sacha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a director and producer based in Paris.
During my years of studying cinema, I practiced a lot and fell in love with film-making. Not too long after graduating, I created my own production company, Lucky Space Studios, with my girlfriend and editor of all my projects. I direct all types of projects, from music videos to films and commercials.

I’d say what sets me apart from the rest is my work ethic and determination. I never give up, and I believe in everything I do, whether it’s a small music video project or a big film project, I always do everything I can to push the project to the next level and create something really special. I’ve already had to deal with a lot of obstacles in my short career, but I’ve come to realize that only sheer determination can make a difference.

I recently directed my first professional short film, “Angelman”, with the support of the Centre National du Cinéma (National Cinema Center) in France, which was already a great achievement for me, and the film was a real success with selections and awards at festivals all over the world. We just won Best Science Fiction Film at the San Diego Comic Con, which was completely unreal. The film will be available for everyone to watch on Youtube in October. Now I’m back in France, I’ve got a lot of music videos lined up that I’m directing, and I’m trying to put together my next short film, Monster Island.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think the perfect example is the huge hassle it was to set up my short film “Angelman”…

The film’s story is originally taken from a book I loved as a child. Obtaining the adaptation rights proved to be an extremely long and frustrating process, especially on my own without a big production backing me up, but I got them eventually.

At first, I did everything by myself, learning one step at a time. I put together a production file to try and obtain national funding. Even though I had extremely little chances of obtaining money for my film on my own, I managed to get the sum requested to make my film, given by the national cinema center in France.

Even after all of that, people were telling me that my story was too ambitious, that I couldn’t possibly make the film I wanted with this budget, that I had to cut scenes from the script… I had to stay focused, stick to my vision, and I’m glad I did.

This whole adventure took two and a half years of my life but I have absolutely no regrets. I learned a lot, and without my determination the film would not have existed. Its success in festivals is the unexpected icing on the cake, and it shows that resilience is absolutely 100% necessary in this line of work.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have a constant urge to create and so I don’t really need a particular mission to keep me going, but the ultimate goal is to make movies for the big screen.

I’d love to be able to make big budget films one day, either in my country or in the US, depending on what the future will bring. I keep working and we’ll see what will happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://luckyspacestudios.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacha_smiles/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachapicard/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SachaSmiles

Image Credits

All photos by Claire Helleringer
Still images from “Angelman”
Comic Con picture by Rachael Barry