J. B. Braud

Jean-Baptiste Braud (born November 25, 1986) is a French film producer, director, and author. Braud's debut short film In the Still Night (2019) starring Eric Wareheim, tells the strange journey in Tokyo of a man after succumbing to a deceptive love affair. His 2021 short film The Sound of Water addresses the subject of voluntary disappearance (Jouhatsu, Japanese language: 蒸発) and the related personal experiences of the people involved, including the resulting sense of loss and grief among the relatives of the missing. Both were screened in numerous international film festivals, and were released on Canal+.
== Career ==
In 2012, Braud joined Canal+, where he worked as the producer and head of the group's digital channels.
In 2018, Braud wrote, directed, and co-produced the first season of Paris, Tokyo a documentary about artists and other personalities on culture who find their inspiration between Paris and Tokyo. That year, he setup his own production studio. One year later, he followed up with a second season of Paris, Tokyo. The series was broadcast on Tsutaya TV in Japan and on Pen Magazine's international platform.
In 2019, he made his debut in narrative work by directing In the Still Night, a film shot in Tokyo starring Eric Wareheim and Saki Asamiya—co-produced by Pen Films and his own production studio. Its protagonist, Matthew Hyla (Eric Wareheim), an American art curator lodges at the Hotel Gajoen Tokyo where he organizes an exhibition. Propelled by his recent breakup, he gets lost in the art masterpieces hanging on the walls of the hotel dating back to the Shōwa era. The film was released on Canal+ in France, and on Tsutaya TV in Japan.
Following an overall critical acclaim of his early work, Braud was hired by Apple Inc. in 2020 to direct Le Peintre, a short film shot entirely on iPhone 12 Pro, as part of the Young Cinema Program (French language: Le Jeune Cinéma) to empower young French directors. The short starred Franc Bruneau, Mathilde Warnier, and Amalia Vairelli. A year later, Apple recommissioned Braud to direct Whodunnit, a short film shot entirely on iPhone 13 meant to promote the new smartphone's cinematic camera mode with advanced focus-wracking capabilities.
In July 2021, Braud signed to Prettybird', a commercial film production company founded by Paul Hunter (director). Later in September 2021, Braud joined Henry a Paris-based production company.
Later the same year, Braud directed and released The Sound of Water a short Franco-Japanese film. The film's main conceptual idea is Chisato, a rural Japanese woman from Mount Kōya—portrayed by Saki Asamiya—whose life is altered upon her encounter with Paul (Maximilien Seweryn) and Teruo (Kentez Asaka). Inspired by Yasujirō Ozu, Braud used Ellipsis (narrative device)|ellipsis to omit certain scenes, thus permitting endless viewer interpretations. The use of such narrative devices is even more obvious in the ending of Le Peintre (2020), when the main character (the painter) portrayed by Franc Bruneau finishes his work yet the viewer doesn't get to see the Portrait, leaving room for various interpretations.
In June 2022, Braud won the Silver Screen Young Director Awards award in Cannes for his shot on iPhone short film, Whodunnit.
In December 2022, and as part of an anthology series by Coca-Cola, Braud's film, Tiny Christmas (Les Petits Mondes de Noël), co-produced with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's production company, Imagine Entertainment was released on Amazon Prime.
Braud is also the editorial director of the international edition of Pen Magazine, an influential Tokyo-based cultural media outlet.
== Filmography ==
Year	Title 	Credit 	Notes
2022	Tiny Christmas 	 	Short
2021	The Sound of Water 	 	Short
2021	Whodunnit 	Director	ShortShot entirely on an iPhone 13
2020	Le Peintre 	Director	ShortShot entirely on an iPhone 12 Pro
2019	In The Still Night 	 	Short
2019	Paris-Tokyo Season 2	 	Short Documentary Series
2018	Paris-Tokyo Season 1	 	Short Documentary Series
Category:1986 births
Category:People from Paris
Category:French film directors
Category:French film producers