Karim Zeriahen

He began his career working with Philippe Decouflé, assisting in the staging of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Albertville Olympic Games. He then collaborated as an assistant director on Le P’tit Bal before becoming choreography assistant on Le Bal Moderne. It was during this period that he directed his very first film, Triton sur le cargo, shot during the Cargo 92 tour.

He subsequently joined MTV Europe in London as a production assistant, and later became a videographer at the Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon National Choreographic Center, where he documented the center’s activities and directed three short films centered on the works of Mathilde Monnier, with whom he developed a long-term collaboration.

He also directed several films for France 3, including E pour eux, Loin des étoiles, as well as three episodes of the documentary series Le fin mot.

At the same time, he continued his work as a videographer in collaboration with Mathilde Monnier (Signé, Signés, Slide, 8 min, 12 min) and explored the world of circus alongside Jean-Baptiste André (Comme en plein jour, Grandeur Nature).

In 2009, he directed a documentary trilogy on iconic figures of the Factory — Paul Morrissey, Joe Dallesandro, Holly Woodlawn — for Ciné Cinéma. This was followed by a portrait of cinéma vérité master Albert Maysles, and a biography of fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy for Sundance Channel.

He then returned to dance, filming, among others, Benjamin Millepied, Herman Diephuis, David Wampach, the Ballet de Lorraine, and Alessandro Sciarroni. For the Troisième Scène of the Paris Opera, he directed two films: L’Après-midi d’un faune and Apollon Musagète.

His career also took him to London, where he collaborated with Steve Lazarides Gallery on several large-scale video installations (Diana vs Pussy, Survivor, The Arms of Unconsciousness) before presenting his first solo exhibition, It’s Taken Me All of My Life to Find You. There, he unveiled Give Me Light, a video installation created with the participation of Kate Moss.

In 2016, he participated in Nuit Blanche with We Are Catherine Deneuve, created with the actress’s involvement. The following year, he presented Folks with Alessandro Sciarroni: a monumental-format film projected on the façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Bolzano.

In 2019, he staged two live performances with the cabaret troupe Madame Arthur: Libres, created for the Hyères Festival of Fashion and Photography, and Madame Arthur agite Daho in Paris, featuring Sylvie Vartan and Nicole Garcia.

In parallel, he developed a career as a director for several fashion houses — Dior, Cerruti, Christie’s — while continuing his enduring collaboration with Mathilde Monnier.

In 2023, he directed Amore Eterno, a quadriptych inspired by Nicolas Poussin’s Four Seasons, performed by Marion Barbeau, Jean-Baptiste André, Marie-Agnès Gillot, and Shirwann Shifu Jeammes. That same year, his film The Love in Your Veins, featuring Alessandro Sciarroni and Kristin Scott Thomas, was presented in competition at the Saint-Moritz Art Film Festival.

On the occasion of the centenary of Villa Noailles, he directed La Grâce, le Mérite et la Liberté, a documentary on the figure of Marie-Laure de Noailles, narrated and embodied by Anna Mouglalis.

In 2024, he directed Dans tes yeux, an allegorical dance fable with Germain Louvet and Romain Brau, exploring the theme of resurrection.

In 2025, he revisited Romeo and Juliet in a fantastical version titled The Kiss, with Sara Shigenari and Aimilios Arapoglou, and is preparing a film for Arte in collaboration with Germain Louvet and Robyn Orlin.