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Pascal Montjovent Pascal Montjovent
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Cinematographer · Film Lighting Instructor · Film & VR Director
Le Lavandou, France • Nationalités : Suisse / Française
📞 +33 7 49 57 51 23 • +41 76 366 77 27 • 📧 [email protected] 📸 Instagram : @montjo • 💼 LinkedIn : /montjo • 🌐 Blog Éclairage
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Professional Profile

Award-winning cinematographer, director, author and educator with over 30 years of experience in cinema, immersive media, digital arts and pedagogical innovation.

Currently Director of Pedagogical Engineering and Innovation (AI & Creative Industries) at Geneva School of Digital Arts (GSDA), where I design and lead Bachelor and Master programs in digital arts.

My academic approach articulates critical thinking, technological monitoring, connection to creative industries and attention to student experience.

Winner of the 🏆 Kodak Award for Best Cinematography (Locarno 2005), I am also a children's author (80,000 copies sold).

Member of:

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Teaching Experience & Pedagogy

Curriculum Designer & Pedagogic Innovation
Geneva School of Digital Arts (GSDA) — Geneva, Switzerland
Since 2023

Creation and direction of Bachelor and Master programs in digital arts. Programs validated by Middlesex University (UK).

Film Lighting Instructor
ARFIS — Lyon, France
2012–2023

Composition & lighting courses for first-year students (100+ students/year). 10 thematic workshops for second-year students: Faces, Packshots, Black & White, Mobile lighting, Shooting for style or realism, On-location vs. studio lighting.

Intensive Workshops
ONY House & Maison du cinéma malgache — Antananarivo, Madagascar
February 2024

Intensive workshops on lighting and framing for students and local professionals.

Guest Lecturer & Workshop Leader
University of Geneva, Airstar Lighting Balloons, Various Production Companies
Since 2005

Week-long lighting workshops on demand for over 15 years.

Cinema Lighting Blog
Since 2003

Writing about the specificities of cinema lighting.

03

Creative AI Skills

Complete workflow mastery from ideation to post-production

Ideation & Pre-production

Using AI as brainstorming partner for concept generation, synopsis development, and moodboard creation. Creating concept art, characters, and storyboards with tools like Midjourney for rapid visual prototyping.

Video Generation (T2V & P2V)

AI direction for motion creation, text-to-video transformation and existing image animation (picture-to-video) to generate coherent and artistically controlled shots.

Post-production & Finishing

Integration of AI-generated shots and exploitation of DaVinci Resolve AI tools (Magic mask, voice isolation, sky replacement, motion tracking) to accelerate complex tasks and focus on creativity.

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VR/AR Artistic Direction & Production

The Fantastic Voyages of Teo and Leonie
2019–2027 (ongoing)

VR experience & real-time animated series, Fauvea Studios

🏆 Finalist "Best Film" VR Summit 2016, Hollywood

Koliseum Soccer VR
2018

Fascinating reinterpretation of table football

🏆 Finalist VR Awards 2018 with ILM XLabs & Framestore

EnigmAttic Part 1
2017

Multi-player collaborative free-roaming experience

VR Forum 2017 selection

Holiday Breaks
2017

7 thematic VR games, Kynoa Studios

The Golden Skull VR
2017

Two-part VR game, Kenzan Studios

The Lost Pit VR
2017

E-sports FPS multiplayer game

🏆 VR Forum 2017, SVVR San Jose 2017 selection

K2 VR
2016

360° documentary on K2 ascent, Kenzan Studios

The Pharaoh Tomb Virtual Walkthrough
2014

Immersive experience, Kenzan VR & Artanim 𓂀

🏆 Finalist "Best Immersive Experience" SIGGRAPH 2014

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Director (Cinema & Advertising)

The Fantastic Voyages of Teo and Leonie
2015–2027 (ongoing)

Feature film + 3D animated series, showrunner and artistic direction

OMEGA
2014

12 spots for new international displays

Nespresso Campaigns
2006–2014

Multiple spots for Pixit SA including Fortissio and Bukeela

Movenpick Ice Cream
2012

Commercial spot, Pixit SA

CFF - 150 Years
2008

Swiss Federal Railways anniversary film, Pixit SA

Amour Gitan
2003

34 min, Gypsy Prod, Official selection CTE 2003

Le Pilou
2000

For "Faut pas rêver", France Télévision

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Director of Photography

Member of Digital Cinema Society (DCS) and Union of Cinematographers (France)

280+ films, including 30% on film

Feature Films

Les oubliés de Dieu
2025

Director: Hicham Ayne Alhayat

1818
2019

Fiction sequences, Director: Christian Berrut, Filmic & Sons

Les mécréants
2010

Director: Mohcine Besri, Fusions Films, Switzerland/Morocco

Major festivals 2012, theatrical release 2013

Châtiment
2008

Director: Hicham Alhayat, Alpha Productions Morocco

Theatrical release December 2010

L'écart (Toi ou personne)
2005

Director: Franz-Joseph Holzer, Sep & San

Love Express
2004

35mm feature, Director: Elena Hazanov, Navarro Films

Short Films & Selected Works

La Limace
2005

Directors: Anthony Vouardoux & Tania Zambrano-Ovalle

VIPER FilmStream CinemaScope

🏆 Kodak Award for Best Cinematography, Locarno 2005

Heaven
2008

Director: Mohcine Besri, MD Prod & Ivona Prod

🏆 Best Short Film Award, Festival international tous écrans 2008

Chasse à l'âne
2011

Shot in Japan, Director: Maria Nicollier

Official competition Locarno 2011

Music Videos & Commercials

Documentary Work

07

Other Professional Experience

Director of Best Hope Award
Locarno Film Festival
2005–2016
Founder & Partner
Yeehaa Productions
2002–2010

Film production company. Partner: Carine Besomi

Founder & Manager
Vulcan Arts Development SA
1997–2002

Web design & graphic design studio

Clients: Lenz & Staehelin, Geneva Bar Association, Firmenich, Lombard Odier & Cie, Strain Technology, Médecins sans frontières, Tribune de Genève, Geneva Private Bankers Association.

Head of Photo Department
Tribune de Genève
1993–1997

Photos, infographics, illustrations: commissioning, selection and layout.

Photo Library Manager
Len Sirman Photos
1988–1992

Photo library management, IT systems, new products development.

07
08

Writing

Editorial lead & author
Union des Chefs Opérateurs (UCO) — France
2020–ongoing

Editorial coordination and writing of professional articles on image and lighting practice.

Children Books Author
Les voyages fantastiques de Téo & Léonie
2016–ongoing

Co-author of the children's book series (80,000+ copies sold).

Ménuka et les Esprits de la Nuit et autres ethno-contes
Fondation Culturelle Musée Barbier-Mueller (Geneva)
2022–ongoing

Ethno-Contes (written or co-written):

  • Ménuka et les Esprits de la Nuit
  • Sona Lamu et le Poisson d'or
  • Bada et la Déesse dragon
  • Gazourou et l'Esprit de la forêt
  • Oket et l'oiseau géant
Cinema Lighting Blog
2003–ongoing

Essays, case studies and tutorials on cinema lighting and framing.

Film Critic & Technology Journalist
Various Publications
1993–2002

Hundreds of articles, film reviews and interviews for Tribune de Genève, L'Hebdo, Le Journal de Genève, La Suisse, Profil Femme, Scènes Magazine, Rectangle, Coopération.

Weekly Internet column in Tribune de Genève, regular contributions to Webdo, PME Magazine.

Interviews: Woody Allen, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Ettore Scola, Philip Kaufman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Day-Lewis, Arthur Penn.

09

Skills

Languages
  • French — Native
  • English — Fluent
  • German / Italian — Reading and comprehension
  • Swiss German — Comprehension
Software & Tools
  • Production & Color Grading: Shot Designer, DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop, GIMP, ...
  • AI Creation & Visual Generation: Midjourney, GPT, RunwayML, Luma, Veo, ...
  • Collaboration & Prototyping: Notion, Google Suite, ...