Paris raised and Brooklyn based, Ani Simon-Kennedy is an award-winning film director. She is a natural at making her talent feel comfortable, with no subject off-limits. Her powerful work is full of charm and humanity, forged by an easy rapport with her subjects. She has trained an intimate lens on the most decorated Olympian of all time, a survivor of domestic violence, an Oscar winner and a lizard lassoer - all with sensitivity and respect.Paris raised and Brooklyn based, Ani Simon-Kennedy is an award-winning film director. She is a natural at making her talent feel comfortable, with no subject off-limits. Her powerful work is full of charm and humanity, forged by an easy rapport with her subjects. She has trained an intimate lens on the most decorated Olympian of all time, a survivor of domestic violence, an Oscar winner and a lizard lassoer - all with sensitivity and respect.
Under the banner of Bicephaly Pictures, she collaborates with cinematographer Cailin Yatsko on socially-conscious stories.
Ani Simon-Kennedy has written and directed two feature films. Her work has received grants and fellowships from Sundance, Tribeca Film, The Gotham (formerly IFP), Film Independent, AbelCine and Yaddo. In 2011, she partnered with cinematographer Cailin Yatsko to form Bicephaly Pictures, one of the few female-led production companies in New York City creating narrative films, music videos, documentary series, and commercials.
Her first feature film was Days of Gray, an Icelandic dystopian fantasy. Deemed “an assured debut” by the Hollywood Reporter, the film played at top festivals around the world with an original live score by Hjaltalin. It was nominated for the 2013 Edda Awards (Icelandic Film Awards) and the soundtrack won Album of the Year at the Icelandic Music Awards.
She then wrote, directed and produced The Short History of the Long Road, a road trip drama starring Sabrina Carpenter, Steven Ogg, Maggie Siff and Danny Trejo. It premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, receiving a Special Mention for Best Screenplay. Released by Filmrise, the film rose to #2 at the box office. A “breakout vehicle for its writer-director as well as its star” (Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus), the film’s screenplay now resides at the Academy’s library. It is currently available on all platforms.
As a commercial director, she has created award-winning campaigns for Lego, Colgate and Smirnoff amongst many others. She has helmed ground-breaking documentary series Glamour, The New Yorker and Vice. Her branded documentary A Touch of Sugar, confronting America's Type 2 diabetes crisis, was narrated by Viola Davis and screened at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
Most recently, she was selected to participate in Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative television director mentorship program. She is currently in development on several projects for film and television.
DIRECT CONTACT ani@bicephalypictures.com
GENERAL INQUIRIES bonjour@bicephalypictures.com