The Chef

An independent film producer with an extensive background in the financial and production ends of the industry, Benoit Gryspeerdt just finished ICE PEOPLE, a feature length doc directed by Emmy-award winner Anne Aghion. Until recently, Gryspeerdt was Director of Finance and Administration at Ardèche Images in Lussas which, among other activities, runs the Etats Généraux du Film Documentaire, one of the leading documentary festivals in France.

He spent 2001-2005 at Dominant 7, a Paris-based production company responsible for a long slate of internationally distributed, award-winning films. Joining the company as production manager and moving up to line producer and member of the senior management team, he worked on over a dozen projects in collaboration with major production companies, broadcasters and funders, including ARTE, Canal + and Studio Canal, BBC, the Soros and Sundance documentary funds, and more.

While at Dominant 7, Benoit Gryspeerdt’s credits include the massive international co-production, “Steps for the Future,” an 8-hour package of programming about HIV/AIDS in southern Africa that crossed seven countries, and involved 14 international broadcasters and numerous organizations including UNICEF and NORAID; director Karim Aïnouz’s 2002 feature biopic about eponymous Brazilian cultural hero “Madame Sata” which premiered at Cannes and went on to win 21 international awards, with nominations for 14 more; and the critically acclaimed 2005 BBC film, “Don’t F*** with Me, I have 51 Brothers and Sisters.”

Prior to Dominant 7, Benoit Gryspeerdt was Financial Director for MK2, one of Europe’s leading film companies, where he oversaw reporting in areas including feature and television production and distribution, international sales, home entertainment and theatrical exhibition. He started his work at the company as internal auditor, working on the catalogue acquisition of important libraries including CIBY 2000 and François Truffaut’s former company, Les Films du Carosse. He began his career at the television- and film-acquisition arm of TF1, where he helped develop rights management software.

A native of Lille, France, Gryspeerdt is a 2005 graduate of the highly competitive producer-training program, Eurodoc, which he attended with ICE PEOPLE. He graduated from France’s Edhec Business School and holds an MSc in Business Administration from Aston University, Birmingham.