Yohann Thiou

Directing

Yohann Thiou is a filmmaker based in Montreal. Their practice is rooted in Quebec’s independent film scene, where they develop an offbeat, sensitive, and deeply empathetic approach to storytelling. Drawing equally from genre cinema and the intimacy of mumblecore, their work moves between humour, strangeness, vulnerability, and the desire for connection. A child of the 1980s born a decade too late, Yohann is interested in characters on the margins, identities in motion, and the sometimes awkward ways people try to understand one another. Whether fictional or documentary, their stories foreground emotion, listening, and human complexity. Yohann graduated from the Institut des Métiers de l’Image et du Son in Avignon, where they completed professional training in audiovisual production. They are also pursuing a certificate in multiplatform journalism at the Université de Montréal and completed Média Ranch and Québecor’s Television Creation Incubator. This background brings together writing, documentary research, journalistic practice, and audiovisual creation. As a director, Yohann has made the short films Seasonal depression (2018), A Nightmare on Chocolate (2019), Contained (2020), and Static (2021). Their work has been selected and awarded at more than forty festivals around the world. Their career has also been recognized through the AMJ Thérèse-Pinho scholarship, presented by Pixcom and the Alliance Médias Jeunesse.