education : Crawfordton House school, Dumfrieshire, Scotland : Seven Hills School, Cincinnati, Ohio
film school : WSCAD, Surrey, England
favourite film : Lawrence of Arabia
number of short films made : 51
number of feature films 4
first film industry job : stuffing envelopes at The Raindance Film Festival
…and here are some of Simon's latest photo's ... out and about.
Simon Hunter started his career at the legendary London production house, Infinity Productions. Shortly after arriving there he completed his first commercial which was a clever take on Sony Playstation’s ‘DOUBLE LIFE’ for The Lothian Health Board. Entitled ‘POWER OF EXPERIENCE’ it was conceived by The Union Advertising Agency in Edinburgh.
Simon started making films in his native Scotland at the age of eight, casting his dog and school friends in the title roles. Many years later …at the Cannes advertising festival in 2001 Simon’s debut feature film LIGHTHOUSE attracted the eye of Bob Isherwood, the creative director of Saatchi and Saatchi. Isherwood selected Hunter for the New Directors Showcase. This prestigious honour is awarded to the twenty-five most promising directors in the world. Isherwood greatly admired LIGHTHOUSE, saying, “Just a few films demonstrate so clearly how tension gets attention. The tension is dynamic.”
While directing commercials, Simon started to specialise in visually arresting and emotive storytelling. Simon was then approached by American producer of “THE CROW and JUDGE DREAD” Edward R. Pressman to direct the stunningly visual steampunk sci-fi movie “MUTANT CHRONICLES” which starred John Malkovich, Thomas Jane, and Ron Perlman. The production process involved over 2000 visual effects shots, a British record, and took nearly two years to complete.
In 2016, Simon completed his third feature film, his passion project, EDIE, which tells the tale of an old lady who heads to Scotland to climb a mountain. The movie starred BAFTA winning actress Sheila Hancock. EDIE premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2017. It subsequently played (and won many audience awards) at film festivals around the world, including Santa Barbara, Dublin, Victoria and HOF. The film earned a wide cinematic release in the UK, and that was followed with huge cinema releases around the world, including in the United States and across Europe. EDIE was one of the UK’s most successful independent films of 2019.
In April 2022, Simon completed principal photography on his fourth feature film, the lavish World War One ghostly love story, CAN YOU HEAR ME? The movie stars TWILIGHT star Peter Facinelli and legendary actors, Sir John Standing and GAME OF THRONES star James Cosmo.
Simon’s next movie is the character led pictorial drama LET’S BE AWAY, which will shoot in Scotland in late 2025. Simon is currently show-running and directing the pilot episode of a new tv crime drama, COLD MIND which shoots in Spring 2024.
Simon has recently shot commercials for the prestigious Raindance International Film Festival, Dyson and British Airways. He specialises in landscapes, travel, wilderness, people, and their place in nature. He brings a realistic, believable, and emotionally driven performance to complement his sweeping and cinematic visuals. Away from the camera, Simon loves traveling lightly, ideally with just a rucksack and a tent. In 2017, Simon spent four months trekking across the whole length of New Zealand on the Te Araroa Trail. Simon has two young children, Samuel and Isabel.
Simon is represented at the United Talent Agency in Los Angeles for feature films and television.