Born in 1969 in Lille, Benoît Chieux is a French director, screenwriter, and animator. Known for his work with the Folimage studio, where he directed both short and feature films, he studied at the Émile Cohl School in the Tomi Ungerer class from 1987 to 1990, earning a diploma in illustration. After graduating, he joined the Folimage studio in Valence for a long collaboration that ended in 2014. During this period, he distinguished himself as an art director, set designer, animator, and screenwriter. He created Ma petite planète chérie and co-directed L’Enfant au grelot and Patate et le jardin potager with Damien Louche-Pélissier. 

He later became the author of the series Mica, and worked as the graphic creator and art director for the film Mia and the Migoo before co-directing Tante Hilda! with Jacques-Rémy Girerd in 2013. After leaving Folimage, he directed his first short film, Tigres à la queue leu leu, produced by Les Films de l’Arlequin. Two more short films followed, under Sacrebleu Productions: Le Jardin de minuit, which was nominated for a César in 2018, and Cœur Fondant in 2019. Two years later, he co-directed the animated documentary Coralie et les escargots with Titouan Bordeau, before embarking on the feature film Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds, which won the Audience Award at the Annecy Festival in 2023. 

In his work, Benoît Chieux draws inspiration from animated films that marked his childhood, such as Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and The King and the Mockingbird. He also references René Laloux's works, Fantastic Planet and Time Masters. For L’Enfant au grelot, he drew from silent cinema, particularly the films of Jacques Tati, to make the best use of characters' bodies and movements. The influence of Miyazaki is evident in his subsequent projects, such as the visual style of Mia and the Migoo in 2008. 

With each of his creations, Benoît Chieux aims to change his artistic style. For his latest project, Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds, he revealed that the very first drawings date back to 2012 and were already fully completed. He cites Paul Driessen as a reference for his animation style, along with his childlike aesthetic paired with more serious themes. 

Benoît Chieux's works have been regularly recognized for their originality and significance. From "Ma petite planète chérie", he received numerous awards, including the UNICEF Prize and the Fondation de France Prize at the Annecy Festival. "L’Enfant au grelot" won the Cartoon d’Or in 1998 and the Audience Award at the Stuttgart Festival. "Patate et le jardin potager" was also honored with three Pulcinella Awards at the Italian Cartoons on the Bay festival. 

With "Le Jardin de minuit", Benoît Chieux reached the prestigious César Awards, with the short film being nominated in 2018. The following year, "Cœur fondant", created in stop motion, won awards in Portugal, Switzerland, and South Korea. After receiving the Audience Award at the Annecy Festival in 2023, he is now the patron of the 2024 Animation Film Festival, which will take place from October 11 to 31. This invitation, extended by the Institut Français to the French cultural network abroad, aims to promote the creativity and diversity of animated cinema through various events.