This documentary celebrates the little heralded and often misunderstood role of a casting director in the filmmaking process. With the full participation of famed casting director Bonnie Timmermann and many of the successful actors and filmmakers who have worked with her throughout her illustrious career – as well as an impressive showcase of rarely-seen audition footage from Timmermann’s extensive archive – this film dissects the alchemy of how a master casting director marries the glimmer of personality detected in the audition space with the specific demands of a screenplay.

The film also underlines how Bonnie Timmermann’s dedication to authentic casting and elevating fresh faces revolutionized the entertainment industry in the 1980s and 1990s, in projects like NBC’s MIAMI VICE and Michael Mann’s THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Simon Wallon, born in Saint-Cloud/France on November 1, 1981, is a French writer, director and producer. He lives and works in Paris and Los Angeles where he established his production company Kiss & Kill in 2013. He directed several short films like FLYING AWAY starring Michel Piccoli (awarded at the Sapporo Film Festival) and LOCO, which addresses the rehabilitation after gang life in a community of Latinos in Los Angeles. In 2016, he directed TATI FAST, a documentary about legendary filmmaker Jacques Tati, for TV network Arte. He also produced Bret Easton Ellis’ directing debut, the horror film RELAPSE.

Filmography (selection): 2006 SOFIA’S BALOONS, 2009 FLYING AWAY, 2016 LOCO (all short films), 2022 BONNIE