Simon Fildes is an international award-winning film-maker, artist and teacher who has worked in a range of organisations as a researcher, creative producer, project manager and lecturer.

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He has spent most of his working life as a freelance in the arts, music and media sectors, editing and producing for broadcast television, arts and corporate sectors while developing an internationally acknowledged personal practice in creative media arts and dance on screen.

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After completing a Biology degree, Simon spent time working in the music industry before going on to gain a media arts post-graduate diploma at DJCAD, Dundee University. More recently he gained an MSc degree with distinction in Sustainable Development through the University of the Highlands and Islands. This breadth of Science, Arts and Social Science education gives Simon a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective.

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Simon is a respected editor and director of documentaries, promos and short films; as well as an interactive installation artist. This has taken Simon from Rio de Janeiro to Addis Ababa, Hong Kong to Sydney; lecturing, leading workshops and chairing debates from Beijing to Buenos Aires, Den Haag to Salt Lake City. He has received a range of arts funding in Scotland and Internationally, and has exhibited at festivals, galleries and site specific locations around the world; undertaking a range of residency commissions including Scotland’s Year of the Artist programme in 2000. In 2006 he was short-listed for the prestigious £30,000 Creative Scotland Award.

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Simon’s work uses improvisational performative approaches to explore ideas; drawing inspiration from and defined by the rhythms of movement; tracing and manipulating hidden (incidental) and created (intentional) choreography. There is always a kinaesthetic response to what he does whether that involves needing to move to interact with works or having an internal reaction to them. Through this approach Simon’s aim is to transform the seemingly ordinary into a moment of beauty.

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Alongside editing, Simon’s wide ranging technical, creative and leadership skills have enabled him to work as a production manager and video director, workshop leader and business development manager, successfully creating and delivering media-based projects and events in a diverse range of contexts.

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Simon currently lives in Edinburgh with his American-born wife Wyn and a large dog called Tiny.