Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Simon graduated as
a Documentary Film Director from The National Film School of Denmark in 2009. His first feature documentary film The Distant Barking of Dogs (2017) premiered at IDFA (2017) and was awarded Best First Appearance. It has since then won 35+ awards worldwide, among these it won the McBaine Documentary Feature Award at San Francisco’s SFFILM Festival, was nominated for a European Film Award (EFA 2018), an Emmy (2020), and shortlisted for an Oscar (2019). The film also won a Peabody Award (2020).
As a director, his films also include Dormitory Master (2009), Above Ground, Beneath the Sky (2008), Chikara - The Sumo Wrestler’s Son (2013) and The Fencing Champion (2014).