Like all children, Hélène Friren drew a lot when she was young. The only difference is that she did not stop. At one time in her life she aspired to making cartoons but, things being as they are, she studied graphic art and illustration. She soon realised once the course was finished that "drawing logos all day long isn't interesting". She left France and moved to London set on extending her knowledge. She joined an art school where, "there wasn't much to do." Behind a door she discovered an animation studio. Not the kind of person who sits around and does nothing, Hélène used the cameras, familiarised herself with the software and, quite by accident, learnt about animation. Realising that practice is more important than theory, she decided to make a film. The more the film progressed, the more she realised that her future occupation was just around the corner. "This is what I want to do!” she said to herself. And that's what she did. Enthused by her discovery, she opened the telephone directory and phoned all of the studios. Only Andrew Painter, whose studio is well-known in the industry for having worked on the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, called her back. "He really helped me out," recalls Hélène. "I didn't have any training in animation but he didn’t think twice about giving me a chance." Hélène's drawing skills, enthusiasm and desire to learn were enough. She spent a few months at the studio and then returned to France to take a course at the école de la Poudrière. "I will never work as an animator at Walt Disney!” she says laughing. "I would rather have my own style, tone and graphic world.” In a few words Hélène Friren's style could be summed up as: tongue-in-cheek graphics, an original environment, poetic scenery, refined dialogue, rhythmic staging, a sense of humour, a satirical edge...
Nowadays in London, she spends a lot of time on advertising and regrets not having enough time to dedicate to her own projects. Furthermore, the making of short films does not receive any funding in the UK. It is therefore difficult for producers to develop. Hélène plans to return to France; her scenario is ready, Au poil: a passionate and destructive relationship between a young man and his hamster.