Cantet was born on April 11, 1961 in Melle in western France. He studied photography in Marseille and in 1986 graduated from IDHEC, a prestigious Parisian film school. In the first years of his career, he made short documentaries.
His feature debut was “Human Resources” from 1999. It was about an idealistic young man who, after graduating, receives a managerial position in a factory. His father has been working there for decades. The hero tries to fulfill the employees' demands, which puts him at risk from his superiors. His actions unexpectedly lead to his dismissal.
His next films – “Departure” and “To the South” – were shown during the Venice festival. However, it brought him the greatest recognition “Class” from 2008. The film was an adaptation of the autobiographical book by François Bégaude, who described his experiences working at a public high school in Paris. Cantet cast “Class” with non-professional actors, and the main character was played by the author of the literary original.
The film debuted at the Cannes Festival, during which the jury was chaired Sean Penn awarded him the Palme d'Or. Later, other awards were added, including an Oscar nomination for a foreign language film and a Caesar for an adapted screenplay.
Critics called Cantet the French Ken Loach. In his films, he focused on the ills of French society – class inequality, multiculturalism, a failing education system.
Recently, Cantet has been working on a new film called “The Apprentice”. Its premiere was planned for next year.