Valentin Petit, one of the top French directors working in music videos, has died, one of three victims of a small plane crash in Switzerland last Saturday (20th May). 

According to local police, the plane went down around 10:20 a.m. in “a forest area, in an area that is difficult to access ”. Petit would have celebrated his 33rd birthday on Monday, and the small aircraft flight was a birthday gift from a relative. The pilot, in his seventies, and another passenger in his thirties also died.

Petit was the director of acclaimed and award-winning videos for Rosalia and A$AP Ferg, French hiphop artists Ziak, Nekfeu and Roméo Elvis and others, as well as brands including Adidas, Nike and Balmain, and he also recently directed a promotional film for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Division, his production company home in France, issued this statement yesterday: "It is with deep sadness that we share the loss of Valentin Petit. Valentin was a visionary director, a passionate entrepreneur and dedicated car collector. He was an indomitable optimist with a fierce competitive spirit and lived like a true maverick, at full throttle.

"We will greatly miss his infectious energy and mischievous jokes. Our thoughts are with his teams at Monumental and Ocurens as well as his family." 

PRETTYBIRD also released their tribute to Petit yesterday, stating: "PRETTYBIRD joins the Division family in mourning the loss of a truly exceptional director and human, Valentin Petit. He was a light in this world that will continue to inspire us, and we will all miss dearly. Let us honour his memory and carry on his remarkable legacy by embracing each day with more curiosity, more bravery, more creativity and more passion."

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