His early years were spent traveling to lands that were in culturally different from his native Switzerland; first for an extended stay in Greece and then to live in Iran where his father established the Fine Arts Program in Tehran.

To accomplish this he founded the production company Alhena Films SA in Los Angeles to co-write and direct the family drama Sandra: c’est la vie (1992).

[4] In the 1990s and 2000s Othenin-Girard worked in Germany, the US, and Italy, directing films on topics as diverse as organ transplant and action thrillers.

[5] After 35 years mostly outside his native land he returned to Switzerland in 2010 to direct, co-create and co-write a 4-hour historical docudrama, Les Suisses, chronicling the history of the Swiss Federation from the 14th to the 19th century.

Othenin-Girard is now based in China where he is collaborating with local production companies[8] and is involved in writing and directing his next feature films.