Jaco Van Dormael
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jaco Van Dormael (born 1957, Ixelles, Brussels) is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Jaco Van Dormael's birth was traumatic, as his umbilical cord wound about his neck, nearly choking him. For a while, it was feared that this birth trauma would leave him mentally retarded. He spent much of his childhood in Germany but eventually returned to Belgium.
He delighted in working with children and for a while pursued a career as a circus clown. In the 1980s, he became interested in filmmaking and produced a number of short films that aroused considerable critical interest.
Van Dormael made his feature-length debut in 1991 with Toto le Héros (Toto the hero), an endearing tale about a man who believes his life was "stolen" from him, told in a complex mosaic of flashbacks and dream sequences, sometimes with almost a stream of consciousness effect. Toto le Héros gained wide critical acclaim, winning both the César Award for best foreign film and the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Van Dormael something of an overnight celebrity.
Jaco Van Dormael's subsequent output as a screenwriter and as a director has been modest by film industry standards, averaging about two films per decade. This is thought to reflect both his meticulous, almost perfectionist mode of operation and the difficulty in obtaining funding for the kinds of ambitious, challenging projects he seems to favor.
His brother Pierre Van Dormael is a jazz guitarist.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Early shorts
- Maedli la Brèche (1980)
- Stade 81 (1981)
- L'Imitateur (1982)
- Sortie de Secours (1983)
- È Pericoloso Sporgersi (1984)
- De Boot (1985)
[edit] Feature films
- Toto le Héros (1991; Toto the Hero)
- Sur la Terre comme au Ciel (1992; In Heaven as on Earth; screenwriter only; directed by Marion Hänsel)
- Le Huitième Jour (1996; The Eighth Day)
