Jaco Van Dormael
Belgian film and stage director, born in 1957 in Ixelles (Belgium).
After studying film at the École Louis-Lumière (Paris) and the INSAS (Brussels), Jaco Van Dormael directed a dozen short films, all presenting shows for children. He later directed four feature films that explore the power of the imagination and the childhood years of his characters, in non-linear story structures: Toto the Hero (1991) , which won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes and the César for Best Foreign Film; The Eighth Day with Pascal Duquenne and Daniel Auteuil, who both received ex æquo the Best Actor Award at Cannes in 1996; and Mr. Nobody (2009). His most recent film, The Brand New Testament (2015), starring Benoît Poelvoorde in the role of God, won numerous accolades, including a nomination at the Golden Globes. Jaco Van Dormael also reinvents the codes of theatre (in collaboration with choreographer Michèle Anne de Mey, Kiss & Cry, Cold Blood and Amor); opera (Stradella by César Franck, Don Giovanni, La Sonnambula); and comics (Le Dernier Pharaon).
Toto the Hero (1991) – The Eighth Day (1996) – Mr. Nobody (2009) – The Brand New Testament (2015)