The famous Belgian screenwriter and director Jaco van Dormel is the author of the most beautiful, unusual and, indeed, unique films. His work does not just pull tightly to the screen, but makes the viewer think about global issues, which can sometimes turn the world view.
On the way to cinema
Jaco van Dormel was far from a young age to the position of creator of spectacular films. In his teens, he worked in a circus, playing the role of a clown at children's parties. For Jacquot, this was a turning point: he realized that he should give joy to people, he realized that he himself becomes happy from the smile of his neighbor. Therefore, he enters the Brussels National Higher School of Performing Arts at the Department of Film Production. Like all successful students of theatrical universities, there he began to shoot his first short films with philosophical and comedic content. After graduating from his homeland, Jaco van Dormel goes to Paris and enters Louis Lumiere's high school there. After the second diploma is issued, the newly-minted director proceeds to create his own full-length films, but does not stamp them one by one. Each script, each production, on which van Dormel works, is a work of art that has been created over the years.
First job
In 1991, the first 34-year-old and talented director, whose name is not yet known to the world, released his first film. Jaco van Dormel called him “Toto the Hero,” and described the tragic and very confusing story of two young people there. According to the plot, two boys are saved from the burning maternity hospital - Thomas and Alfred. Having matured, only one of them becomes successful. Thomas, surrounded by problems and tribulations, begins to think that the cause of his misfortune is a substitution. He believes that Alfred simply stole fate from him. The premiere of this picture gave the creator world fame. The film won the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Cesar Award.
A masterpiece that everyone has forgotten about
Three years after the sensational premiere, Jaco van Dormel presents his new work, Eighth Day, in the same Cannes. The plot, as last time, is built around two men whose fates are opposites of each other. One of them is a businessman who at first glance is successful and prosperous. The second one suffers from Down syndrome, but at the same time retains positive and faith in the good in its heart. In Day Eight, Van Dormel leaves the viewer alone with the question: “Which of them is truly happy, and which is truly unhappy?” This picture was presented in the nomination "Best Actor", and Daniel Otoy and Pascal Duchenne shared the laurels among themselves.
13 years later
After a successful 1996, the world slowly began to forget about the ingenious Belgian director. Five years later, Jaco set to work. A brilliant and very complex scenario ripened in his head, which included not only the fate of people, but also such a global issue as time, its essence and significance in the life of the universe. The work on the new script lasted 8 years, the creator was in search of ideal actors, surroundings and locations. And in 2009, the premiere of “Mr. Nobody” appeared on the big screens. Jaco van Dormel first worked with American actors, first shot a film in English, for the first time his work budget was 37 million euros, which by Belgian standards is a fabulous figure. "Mr. Nobody" received the Golden Ozella and Biography awards in Cannes; in Venice, he was the leader in the Golden Lion nomination. This picture was recognized by European critics as the best biographical production with a philosophical focus.
How would Jacques van Dormel write to the Bible?
The filmography of this great Belgian director, screenwriter and producer is not too extensive. Jacques rarely takes off his masterpieces, but aptly, and in 2015 he again, namely for the fourth time, proved this to us. The comedy entitled "The New Testament" was released on the screens, in which it is "not only about religion." Van Dormel showed us God, but not in the form of a gray-haired old man on a cloud, but in the guise of a grouchy uncle who lives in Brussels and constantly wears a terrible greasy dressing gown. Moreover, the “Kingdom of God” is not a paradise in which only men rule. This is an ordinary apartment where a family lives, headed by the Creator Father, tucked in by his wife and two children - a son and daughter. The director admits that in this way he did not want to ridicule or offend the feelings of believers. He simply showed that authoritarianism and patriarchy are the ridiculous foundations by which society lives.
Interesting facts about van Dormel
- Jacquot's life almost ended in the first minutes of its existence. He received a terrible birth injury, after which he barely survived. That is why he accepts his being as a special gift and believes that he is not even worthy of it.
- Van Dormel loves the city of Brussels. He lives there almost all his life and enjoys his gray rainy beauty. Often enough, the director takes to the streets of the capital of Belgium to just take a picture of them.