Jaco Van Dormael

Jaco Van Dormael
Jaco Van Dormael in November 2011
Born	Jaco Van Dormael (1957-02-09) 9 February 1957 (age 60) Ixelles, Belgium
Occupation	Director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, cinematographer
Years active	1980–present
Spouse(s)	Michèle Anne De Mey
Relatives	Pierre Van Dormael (brother)

Jaco Van Dormael (born 9 February 1957) is a Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities.

Van Dormael spent his childhood travelling around Europe, before going on to study filmmaking at the INSAS in Brussels, where he wrote and directed his first short film, Maedeli la brèche (1981), which received the Honorary Foreign Film Award at the Student Academy Awards. Van Dormael's feature debut, Toto le héros (1991), was an immediate hit and won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Five years later Van Dormael was among the prizes again at Cannes with Le huitième jour (1996), when his two leading actors, Daniel Auteuil and Pascal Duquenne, were jointly awarded the prize for Best Actor. His third feature film, Mr. Nobody (2009), received further critical acclaim and many accolades, winning six Magritte Awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

Jaco Van Dormael was born in Ixelles. Belgium, on 9 February 1957 to a Belgian couple. Van Dormael was raised in Germany until age seven, when his family returned to Belgium. At his birth, he had nearly been strangled by the umbilical cord and received an insufficient supply of oxygen. It was feared that he may end up mentally impaired. This trauma accounts for the recurring themes in his films, which explore the worlds of people with mental and physical disabilities.