« Cinema is life, and life is joy. » JLVB

Generous, inventive, mad, passionate, but above all human; people who have worked with crazy Jean Louis are all praise for him. His career is as untypical as can be, and his altruistic temperament is only matched by his rebellious character. 

As a young orphan, he was very fond of nature and the countryside, where he first slipped on shepherd boots and then worked as a farm hand, cleansing his soul and pondering on human nature. But he was soon drawn to Paris, where he took on a haphazard series of jobs: train employee, electrician, photographer, Gracious Organizer at Club Med,... and stage actor. With his unusual personality and rebellious mind, he grew fond of the 60’s Paris nightlife crowd and soon took integral part in it; artists, transvestites and other fringe characters became everyday companions, as well as his main source of inspiration.

Van Belle began his career in cinema with a small role in Roger Leenhard’s 1961 film Midnight Meeting. Being more interested in direction, he trained himself and gained precious experience from scopitones and institutional films. A few years later he was hired as an assistant for Edouard Logereau’s mondo movie Secret Paris (1965). He brought some of his Parisian underground connections into play, and again in 1968 for Claws of the Cat (also by Logereau). During the same period, he made several short films, defied security forces in the May 1968 protests, and in the following year directed his first feature-length film: Forbidden Paris.

Erotic thrillers, comedies, horror films: Van Belle has tried his hand at many genres, without ever a proper budget. He shoots in a family-like, team-spirited atmosphere: technicians are often used for small parts, and scenes are frequently shot in a single take in order to save film reel... The result is a delightful dadaistic cinema, perhaps a bit wonky, but definitely funny and iconoclastic.