Early Life
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.
He delighted in working with children and for a while pursued a career as a circus clown. He became a producer of children's entertainment with the Theatre de Galafronie, Theatre Isocele and Theatre de la Guimbarde. After developing an interest in filmmaking, he enrolled at the INSAS in Brussels and later the Louis Lumière College in Paris. As a children's entertainer, childhood and innocence would become strong themes throughout his work.
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