Jean-Pierre DardenneBirth Place: Engis, Prov. Liège, Belgium Date of Birth: April 21, 1951 Heritage: Belgian Contact Jean-Pierre Dardenne | 
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The Child Background: “We are not Spielberg. Spielberg is successful, not us.” Jean-Pierre Dardenne ( on himself and his brother Luc) Jean-Pierre Dardenne is an acclaimed Belgium filmmaker, who is known for working closely with his younger brother Luc Dardenne. They started making narrative and documentaries in the late 1970s, but did not gain international attention until they released “La Promesse” (“The Promise,” 1996), which was a hit at the film festivals and won many awards, including the Los Angeles Critics' and the National Society of Film Critics' Best Foreign Film prizes. The follow up “Rosetta” (1999) won the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or and was a critical smash. The Dardennes continued to garner praise for their films like “The Son” (2002), “The Child” (2005), which brought them their second Palme d'Or, and “Lorna's Silence” (2008). Their latest film, “The Kid with a Bike” (2011) won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes, in addition to a European Film Award and a Flaiano International Prizes.
Childhood and Family: Jean-Pierre Dardenne was born on April 21, 1951, in Engis, Prov. Liège, Belgium. He was raised in a middle class family in the Belgian steel town Seraing. He has a younger brother, Luc Dardenne (born March 10, 1954), who is also his partner. The two brothers were not allowed to watch television or see movies while they were growing up. However, when Jean-Pierre was 17 years old, he decided to leave home to study acting in Brussels. He studied under socially active Belgian playwright Armand Gatti, from whom he learned about the political and artistic possibilities of film and video, in addition to the creative potential in using amateur actors. He went on to serve as the assistant of Gatti on theater productions in the early 1970s before returning to his hometown. In Seraing, he worked in a cement factory for several months and saved the money to buy film equipment.
Career: Along with his brother Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne founded the documentary production company Derives in 1975, through which they continued to produce approximately 60 documentaries, including their own. From the late 1970s to early 1980s, the two made such documentaries as “Le Chant du Rossignol” (1978), “Lorsque le bateau de Léon M. descendit la Meuse pour la première fois” (1979), “Pour que la guerre s'achève, les murs devaient s'écrouter” (1980), “R... ne répond plus” (1981), “Leçons d'une Université Volante” (1982) and “Regard Jonathan/Jean Louvet, son oeuvre” (1983). The tone and subject matter of their documentaries show much of the same area the brothers would revisit with their narrative films like Polish immigration, World War II resistance and a general strike in 1960. In 1987, Dardenne began shifting to fiction films when he co-directed and co-wrote (with Luc), “Falsch,” a film adaptation of the René Kalisky novel. The war/drama film starred Bruno Cremer, Jacqueline Bollen and Nicole Colchat. It was followed by a 1992 drama film called “Je pense à vous,” starring Robin Renucci, Fabienne Babe and Tolsty. Babe won a Golden Bayard for Best Actress from the 1992 Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film for her performance. By 1994, the brothers had created Les Films du Fleuve, the company that has produced all their fiction films. The same year, Dardenne also started running a film and television workshop at Liège University. In 1996, Dardenne had his first feature film breakthrough with “La promesse” (“The Promise”), a drama he directed and wrote with Luc. Starring Jérémie Renier and Olivier Gourmet, who have both since become regular actors in the Dardenne films, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 1996 and went on to earn 15 wins and 5 nominations. For his work in the film, Dardenne shared a Brussels International Film Festival for Best Belgian Film, Fajr Film Festival's Crystal Simorgh for International Competition - Best Film, Joseph Plateau Award for Best Belgian Director, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Foreign Film, Lucas - International Festival of Films for Children and Young People's C.I.F.E.J. Award, Golden Bayard for Best Film (Meilleur Film Francophone) and Audience Award at the Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film, from which he also won Bayard of the Bayards later in 2000 for the same film, a NSFC Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and the FIPRESCI Prize and Golden Spike from the Valladolid International Film Festival. He also received a César nomination for Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger), a 1999 Joseph Plateau nomination for Best Belgian Screenplay 1984-1999, and a Golden Satellite nomination for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language for “ La promesse.” Three years later, along with his brother, Dardenne directed, wrote and produced “Rosetta” (1999), a drama about a seventeen year old girl (played by Émilie Dequenne) who lives in a trailer park with her alcoholic mother. The premiered at the Cannes Film Festivals on May 23, 1999, where it won Palme d'Or, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention and the Best Actress Award. The film also brought the two a European Film nomination for Best Film, Flaiano International Prizes' Golden Pegasus, a Joseph Plateau Award for Best Belgian Director and an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Foreign Film. Entering the new millennium, Dardenne produced such documentaries as “La devinière” (2000), “Brook by Brook” (2002) and “Romances de terre et d'eau” (2002), as well as the French/Belgium drama film “The Milk of Human Kindness” (2001), which was directed and co-written by Dominique Cabrera, and the short “First Love” (2002), by Bernard Garant. He returned to the director's chair when he co-helmed Olivier Gourmet on the 2002 drama/mystery movie “The Son,” which he also co-wrote and co-produced (with Luc). The film was nominated for Palme d'Or and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention and Best Actor honor (Gourmet) at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. “The Son” also earned the Dardennes an Audience Award nomination for Best Director at the European Film Awards, the Crystal Simorgh for International Competition - Best Film at the 2003 Fajr Film Festival, Joseph Plateau Award for Best Belgian Director and an additional nomination for Best Belgian Screenplay, the Lumiere Award for Best French-Language Film (Meilleur film francophone) and Valladolid International Film Festival's Golden Spike nomination. After “The Son,” Dardenne produced such films as “The Sun Assassinated,” “The Living World” and “Stormy Weather” (all 2003), and “ Le couperet” (2005) before directing, producing and writing “L'Enfant” (The Child”, 2005), starring Jérémie Renier and Déborah François. Screened at the Cannes on May 17, 2005, the film won Dardenne and Luc their second Palme d'Or. They also picked up a Guldbagge Award for Best Foreign Film (Bästa utländska film, two Joseph Plateau Awards for Best Belgian Director (Beste Belgische Regisseur) and Best Belgian Screenplay (Beste Belgische scenarist), a Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, a Valdivia International Film Festival for Best Film, three César nominations for Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur), Best Film (Meilleur film) and Best Writing - Original (Meilleur scénario original), a Silver Condor nomination for Best Foreign Film, Not in the Spanish Language (Mejor Película Extranjera) at the 2007 Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards, a Bodil nomination for Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke-amerikanske film), a David di Donatello nomination for Best European Film (Miglior Film dell'Unione Europea), and a nomination for Best Film and an Audience Award nomination for Best Film from the 2006 European Film Awards. After producing “The Colonel” (2006) and “Vous êtes de la police?” (2007), Dardenne helmed the segment “Dans l'Obscurité” (“Darkness”) of “To Each His Own Cinema” (2007), a collective film of 33 shorts directed by different directors about their feeling about Cinema. In 2008, he co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced (with Luc) “Lorna's Silence” (“Le silence de Lorna”), starring Arta Dobroshi, Jérémie Renier and Fabrizio Rongione. The film was nominated for Palme d'Or and won the Best Screenplay at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Dardennes also nabbed a César nomination for Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) and Lumiere Award for Best French Language Film (Meilleur film francophone) for the film. The same year, Dardenne also produced the short “Premier Jour.” He continued to produce the 2009 film “ La prima linea” and the 2010 documentary “K.O.R.” In 2011, Dardenne and Luc directed, wrote and produced the drama film “The Kid with a Bike” (“Le gamin au vélo”), starring Cécile de France and Thomas Doret. It premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and won the festival's Grand Prize of the Jury for Best Film as well as being nominated for Palme d'Or. The film won a European Film Award for Best Screenwriter, while also giving the brothers two additional nominations for Best Director and Best Film at the same gala. It also brought the brothers the Golden Pegasus for Best Director at the 2011 Flaiano International Prizes and a Best Film nomination at the 2011 London Film Festival.
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