Jan Bucquoy (;

Harelbeke Harelbeke (; ) is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Harelbeke proper and the towns of Bavikhove and Hulste. On January 1, 2019, Harelbeke had a total population of 28 ...

, 16 November 1945) is a Belgian

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

who has worked in various media (film, comics writing, painting, sculptures, museums). He gained fame for his controversial anti-establishment works and media stunts, which caused many court cases, including for

lèse-majesté ''Lèse-majesté'' or ''lese-majesty'' ( , ) is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a mod ...

, copyright infringement and

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. Between 2005 and 2010 he staged five attempts to attack the Belgian Royal Palace in Brussels and conquer it. Internationally he is best known as a film director, with '' La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950–1978'' (1994) and the

cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...

'' Camping Cosmos'' (1996) being his most famous films. A recurring theme in his work is Belgitude.

Career

After his studies in

Strassburg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

(theatre) and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(Insas) he started his career as an author of about 50 comics: ((Daniel) ''Jaunes'', ''Le Bal du Rat Mort'' (1986), ''Retour au pays noir'', ''Alain Moreau'', etc...). With his producer Francis De Smet he made his much acclaimed series of ''The Sexual Life of the Belgians'' (with the famous

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

) which includes 10 movies and documentaries about the whereabouts of Belgian people from the period after the war until now: the

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

'' Camping Cosmos'' (1996) with

Lolo Ferrari Lolo Ferrari (born Ève Valois; 9 February 1963 – 5 March 2000) was a French dancer, actress, and singer billed as "the woman with the largest breast implants in the world". She entered the international limelight in 1995, appearing in the F ...

and Jan Decleir, and with a parody (

détournement A détournement (), meaning "rerouting, hijacking" in French, is a technique developed in the 1950s by the Letterist International, and later adapted by the Situationist International (SI),'' Report on the Construction of Situations'' (1957) t ...

) of

Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...

and Snowy and of the play ''

Mother Courage and Her Children ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' () is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrical productions were produced in Switzerland and ...

'' by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

; ''The Closing down of the Renault Factory at Vilvoorde Belgium'' (1998) as a Belgian version of ''

Roger & Me ''Roger & Me'' is a 1989 American documentary film written, produced, directed by, and starring Michael Moore, in his directorial debut. Moore portrays the regional economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's action of closing several ...

'' (1989) by

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

; ''Les Vacances de Noël'' with

Noël Godin Noël Godin (born 13 September 1945) is a Belgian writer, critic, actor and notorious pie thrower or ''entarteur''. Godin gained global attention in 1998 when his group ambushed Microsoft CEO Bill Gates in Brussels, pelting the software magna ...

and

Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian comedian, actress, film director and screenwriter. She has won three César Awards from four nominations. Career She made her cinematic debut with director Agnès Varda in two movies: Sept pi� ...

(2005) etc... He opened the Underwear Museum in Brussels in 2009; in 2016 it moved to its current location in

Lessines Lessines (; ; ; ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. As of the 2014 census, The municipality's total population was 18,637. The total area is which gi ...

, Hainaut.

Influences

His movies are a mixture of French avant-garde cinema in the manner of

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

('' La Chinoise'' (1967), '' Tout va bien'' (1972), Italian neo-realism (

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

) and the

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

(''Satansbraten'' (1976), '' The Marriage of Maria Braun'' (1979); Bucquoy directed some theatrical plays by Fassbinder during his university studies at

('' The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant''). He is influenced by the

Situationist The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

book '' Society of the Spectacle'' (1967) by

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situat ...

Films

*'' La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950–1978'' (1994) *'' Camping Cosmos'' (''La vie sexuelle des Belges II'' ) (1996) *''Crème et châtiment'', aka ''Entartement de Toscan du Plantier'' au festival de Cannes 1996 (''Cream and Punishment'' ) (short film) (1997) * (1998) * ''La Jouissance des hystériques'' (''La vie sexuelle des Belges IV'' ) (2000) * ''Vrijdag Visdag'' / ''Friday Fishday'' (''La vie sexuelle des Belges V'' ) (2000) * (2002) * ''La société du spectacle et ses commentaires'' (''La vie sexuelle des Belges VI'' ) (2003) * (2005)

References

External links

Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
*
Transatlantic Films Belgium

September 1998 Reuters article

* * ttp://www.bedetheque.com/auteur-759-BD-Bucquoy-Jan.html Bibliography* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bucquoy, Jan 1945 births Living people Belgian activists Belgian anarchists Belgian political artists Belgian satirists Belgian satirical comics writers Belgian comedy film directors Belgian satirical film directors Belgian parodists Belgian republicans Belgian film directors Belgian comics writers Belgian erotic artists Critics of religions 20th-century Belgian painters 20th-century Belgian sculptors People from Harelbeke Controversies in Belgium Belgian political satire Lèse-majesté Counterculture of the 1980s Counterculture of the 1990s