Jaco Van Dormael 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.
Jaco Van Dormael was born in Ixelles. Belgium, onFebruary 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.
Source: Wikipedia