Felix Van Groeningen

Felix van Groeningen, born on 1st November 1977, is a renowned Belgian film director and screenwriter. He is widely recognized for his works like 'The Broken Circle Breakdown' (2012) and 'Belgica' (2016). The former was even nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. His first English-language film was the biographical drama 'Beautiful Boy' (2018), while his movie 'The Eight Mountains' (2022) bagged him the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize. Born in Ghent, Felix was the child of liberal, hippie parents. After his parents' divorce, his father established a live music club called 'The Charlatan', which later became an inspiration for Felix's film 'Belgica'. Felix graduated with a Masters of Audiovisual Arts from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) and embarked on a filmmaking career.

Felix directed several short films and stage plays post his graduation from KASK. He collaborated with Dirk Impens for the production of all five feature films from 2004 to 2016. His debut directorial film 'Steve + Sky' (2004) followed the arduous romance between a drug dealer and a prostitute. Some of his notable films include 'The Misfortunates' (2009) - a film adaptation of Dimitri Verhulst's semi-autobiographical novel and 'The Broken Circle Breakdown' (2012) - a poignant tale of a bohemian couple battling their daughter's cancer. His fifth feature, 'Belgica' (2016), was based on two brothers who begin a nightclub business. Moving into English-language direction, he made an impact with 'Beautiful Boy' (2018) starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet.