Jan Kounen

Jan Kounen after completing his studies at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Nice, where he directed his earliest shorts, Jan Kounen worked as an assistant cameraman and director on numerous videos and documentaries. In 1989, he drew considerable attention with the short film Gisele Kerosene, which was awarded the Grand Prix in its category at the Festival du Film Fantastique at Avoriaz.

During the early 1990s, Kounen worked prolifically in advertising and directed two further highly acclaimed shorts, Vibroboy and Le dernier chaperon rouge, with Emmanuelle Béart. In 1996, he directed his first feature film, the idiosyncratic and violent Dobermann, starring Vincent Cassel.

Kounen then travelled extensively in Mexico and Peru, immersing himself in the indigenous culture of these countries before returning to the big screen in 2004 with his psychedelic Western Blueberry, adapted from the famous comic by Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean Moebius Giraud. Once again, Vincent Cassel took the lead role. In the same year, Kounen furthered his study of traditional central American medicine with the documentary Other Worlds.

After the documentary Darshan - The Embrace (2005), Jan Kounen entered a new universe with the comedy 99 F (2007), a savage satire on the advertising world, adapted from Frédéric Beigbeder’s bestselling book and starring Jean Dujardin.

Hexagon Pictures