Vincent Bal

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Vincent Bal (born 25 February 1971) is a Belgian filmmaker and visual artist widely known for his artwork based around shadows cast by everyday objects. As a writer and director he is best known for The Zigzag Kid (2012), The Bloody Olive (1997), and Tour de France (1995).

Early life and education[]

Bal was born in on 25 February 1971 in Ghent, Belgium. He studied film directing at the Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel.[1]

Career[]

Film[]

In the third year of his film degree, Bal directed the short film Aan Zee (1993), which was selected for several festivals. He graduated in 1994 with the short film Tour de France (1994) which won several awards, including the Canal+ Award at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and Best Short Film at the Dresden Film Festival. After graduation,he directed The Bloody Olive (1997), a film noir spoof based on a comic book by Lewis Trondheim. In 1999, he directed Man Van Staal (Man of Steel), which won the International Jury Prize at the 2000 Berlin Kinderfilmfest.[2] In 2012 he directed The Zigzag Kid (also titled Nono, the Zigzag Kid), a family adventure film starring Thomas Simon (as the title character) and Isabella Rossellini. The film is based on the novel of the same name by David Grossman.

Filmography[]

  • Urbanus: De vuilnisheld (2019)
  • Brabançonne (2014)
  • The Zigzag Kid (also known as Nono, het zigzagkind (2012)
  • Kika en Bob (2007)
  • 10 jaar leuven kort (2004)
  • Minoes (2001)
  • Man van staal (1999)
  • Joli môme (1997)
  • The Bloody Olive (1996)
  • Tour de France (1994)
  • Aan zee (1993)

Illustration[]

Bal is known for his shadow art illustrations, made by combining shadows cast from everyday objects with hand-drawn doodles. He began his ongoing “Shadowology” series in 2016 when he challenged himself to make a shadow doodle every day. Of where the inspiration for the series came from, Bal says:

"Like all good things in life, it came by accident. I was working on a film script (for a film that is never made) when I noticed how the shadow of my teacup looked a bit like an elephant. I gave the shadow animal eyes and a smile, and took a picture. When I shared it on social media, the reactions were really nice, so I decided to try and make one every day. That was may 2016 and I haven’t stopped since."[3]

Bal is currently working on the Shadowology live-action film that incorporates his shadow drawings[4] and also has a published book of his illustrations by the same name.[5]

Awards[6][]

Algarve International Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
1998 Grand Prize of the City of Portimão The Bloody Olive (1997) Nominated

Berlin International Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2000 Deutches Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix Man van staal (1999)

Tied with Tsatsiki, Mum and the Policeman (1999)

Winner

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF)

Year Nomination Category Film Result
1998 Audience Award for Best Short Film The Bloody Olive (1997) Winner
Canal+ Belgique Award The Bloody Olive (1997) Winner

Chicago International Children's Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2002 Children's Jury Award Minoes (2001) Winner

Children KinoFest

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2014 Grand Prize Non, het Zigzag Kind (2012) Nominated

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
1997 Grand Prix The Bloody Olive (1997) Nominated
1995 Canal+ Award Tour de France (1995) Winner

Dresden Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
1997 Youth Jury Award The Bloody Olive (1997) Winner
1995 Best Short Film Tour de France (1995) Winner

European Film Awards

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2013 Young Audience Award Nono, het Zigzag Kind (2012) Winner

Magritte Awards

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2016 Magritte Award Brabançonne (2014) Nominated

Molodist International Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
1997 Best Film Award The Bloody Olive (1997) Nominated

Montréal International Children's Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2013 Audience Award Nono, het Zigzag Kind (2012) Winner

Oulu International Children's Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2013 Starboy Award Nono, het Zigzag Kind (2012) Nominated
2002 Starboy Award Minoes (2001) Nominated

Talinn Black Nights Film Festival

Year Nomination Category Film Result
2013 Just Film Award - Special Mention Nono, het Zigzag Kind (2020) Winner
Just Film Award Nono, het Zigzag Kind (2020) Nominated

Torino International Festival of Young Cinema

Year Nomination Category Film Result
1995 Prize of the City of Torino Tour de France (1995) Nominated

References[]

  1. ^ "Vincent Bal Turns Shadows To Illustrations". Art People (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Vincent Bal - BIO". www.vincentbal.com. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  3. ^ feeldesain (18 June 2018). "8 Questions With Vincent Bal aka Shadowology". Feel Desain | your daily dose of creativity (in Italian). Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Artist Turns Shadows from Everyday Objects into a Cast of Playful Characters". My Modern Met. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  5. ^ Bal, Vincent (2019). Shadowology. Birgit Erdmann, mixtvision Mediengesellschaft mbH. München. ISBN 978-3-95854-143-6. OCLC 1091370650.
  6. ^ "Vincent Bal". IMDb. Retrieved 9 April 2021.

External Links[]

Official Website

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