Here is the biography of Jan Verheyen:
Born in Temse on March 18, 1963, Jan Verheyen launched himself on the international film scene at the tender age of 18 as co-organizer and programmer of the Knokke-Heist Film Festival. The event, dedicated to independently produced American Films, was held only twice - in 1982 and 1983 - but nevertheless succeeded in luring people like Robert Altman, Dennis Hopper, Roger Corman, Sam Raimi, Susannah York, Graham Chapman, and Paul Bartel to Belgium's North sea coast.
In 1985, Verheyen, with his associate Marc Punt, founded Independent Films, a distribution outlet which quickly became the most important independent Belgian film distributor with a market share of up to 15%. Specializing in American, English, and local productions, Independent released between 20 and 30 films a year.
Among the first-time directors distributed by Independent are Kevin Reynolds (Fandango (1985)),Joel Coen (Blood Simple (1984)),Renny Harlin (Prison (1987)),Gus Van Sant (_Drugstore Cowboy (1989)_),Kenneth Branagh (Henry V (1989)),and Tim Robbins (Bob Roberts (1992)). Both in 1990 and 1991, Independent picked up the Cannes Palme D'Or Winner (Wild at Heart (1990) and Barton Fink (1991),respectively) just based on the script, months before the films were even selected for the festival.
Independent had output distribution deals with leading suppliers such as Carolco, New Line Cinema, Morgan Creek, and PolyGram. Also, Independent has always been actively involved in local productions, backing both critically and commercially successful films as Crazy Love (1987) (aka Love Is A Dog From Hell),by Dominique Deruddere, Toto the Hero (1991) (Cannes Camera D'Or winner 1991) by 'Jaco Van Dormael', and Oscar-nominated Daens (1992) by Stijn Coninx, still the most commercially successful Belgian film ever.
The step towards production was logical, and in 1987, Independent Productions was started. In the past 10 years, Independent has produced five shorts, all directed by young first-time directors, a major drama series as well as a sitcom for television, and five features.
Jan Verheyen has also directed several films, including Boys (1992),Ad Fundum (1993),She Good Fighter (1995),and Team Spirit (2000). He has also worked as a producer and has been involved in various other film and television projects.
In 1995, Verheyen listened to the siren song of Hollywood and directed The Little Death (1996),an erotic thriller produced by Island Pictures. The film stars Pamela Gidley, Brent David Fraser, J.T. Walsh, and Dwight Yoakam, and was sold virtually worldwide.
In 1996, Verheyen joined PolyGram in London as Vice President International Distribution, overseeing releases of all films produced or acquired by PolyGram in all territories where PolyGram has its own distributors. In December 1997, he was promoted to Senior Vice President, adding important Asian territories such as Japan and South Korea to his workload.
As a guest lecturer, Verheyen was a frequent collaborator of the Media Business School in Spain and the European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark. Between 1998 and 2001, Verheyen joined the Board of Directors of the Berlin-based European Film Academy, a prestigious industry organization which wants to become the European counterpart of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
In his native Belgium, Verheyen is also a frequent guest on numerous television and radio shows and every two years or so tours theaters in both Belgium and Holland as the host of 'The Night of Bad Taste', in which he introduces trailers and clips from the strangest, most obscure cult films.
In 2001, TV1, the popular channel of the national broadcaster VRT, asked Verheyen to host a daily late-night summer talk-show, Aan tafel (2001). It was the first summer talk-show in recent memory that clicked with audiences and Verheyen returned for an encore in the summer of 2002.
