Frank Van Passel (1964) graduated as a Master in Audiovisual Arts at Sint Lukas Hogeschool in Brussels in 1988. His first feature film, MANNEKEN PIS (1995), has been awarded several times, including the 'Grand Prix du Semaine de la Critique' and the 'Prix de la Jeunesse' at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also the Belgian submission for the 1996 Oscars. Next, he directed the TV series TERUG NAAR OOSTERDONK (TALES OF A LIAR, 1997) which received numerous accolades both at home and abroad (including the ‘Ha van Humo’). His second feature, VILLA DES ROSES (2001), starring Julie Delpy and Shirley Hederson, won Best International Film at the Hollywood Film Festival. Co-directed by Peter Van den Eede, experimental theatre soap POES POES POES was shown simultaneously in fifty theatres in Flanders and the Netherlands over the course of six weeks. As a managing partner, he participated in the start-up of production house Roses Are Blue, which would later become Caviar, taking up the role of Creative Director. In addition to directing commercials, he helped expand Caviar with offices in Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, London and Los Angeles. His direction and production of TV series SMAAK VAN DE KEYSER (THE EMPEROR OF TASTE, 2009, co-directed with Jan Matthys) yielded several international awards, including the FIPA d'Or for best European TV series in Biarritz and a 'Special Commendation' by the Prix d'Europe. It was followed by feature film HET VARKEN VAN MADONNA (2011) and TV series AMATEURS (2014). Van Passel produced twelve feature films, including DIRTY MIND and LEFTBANK by Pieter Van Hees, MY QUEEN KARO (Dorothée Van den Berghe), PARADISE TRIPS (Raf Reyntjens), BO (Hans Herbots) and BLACK (Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah). He co-produced LE TOUT NOUVEAU TESTAMENT and MR. NOBODY by Jaco Van Dormael. As for TV series, he produced CLAN (2012) and TABULA RASA (2017) by showrunner Malin-Sarah Gozin.
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