Vincent Bal

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 Miss Minoes (2001), The Zigzag Kid (2012), Belgian Rhapsody (2014), and The Bloody Olive (1997).

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

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. 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.

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. On where the inspiration for the series came from, Bal says:

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

Algarve International Film Festival

Berlin International Film Festival

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF)

Chicago International Children's Film Festival

Children KinoFest

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

Dresden Film Festival

European Film Awards

Magritte Awards

Molodist International Film Festival

Montréal International Children's Film Festival

Oulu International Children's Film Festival

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Torino International Festival of Young Cinema

Official Website