Jowan Le Besco
Encyclopedia
Born on 26 August 1981, Jowan Le Besco is a French actor, scriptwriter, director and chief cameraman. He is the second child in a family of five, the son of Franco-Algerian actress and journalist of Kabyl and Turco-Mongol descent, Catherine Belkhodja
. His Breton father is of Vietnamese descent.
He has worked on many occasions with his brother and sisters, with whom he collaborates on a regular basis as chief cameraman. He has video captured the live theatre performance of Pois chiche by Maïwenn Le Besco
, one of his sisters, also an actress and director, twice nominated for a César Award in 2007 for her first film Pardonnez-moi
. He also played with his sister Isild Le Besco
in Princesse Marie, a film featuring Catherine Deneuve
. He was chief cameraman in two films written and directed by Isild: Demi-tarif, produced by their sister Leonor Graser
and independent French film production company Karedas, featuring their younger brother Kolia Litscher
in a main role, and Charly, also produced by Isild, on which he collaborated again with Isild and Kolia.
and Lycée Victor Hugo in Paris, two secondary schools renowned for their academic excellence, Jowan started cinema studies at the Paris Sorbonne University of Jussieu
, during which he directed a large number of short films. An award received for one of his short films won him editing software, which he used in a number of music video clips. He then decided to further his studies at the Lyon Institut Lumière
and Paris Gobelins School. He took part in Isild’s first short film produced by SOPADIN (a scriptwriting competition organisation), and went on by taking charge of photography in Demi-tarif, which won an award for best Junior script. Given their young age - both were under 20, Jowan and Isild had experienced the greatest difficulty finding a producer for this project. KAREDAS decided to trust them: as a result, the film was presented at over fifty festivals and widely acclaimed by film critics. Even though he has occasionally held roles as an actor, Jowan’s objective has always been to stick to film photography training. To this end, he studied with Stéphane Marty, later with Caroline Champetier during the making of L'Intouchable, shot in India
where he was in charge of capturing the cremation scenes.
With the success of Demi-tarif, he was able to prepare Isild’s second film Charly
with greater ease, as the project was funded by an advance on future box-office receipts from the CNC, as well as receiving the support of Arte
.The film is to be released on 12 September 2007.
Following an extended solitary stay in an Indian monastery, he brought back Yapo, a documentary that was selected for the 29th Cinéma du Réel Documentary Festival, a yearly event for ethnological or social documentary films organised by the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Catherine Belkhodja
Catherine Belkhodja is a French artist, actress and film director.-Early life:Catherine Belkhodja was born in Paris to a Kabyle Algerian father and a French mother on 15 April 1955. She first lived and studied in Algiers where she started to write her first short stories...
. His Breton father is of Vietnamese descent.
He has worked on many occasions with his brother and sisters, with whom he collaborates on a regular basis as chief cameraman. He has video captured the live theatre performance of Pois chiche by Maïwenn Le Besco
Maïwenn Le Besco
Maïwenn |Île-de-France]]) is a French actress and film director.-Biography and career:She is the daughter of actress Catherine Belkhodja, who ushered her into the entertainment industry at a young age, an experience later chronicled by Le Besco in her one-woman shows "Le Pois Chiche" and "I'm an...
, one of his sisters, also an actress and director, twice nominated for a César Award in 2007 for her first film Pardonnez-moi
Pardonnez-moi
Pardonnez-moi is a 2006 French film written and directed by Maïwenn, starring Maïwenn, Pascal Greggory, Hélène de Fougerolles, and Aurélien Recoing. The film was retitled Forgive Me for the English-language international market...
. He also played with his sister Isild Le Besco
Isild Le Besco
Isild Le Besco is a French actress and the daughter of Catherine Belkhodja. She is of mixed Breton, Vietnamese, French and Algerian descent....
in Princesse Marie, a film featuring Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve is a French actress. She gained recognition for her portrayal of aloof and mysterious beauties in films such as Repulsion and Belle de jour . Deneuve was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1993 for her performance in Indochine; she also won César Awards for that...
. He was chief cameraman in two films written and directed by Isild: Demi-tarif, produced by their sister Leonor Graser
Léonor Graser
Léonor Graser is a French actress, scriptwriter and film director.Graser is the daughter of Antoine Silber and Catherine Belkhodja, the Franco-Algerian actress and journalist of Kabyle and Turco-Mongol descent, the fourth child in a family of five. One of her sisters, Maïwenn Le Besco, is also an...
and independent French film production company Karedas, featuring their younger brother Kolia Litscher
Kolia Litscher
Kolia Litscher is a French actor.Born to a Russian Swiss father and a French mother, he could not escape following in his parents’ footsteps. As a baby, he was already “on stage” in his cradle as his father, play director Hans-Peter Litscher and his actress mother Catherine Belkhodja were...
in a main role, and Charly, also produced by Isild, on which he collaborated again with Isild and Kolia.
Career
A former pupil of Lycée CharlemagneLycée Charlemagne
The Lycée Charlemagne is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France.Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Jesuits...
and Lycée Victor Hugo in Paris, two secondary schools renowned for their academic excellence, Jowan started cinema studies at the Paris Sorbonne University of Jussieu
Jussieu
Jussieu can refer to:* Antoine Laurent de Jussieu , French botanist* Antoine de Jussieu , French naturalist, uncle of A. L. de Jussieu.* Bernard de Jussieu , French naturalist, uncle of A. L. de Jussieu....
, during which he directed a large number of short films. An award received for one of his short films won him editing software, which he used in a number of music video clips. He then decided to further his studies at the Lyon Institut Lumière
Institut Lumière
The Institut Lumière is a French organisation, based in Lyon, for the promotion and preservation of aspects of French film making. The Institut Lumière is a museum that honours the contribution to filmmaking by Auguste and Louis Lumière - inventors of the cinématographe and fathers of the cinema.It...
and Paris Gobelins School. He took part in Isild’s first short film produced by SOPADIN (a scriptwriting competition organisation), and went on by taking charge of photography in Demi-tarif, which won an award for best Junior script. Given their young age - both were under 20, Jowan and Isild had experienced the greatest difficulty finding a producer for this project. KAREDAS decided to trust them: as a result, the film was presented at over fifty festivals and widely acclaimed by film critics. Even though he has occasionally held roles as an actor, Jowan’s objective has always been to stick to film photography training. To this end, he studied with Stéphane Marty, later with Caroline Champetier during the making of L'Intouchable, shot in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where he was in charge of capturing the cremation scenes.
With the success of Demi-tarif, he was able to prepare Isild’s second film Charly
Charly
Charly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
with greater ease, as the project was funded by an advance on future box-office receipts from the CNC, as well as receiving the support of Arte
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
.The film is to be released on 12 September 2007.
Following an extended solitary stay in an Indian monastery, he brought back Yapo, a documentary that was selected for the 29th Cinéma du Réel Documentary Festival, a yearly event for ethnological or social documentary films organised by the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Feature films
- 1999 : La Puce by Emmanuelle Bercot (actor)
- 2002 : Un moment de bonheur by Antoine Santana (actor)
- 2004 : À tout de suiteÀ tout de suiteRight Now is a 2004 French film by director Benoît Jacquot. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.-Synopsis:...
by Benoît JacquotBenoît JacquotBenoît Jacquot is a French film director who has had a varied career in European cinema.Born in Paris, he began his career as assistant director of Marguerite Duras films including Nathalie Granger, India Song and also actor in the 1973 short film La Sœur du cadre.He turned to writing and...
(assistant) - 2004 : Princesse Marie by Benoît Jacquot (actor)
- 2006 : L'Intouchable by Benoît Jacquot (cameraman - assistant/second team)
- 2007 : YapoYapoYapo is a municipality in Ivory Coast. It is formed by Great Yapo , the main village and Little Yapo . Yapo has a railway station on the Abdijan-Niger-Railway....
by Jowan Le Besco (scriptwriter, director, chief cameraman, editor) - 2007 : CharlyCharlyCharly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
by Isild Le Besco (chief cameraman)
Short films
- 1999 : CinematonCinématonCinématon is a 162-hour long experimental film by French director Gérard Courant. It was the longest film ever released, until 2011. Composed over 33 years from 1978 until 2011, it consists of a series of over 2,432 silent vignettes , each 3 minutes and 25 seconds long, of various celebrities,...
by Gérard Courant (actor) - 2003 : Quelqu'un vous aime (assistant)
Theatre
- 2004 : Le Pois chiche by Maïwenn Le BescoMaïwenn Le BescoMaïwenn |Île-de-France]]) is a French actress and film director.-Biography and career:She is the daughter of actress Catherine Belkhodja, who ushered her into the entertainment industry at a young age, an experience later chronicled by Le Besco in her one-woman shows "Le Pois Chiche" and "I'm an...
at the Café de la GareCafé de la GareThe Café de la Gare is a dinner theater located at 41, rue du Temple in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. It lies in a square hidden between Notre Dame de Paris and the historic Marais district. It was originally created in 1968 by a close-knit group of comedy actors who fixed up an old factory...
theatre, with Maïwenn (video capture)
Awards
(for Demi-tarif)- 2000: Award for best Junior script at the Paris Film Festival for Demi-tarif (as camera operator)
- 2004 : Special Jury Award for Demi-tarif at the European First Film Festival of Angers (as chief cameraman)
- 2004 : Procirep - Premiers Plans Award for Demi-tarif at Angers (as chief cameraman)
- 2004 : Special Jury Award for Demi-tarif at Seoul Festival (as chief cameraman)
- 2004: Jury Award for Demi-tarif at the Crossing Europe Festival of Linz (as chief cameraman)
- 2004 : Demi-tarif nominated for Louis Delluc Award (as chief cameraman)
External links
- http://french.imdb.com/name/nm0494067/ for Jowan’s filmography
- http://dvdtoile.com/Filmographie.php?id=65938 for Jowan’s photos and posters
- http://www.unifrance.org/perso/perso.asp?CommonUser=&langue=21004&perso=327568 Jowan on Unifrance website