Jan Verheyen

Born in Temse on March 18, 1963, Verheyen launched himself on theinternational film scene at the tender age of 18 as co-organizer andprogrammer of the Knokke-Heist Film Festival. The event, dedicated toindependently produced American Films, was held only twice - in 1982and 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'sNorth sea coast. In 1985 Verheyen, with his associate Marc Punt, foundedIndependent Films, a distribution outlet which quickly became the mostimportant independent Belgian film distributor with a market share ofup to 15%. Specializing in American, English and local productions,Independent released between 20 and 30 films a year. Basic Instinct (1992), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991),Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Se7en (1995) are Independent's top commercial hits, but itsacquisitions ranged from blockbusters to edgy art-house titles.Among ... [Details Intro]