Henri Storck

Henri Storck — Biography

Henri Storck (5 September 1907, Ostend – 17 September 1999, Uccle) was a Belgian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor regarded as one of the founders of Belgium's documentary film tradition. In 1933, together with Joris Ivens, he made Misère au Borinage, a film about the lives of miners in the Borinage region that was banned in several countries yet became a landmark of socially engaged cinema. In 1938, alongside André Thirifays and Pierre Vermeylen, he co-founded the Royal Belgian Film Archive (Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique).

Beyond directing, Storck appeared as an actor in two landmark films: he played the priest in Jean Vigo's Zéro de conduite (1933) and a client in Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). He also taught at university level and was later awarded an honorary doctorate by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

In 1959 he served on the jury of the first Moscow International Film Festival. Author of more than sixty films, Storck is remembered as a pioneering figure of Belgian documentary cinema whose influence extended to later generations of filmmakers, including the Dardenne brothers.