Harry Kümel
Harry Kümel (born 27 January 1940) is a Belgian film director. His 1971 vampire feature Daughters of Darkness (Les lèvres rouges; "The Red Lips"), starring Delphine Seyrig, became a cult hit in Europe and the United States. He also directed the film version of Malpertuis (1971), featuring Orson Welles and adapted from the 1943 novel by Jean Ray.
Harry Kümel
Eric Koch for Anefo · [1] Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANeFo), 1945-1989, Nummer toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer 922-2105 · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
- Name
- Harry Kümel
- Born
- 27 January 1940
- Birthplace
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Occupation
- Film director
- Nationality
- Belgium
- Honours
- Golden Mira
- Languages
- French
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Harry Kümel (born 27 January 1940) is a Belgian film director. His 1971 vampire feature Daughters of Darkness (Les lèvres rouges; "The Red Lips"), starring Delphine Seyrig, became a cult hit in Europe and the United States. He also directed the film version of Malpertuis (1971), featuring Orson Welles and adapted from the 1943 novel by Jean Ray.
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wikidata · Q1586638 · wikipedia · Harry Kümel
In this article
Biography
Biography
He also directed Monsieur Hawarden (1969) about the cross-dressing Meriora Gillibrand whose two male lovers fought a duel in Vienna. She then killed the survivor and fled to Belgium dressed as a man. She took the name Hawarden from a family related to hers in Lancashire. The film is a fictionalised account; her grave can still be seen near Malmedy in the German-speaking part of Belgium. He made a cameo appearance in several novels, including Nicholas Royle's Antwerp and Hubert Lampo's magic-realistic novel The Scent of Sandalwood. From 1969 until the present, Kümel has taught cinema at several film institutes, including The Dutch Film and Television Academy – Amsterdam (NFTA), Institut des Arts de Diffusion – Brussels (IAD), Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound – Brussels (RITS), and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). In 2014, Harry Kümel received the Gulden Mira (Golden Mira) award for his career from the Flemish Film Press Association.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Harry Kümel • Born — 27 January 1940 • Birthplace — Antwerp, Belgium • Occupation — Film director
Filmography
Filmography
• Erasmus (1962) • Hendrik Conscience (1963) • Waterloo (1964) • De Grafbewaker (1965) • Monsieur Hawarden (1969) • Daughters of Darkness (1971) • Malpertuis (1973) • De Komst van Joachim Stiller (1976) • The Paradise Lost (1978) • The Secrets of Love (1985) • Eline Vere (1991)
Primary material
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reference work
- “Harry Kümel”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1586638: Harry Kümel
General reference · Wikidata
Literature
Literature
De cinema van Harry Kümel: een tweedimensionale profilering van 5 films, Communicatie: tijdschrift voor massamedia en cultuur, 1983.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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