Jan Kounen
Jan Kounen (born Jan Coenen; 2 May 1964) is a Dutch-born French film director and producer. In France, he is mostly known for his films Dobermann (1997), Blueberry, l'experience secrete (2004) and 99 Francs (2007). Outside France he is better known for his interest in Shipibo-Conibo culture and shamanism, with which he became familiar during his trips to Mexico and Peru, and for directing music videos of which the most notable are the four videos he made for the English pop group Erasure in the 1990s (including three for the EP project Abba-esque): Lay All Your Love on Me (1992), Voulez-Vous (1992), S.O.S. (1992), and Always (1994).
Jan Kounen

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- Name
- Jan Kounen
- Birth Name
- Jan Coenen
- Born
- 2 May 1964
- Birthplace
- Utrecht, Netherlands
- Occupation
- Film director, film producer
- Nationality
- Kingdom of the Netherlands · France
- Honours
- Knight of the National Order of Merit
- Languages
- French
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Documentary summary
Jan Kounen (born Jan Coenen; 2 May 1964) is a Dutch-born French film director and producer. In France, he is mostly known for his films Dobermann (1997), Blueberry, l'experience secrete (2004) and 99 Francs (2007). Outside France he is better known for his interest in Shipibo-Conibo culture and shamanism, with which he became familiar during his trips to Mexico and Peru, and for directing music videos of which the most notable are the four videos he made for the English pop group Erasure in the 1990s (including three for the EP project Abba-esque): Lay All Your Love on Me (1992), Voulez-Vous (1992), S.O.S. (1992), and Always (1994).
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Authority files
wikidata · Q716398 · wikipedia · Jan Kounen
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jan Kounen • Birth Name — Jan Coenen • Born — 2 May 1964 • Birthplace — Utrecht, Netherlands • Citizenship — * France • Netherlands • Occupation — Film director, film producer • Notable Works — Dobermann Blueberry 99 Francs
Biography
Biography
After studying at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Nice, where he directed his first short films, Jan Kounen began work as assistant operator and director of music videos and documentaries. In 1989 he made the short film Gisele Kerosene, crowned Grand Prix in the category of Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. In the early '90s Kounen worked in advertising and made two highly acclaimed short films, Vibroboy and Little Red Riding Hood, the latter seeing him work with Emmanuelle Béart. In 1996 he made his first feature film, Dobermann, starring French actor Vincent Cassel. In the 2000s Jan Kounen travelled across Mexico and Peru, where he immersed himself in shaman culture and participated in about one hundred ayahuasca ceremonies. His next film was Blueberry (2004), an adaptation of the famous comic strip by Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean Giraud (better known as Moebius), with Vincent Cassel in the title role. The same year, he released Other Worlds (2005), a documentary about shamanism. After making his film Darshan - The Embrace (2005), Kounen staged the Comedy 99 F in 2007, a satire of the world of advertising, adapted from the best-seller by Frédéric Beigbeder and produced by Jean Dujardin. After participating in Project 8 where he campaigned to improve maternal health in the world, he made Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009), a biographical film about the relationship between Chanel, the French fashion designer, and Stravinsky, the Russian composer, starring Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen. The film closed the 2009 Cannes Festival. In 2009 Kounen signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.
Filmography
Filmography
• Les aventures de Jeff Blizzard (1986)https: auth.wikimedia.org/ • The Broadsword (1986) • Soft (1986) • Het journaal (1987) • Het virus (1987) • Gisele Kerozene (1989) • L'âge de plastic (1991) • Capitaine X (a.k.a. Né pour mourir, 1994) • Vibroboy (1993) with Michel Vuillermoz • Dobermann (1997) • D'autres mondes (a.k.a. Other Worlds, documentary film, 2004) • Another Reality (TV documentary series, 2003) • Blueberry, l'expérience secrète (a.k.a. Blueberry, 2004) • Darshan - L'étreinte (a.k.a. Darshan: The Embrace, documentary film, 2005) • 99 Francs (2007) • The Story of Panshin Beka, short, segment of the movie 8 (2008) • Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009) • Flight of the Storks (television film, 2012) • Vape Wave (documentary film, 2015) • Mère Océan (documentary film, 2016) • Mon Cousin (a.k.a. My Cousin, 2020) • L'Homme qui rétrécit (a.k.a. The Incredible Shrinking Man, 2025) Sources:
Identity
Identity
Jan Kounen is recorded with the occupation film producer. Recorded with the occupation screenwriter. Recorded with the occupation director. Recorded with the occupation actor. Recorded as actor, film producer, screenwriter and director.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1964
Jan Kounen was born on 2 May 1964.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q716398: Jan Kounen
Unverified · Wikidata
reference work
- “Jan Kounen”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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Citations
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authority record
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
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.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,589 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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