In France, he is mostly known for his films Dobermann (1997), Blueberry, l'experience secrete (2004) and 99 Francs (2007).[1][3] 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,[2][4] and for directing some music videos of which, the most notable are the four videos he did for the English pop group Erasure in the 1990s (including three for the project Abba-esque) : Lay all your love on me (1992), Voulez-vous (1992), S.O.S. (1992) and Always (1994).[1][4]
Biographyedit
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.[5] In 1989, he made the short film Gisele Kerosene, crowned Grand Prix in the category of Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival.[5][6]
In the 2000s, Jan Kounen traveled across Mexico and Peru, where he immersed in shaman culture, and participated in ayahuasca ceremonies around a hundred times.[9] 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.[10] The same year, he released Other Worlds (2005), a documentary about shamanism.[8][10] After making his film Darshan - The Embrace (2005),[8][11] Kounen staged the Comedy 99 F in 2007, a satire of the world of advertising adapted from the bestseller by Frédéric Beigbeder and produced by Jean Dujardin.[5][6]
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.[12]
Kounen, Jan (2015). Visionary Ayahuasca: A Manual for Therapeutic and Spiritual Journeys (1st ed.). Park Street Press (published 29 January 2015). ISBN 978-1620553459.
Narby, Jeremy; Kounen, Jan; Ravalec, Vincent (25 November 2009). The Psychotropic Mind: The World according to Ayahuasca, Iboga, and Shamanism. Park Street Press. ISBN 978-1594773129.
Metsa; Kounen, Jan (4 June 2014). De l'ombre à la lumière : Voyages d'un guérisseur chez les chamanes (in French). Paris: mamaéditions.com. ISBN 9782845940284.
Kounen, Jan; Jodorowsky, Alexandro (2 April 2011). Carnets de voyages intérieurs : Ayahuasca Medicina, un manuel (in French). Paris: mamaéditions.com. ISBN 9782845940482.
Kounen, Jan; Narby, Jeremy; Ravalec, Vincent (28 February 2008). Plantes et chamanisme : Conversations autour de l'ayahuasca et de l'iboga (in French). mamaéditions.com. ISBN 9782845940208.
Beigbeder, Frédéric; Kounen, Jan; Allix, Simon; Planche, Jean-Luc (24 September 2007). 99 francs, le manuel d'utilisation de la société d'hyperconsommation (in French). Editions SW Télémaque. ISBN 9782753300507.
Referencesedit
^ abcd"Jan Kounen". IMDb. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ abcdefg"Jan Kounen, Director and Filmmaker". Sumiruna Awakenings. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ ab"Jan Kounen". uniFrance. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ abc"8 Official website". Retrieved 25 November 2010.
^ abcdeAlloCine. "Jan Kounen". AlloCiné. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ abc"Retour sur le sketch de Jan Kounen coupé des Infidèles". Premiere.fr (in French). Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^"Blueberry". Time Out London. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ abcdef"Jan Kounen". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ ab"OM on the Range: The Alternative Realities of Jan Kounen". DangerousMinds. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ abKounen, Jan; Benant, Bernard (9 November 2006). Darshan : Voyage dans les bras d'Amma (in French). Paris: Editions SW Télémaque. ISBN 9782753300361.
^"Le cinéma soutient Roman Polanski / Petition for Roman Polanski". Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (in French). 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
^"Jan Kounen and the Alien". alienexplorations.blogspot.in. Alien Explorations. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^Beigbeder, Frédéric; Kounen, Jan; Allix, Simon; Planche, Jean-Luc (24 September 2007). 99 francs, le manuel d'utilisation de la société d'hyperconsommation (in French). Editions SW Télémaque. ISBN 9782753300507.
^"Vape Wave | Let's make cigarette history !". www.vapewave.net. Retrieved 3 January 2017.