Jacques Ledoux

Jacques Ledoux (1921 - 1988) was born in Warsaw, Poland, but moved to Belgium at a young age. A film enthusiast since his childhood, he joined the Cinémathèque royale de Belgique in 1941. In 1948, he took up the post of curator, a role he held until his death in 1988. Ledoux was a great collector of films, and his ambition was to build one of the world’s most impressive film collections at the Cinémathèque, featuring rare titles often overlooked by other institutions. This interest in underground cinema led him to organise, from 1949 onwards, the cult festival EXPRMNTL, one of the most important events in the history of avant-garde film. Thanks to these efforts, he forged important connections with key figures such as Martin Scorsese, Jonas Mekas and Chantal Ackerman, amongst others. Ever the idealist, Ledoux enjoyed welcoming friends to his office to show them items from his collection, of which he was very proud. In addition to his pivotal role at EXPRMNTL, Ledoux founded the Musée du cinéma in 1962 at 9 Rue Baron Horta, where it remains to this day.