Leon de Winter
Encyclopedia
Early life
Leon de Winter was born on 24 February 1954 in Den Bosch, in the southern NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He grew up in an orthodox Jewish family and attended the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Den Bosch. After his graduation he attended the academy of Bavaria Film Studios
Bavaria Film Studios
The Bavaria Film in Geiselgasteig, a district of Munich's suburb Grünwald, Bavaria belongs to one of Europe's biggest and most famous film production companies.- History :...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and the Netherlands Film Academy
Netherlands Film and Television Academy
The Netherlands Film and Television Academy was founded in 1958.The academy is the only recognised institute in the Netherlands that offers training to prepare for the work in the various crew disciplines...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. However, the Film Academy was much criticised by De Winter and he left the Film Academy in 1978 without a degree.
Writing career
After leaving the Film Academy, De Winter made some television series, like Junkieverdriet and De (ver)wording van de jonge Dürer. The latter, which was also rewritten into a novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, is the story of an unemployed young boy who does not know how to handle life, and who goes slowly but inevitably insane.
Until 1982 De Winter also wrote reviews for the weekly magazine Vrij Nederland
Vrij Nederland
Vrij Nederland is a Dutch magazine which was established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper but has since grown into a magazine. The weekly magazine is generally considered to be intellectually left-wing...
.
His first successful novel was Zoeken naar Eileen W (1981). A film version of this was made by Rudolf van den Berg
Rudolf van den Berg
Rudolf van den Berg is a Dutch writer and director.Van den Berg has been making films and documentaries for over thirty years now. Often praised and crowned, sometimes seriously criticized, Van den Berg's work has always succeeded in stirring passionate reactions.His eighth feature film Tirza was...
. In 1981 De Winter also wrote Place de la Bastille.
In 1986 the novel Kaplan was published. The protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of this novel is a writer who is searching for the truth about birth, love and death.
In 1990 the novel Hoffman's honger was published. Hoffman's honger is a literary thriller set in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
Hoffman's honger was followed in 1991 by the novel Supertex. In 1992 the novel De ruimte van Sokolov was published. Just like Hoffman's honger, De ruimte van Sokolov is a literary thriller, this time set in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
In 1995 De Winter wrote Zionoco, the story of a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, who has lost his faith, and is searching for his Jewish roots. In the same year, his book Serenade was published as the "Boekenweek
Boekenweek
In the Netherlands, the Boekenweek is an annual "week" of ten days dedicated to Dutch literature. It is held in March since 1932. Each Boekenweek has a theme. The beginning of the Boekenweek is marked by the Boekenbal , a gathering that is attended by writers and publishers...
geschenk".
De Winter's latest novels are De hemel van Hollywood, which was published in 1997, God's Gym, which was published in 2002, and Het recht op terugkeer, published in 2008.
Most of these works feature protagonists searching—in particular, for a Jewish identity. These attempts to bring order out of chaos are a result of discontent with seemingly empty and aimless lives.
De Winter is married to Jessica Durlacher
Jessica Durlacher
Jessica Durlacher is a Dutch literary criticist, columnist and novelist.Her father is the sociologist and writer Gerhard Durlacher, who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp...
, who is also a writer. They have two children, Moos and Mone, and are currently living in Bloemendaal
Bloemendaal
Bloemendaal is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. According to the Dutch Central Statistical Bureau, Bloemendaal is the wealthiest place in the Netherlands.-Population centres :...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
De Winter became more involved in political writings in newspapers and magazines, and appearances on television, possibly the most recognizable of these being his utterances of support for the invasion of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
On 26 December 2007, de Winter announced a stop to his political writings on blogs and magazines and that he was considering a permanent move with his family to California.
However, he continued publishing opinion articles like on a racism trial, criticisms of Barack Obama, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
currency and financial aid for members of the Euro area.
Film directing
He directed three films between 1979 and 1993. The film De grensDe grens
De grens is a 1984 Dutch thriller film directed by Leon de Winter. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Johan Leysen - Hans Deitz* Linda van Dyck - Marleen Ruyter...
was screened in the Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival
1984 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Dirk Bogarde *Franco Cristaldi *Michel Deville *Stanley Donen *Istvan Dosai *Arne Hestenes *Isabelle Huppert *Ennio Morricone...
. Dutch producer Kees Kasander that a film adaptation of de Winter's book God's Gym is in development. De Winter will direct the film.