View source for Frederik Du Chau

{{short description|Belgian film director and screenwriter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Frederik Du Chau
| image        =
| image_size   =
| alt          =
| caption      =
| birth_name   =
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1965|5|15}}
| birth_place  = [[Belgium]]
| death_date   = <!-- {{death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place  =
| nationality  = Belgian
| years_active = 1989–present
| known_for    = 
| occupation   = Film Director<br>Screenwriter<br>Animator
}}

'''Frederik Du Chau''' (born 15 May 1965) is a Belgian [[film director]], [[screenwriter]] and [[animator]].

==Career==
Du Chau attended the [[Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent)|Academy of Fine Arts]] in his hometown of Ghent, where he studied film and majored in animation under [[Raoul Servais]]. After graduation, he worked for [[Walt Disney Animation France]] and later as a freelance animator and directed several local commercials, combining live-action and animation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmbug.com/db/344942/%20Frederik%20Du%20Chau's%20biography|title = Frederik du Chau – Filmbug}}</ref>

The selection of his student film, ''The Mystery of the Lamb'' (''Het mysterie van het lam''), for the Los Angeles Animation Celebration Conference brought him to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] where he was offered a job as an animator and later as a visual development and storyboard artist for [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]], [[Warner Bros.]], and [[Universal Pictures|Universal]].

Du Chau's break as a director came when Sony offered him to co-direct a short film with [[Hoyt Yeatman]] for [[Sony Wonder]]. This was followed with a stint as a storyboard artist for [[Chuck Jones]] where he learned everything he could about gags, timing and funny business from the master himself.

After a job as the animation director for Universal's ''[[The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving]]'', Du Chau was then offered a position as a visual development artist at the newly formed [[Warner Bros. Feature Animation]] department, where he sold two screenplays. He was attached to one of them as a director and was soon offered to direct the first animated feature for Warner Bros. ''[[Quest for Camelot]]''.

Du Chau wrote and sold a couple of screenplays with [[Kirk DeMicco]]. One of the screenplays, titled ''[[Sky Boys]]'', is a drama about two [[Irish immigrants]] who fight over the love of one girl while building the [[Empire State Building]]. Another screenplay was titled ''[[Hong Kong Phooey]]'', based on the popular cartoon and was sold to [[Alcon Entertainment|Alcon]] and Warner Bros. This led to the opportunity to write and direct ''[[Racing Stripes]]'' for [[Warner Bros.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.air-edel.co.uk/representation/frederik-du-chau/|title = Frederik du Chau – Air Edel – Film Director}}</ref>

The moderate success of ''[[Racing Stripes]]'' led to the job of directing the American feature film titled, ''[[Underdog (2007 film)|Underdog]]'', for [[The Walt Disney Company]], based on [[Underdog (TV series)|the popular 60s cartoon]] of a flying dog that becomes a superhero. It starred [[James Belushi]], [[Jason Lee (actor)|Jason Lee]] and [[Amy Adams]]. The film was extremely negatively received by critics.

He is currently attached to three different movies at several major studios{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}. He just started filming ''The Krostons''{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}, based on the popular Belgian comic book series by [[Paul Deliege]], his first [[Stereoscopic 3D]] movie for which he also wrote the screenplay.

When not directing Du Chau draws and develops his own series of [[graphic novel]]s ''Fish Out of Water''. His graphic novel work was recently selected at the [[Festival d'Angouleme 2008]] to be exhibited as one of the Unpublished Young talents.

He currently lives and works in [[San Francisco]], California.

==Filmography==

{| class="wikitable"
|-  style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
! Year
! Film
! [[Film director|Director]]
! [[Screenwriter|Writer]]
! [[Animator]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1989
|''[[The Smoggies]]''
|
|
|{{ya}}
|-
|''Het mysterie van het lam''
|{{ya}}
|
|
|-
|1990–1991
|''[[TaleSpin]]''
|
|
|{{ya}}
|-
|1992
|''[[Tom and Jerry: The Movie]]''
|
|
|{{ya}}
|-
|1995
|''[[The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving|The Land Before Time 3]]''
|
|
|{{ya}}
|-
|1998
|''[[Quest for Camelot]]''
|{{ya}}
|
|
|-
|2005
|''[[Racing Stripes]]''
|{{ya}}
|{{ya}}
|
|-
|2007
|''[[Underdog (2007 film)|Underdog]]''
|{{ya}}
|
|
|-
|2014
|''The Krostons''
|{{ya}}
|{{ya}}
|
|-
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0238865}}
*[http://www.filmbug.com/db/344942/ Frederik Du Chau's biography]
*[http://www.air-edel.co.uk/representation/56/frederik-du-chau/ Air-Edel Associates Profile]

{{Frederik Du Chau}}

{{Authority control (arts)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Chau, Frederik}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Ghent]]
[[Category:Belgian film directors]]
[[Category:21st-century Belgian screenwriters]]
[[Category:Belgian animators]]
[[Category:Belgian storyboard artists]]
[[Category:Belgian animated film directors]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Animation people]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Belgian male screenwriters]]