Jan Roelfs
About
Biography
Biography
A gifted Dutch production designer, Jan Roelfs is noted for his decade-long collaboration with fellow designer Ben Von Os. Beginning in 1983, the pair collaborated on over 25 films, most notably several for British director Peter Greenaway, including "A Zed and Two Noughts" (1985), "Drowning By Numbers" (1988), "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" (1989) and "Prospero's Books" (1991). For each of those films, Roelfs and Van Os worked closely with the director, choosing particular color schemes and creating the ornate and sumptuous visuals. They also scored with Robert Altman's "Vincent & Theo" (1990), which included many recreations of Van Gogh's paintings. For "Orlando" (1993), which required creating sets for several time periods ranging from the Elizabethan age to the 18th Century to modern times, the duo shared an Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. Beginning in 1994, the pair began to accept projects independently. Roelfs went on to create the Americana look for Gillian Armstrong's remake of "Little Women" (1995) and earned a second Academy Award nomination for his futuristic design for "Gattaca" (1997).
Filmography
Producer (Feature Film)
Art Director (Feature Film)
Production Designer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1984
First worked with Ben Von Os on "Naughty Boys"
1985
First garnered attention with his production design for "A Zed and Two Naughts", directed by Peter Greenaway
1988
Designed Greenaway's "Drowning By Numbers"
1989
Third film with Greenaway, "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover"
1990
Served as one of the art directors for Robert Altman's "Vincent & Theo"
1991
Teamed again with Greenaway for "Prospero's Books"
1993
Garnered Oscar nomination for his work on "Orlando"
1994
Was production designer on Gillian Armstrong's remake of "Little Women"
1997
Received second Academy Award nomination for his futuristic designs for "Gattaca"
