“The camera that lacks respect for human beings distorts the truth.”
–Henri Storck, interview by Andrée Tournès, 1988

Henri Storck was a filmmaker and an important member of the Belgian avant-garde in the 1920’s and 30’s. He was born in 1907 in Ostend, Belgium. As a young man he was influenced by surrealism and was associated with René Magritte, André Malraux, Louis Aragon, and others. His early films were silent “ethnographic” tableaus depicting everyday life in his home region. Storck was best known for his social documentaries, most notably Misery in Borinage, which he made together with Joris Ivens. During WWII he filmed the sociological documentary Farmers’ Symphony. Storck made nearly 100 films. He passed away in 1999.