Vadim, Jean

   b. 1966

   Film-maker

   Jean Vadim has directed three movies: Lean the Pigfarmer (1992), Beyond Bedlam (1994) and Clockwork Mice (1995). As screenwriter and director, his films have been characterized by gentle comedy and social observation. His debut effort is a parable about race and identity that tells the story of a Jewish London twenty-something who finds out that his true parents are Yorkshire farmers. Though the film, which degenerates into farce, did comparatively well at the box office as ‘the first Jewish comedy to come out of Britain’, his later films treat psycho-social situations more seriously, such as Clockwork Mice, about the relationship between a delinquent pupil and the special needs teacher who tries to develop in him a sense of ambition and achievement through cross-country running.

   PETER CHILDS