It is with great sadness this morning that I have to report that our beloved Jean Rollin has passed away. I first heard the news yesterday afternoon via a series of discussions on Facebook, and through some emails, but finding confirmation was difficult. I was hoping to wake up today and find that this was a mistake but the news of Rollin's passing is now being reported through various media outlets as well. While I have known that his health had been very poor this is still very shocking news and I am extremely saddened by it.
Yesterday while I was reading all of the various notes of concerned friends over at Facebook I was reminded of what an inspiring force Jean Rollin was to his fans. We live in a society that more often than not embraces artists that play it safe, where taught technical proficiency is embraced more than genuine passion. Jean Rollin was a confrontational and wonderfully rough around the edges artist who was the very opposite of safe throughout his career. Reading the outpouring of love yesterday on Facebook reminded me of the kinship that I feel with fellow fans who don't want their art to be easy and sanitized.
Jean Rollin loved the cinema and you can feel that passion in all of his works. You can also sense that passion in the inspiring, and quite remarkable, stand Rollin took in the last 15 years when he refused to quit working no matter how poor his health became. This man lived to create and we are all blessed as film and literature lovers who embrace art that dares be dangerous and difficult as well as haunting and poetic.
I can only offer up my most sincere best wishes to Jean Rollin's family and friends on this very sad day. I will begin offering up links to the various tributes that will no doubt begin appearing as well later today. I will also continue honoring this great poet of the cinema here at Fascination, as I believe with all of my heart that this is a valuable project and Rollin is deserving of the best tribute we can give him.
While we mourn the loss of Jean Rollin at the age of 72 let us also celebrate the incredible body of work he left for us to watch, read and admire. Here was a filmmaker and author that was truly unique, who played by his own rules and who was able to stand apart from all of his peers with his very distinct vision. Simply put, there has never been anyone quite like Jean Rollin and, honestly, how many other modern artists can you say that about?
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