Van Dormael spent his childhood travelling around Europe, before going on to study filmmaking at the INSAS in Brussels, where he wrote and directed his first short film, Maedeli la brèche (1981), which received the Honorary Foreign Film Award at the Student Academy Awards.
Van Dormael menjalani masa kecilnya dengan berkeliling Eropa, sebelum belajar membuat film di INSAS di Brussels, dimana ia menulis dan menyutradarai film pendek pertamanya, Maedeli la brèche (1981), yang meraih Penghargaan Film Asing Kehormatan di Student Academy Awards.