Ernst Moerman (1897–1944) was a Belgian writer and film director. In the twenties, Moerman was close to the Parisian surrealist group. He wrote a theatre play based on the story of Tristan et Isolde, the play Vie imaginaire de Jésus Christ and the sardonic poetry collection Fantômas 33. He was a fan of Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allains’ book series about the criminal Fantômas, whom Moerman called “the demoralising gentleman”, and made him the emblematic hero of his silent film, Monsieur Fantômas, with music by Robert Ledent. The film premiered at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels on 12 October 1937, together with Un chien andalou (Luis Buñuel, 1929).
