On the Roll Again is a documentary of the new French and TOK teacher, Mr. Marc Biefnot. Just kidding—this movie isn’t actually available in theaters, but only hypothetical. Mr. Biefnot thought of the film’s title himself in reflection of his own life, and you can find out why in this (hypothetical) IMBD summary of his life:
Mr. Biefnot grew up in a small town in Belgium, just the south of Brussels. He describes his high school life there to be “a little bit constraining”, but that didn’t stop him from trying new things.
“[High school] was when I started to grow out my hair,” Mr. Biefnot said. “I guess it was just a regular stage of rebellion. But now my hair is gone, so I don't think you can call me a rebel anymore.”
This rebellious phase also included rocking the electric guitar at 16-years-old—a hobby that Mr. Biefnot continues to do today. To him, playing the guitar was about getting a kick out of it.
“It’s about the feeling of being on stage and giving it all—it’s the sheer thrill of it.” Mr. Biefnot said, slamming his fist into the air. “That you can also get out of riding 200km an hour on a deserted highway, and that’s why people like sports. But in my opinion, it’s much nicer to do it when you’re performing.“
Although he wishes he could be more dedicated to the instrument, he does currently practice the guitar in an unnamed band with a few other teachers twice every week.
“I know that one of the other teachers want us to be called The Shambles,” Mr. Biefnot said. “I don’t know really why, maybe because we are not very good. And I said okay, but we need to get the Chinese equivalent for it.”
Mr. Biefnot also learnt the saxophone at one point in his life, but he said he didn’t feel the passion for it. “In the end.... I dropped the hobby, sold my saxophone, and used the money to buy yet another electric guitar,” he laughed.
The arts seems like a recurring theme in Mr. Biefnot’s life. Besides music, he also enjoys photography and visits to art exhibitions. In response of the question of what he finds so fascinating about the arts, Mr. Biefnot leaned back and let out a laugh: “Well that’s a question I’ve been trying to get [my TOK students] to answer!”
“One thing I like is the creativity—the sheer creativity”, he said—nodding. “It’s about how someone can confront a situation: whether it’s a stage in their life or a problem, and what it is they can create out of that....There’s almost a therapeutic aspect in art. When you’re facing a situation and you don’t know how to express it until art comes. I’m also interested in seeing how people perceive the world and how they can make out of reality with their own personal filter.”
“But sometimes it’s just pleasing to look at,” he said—the pace of his voice slowing down as he let out a smile. “Sometimes art is just plain beautiful.”
It would make sense that, as a French teacher, Mr. Biefnot is also eager to learn new languages. While a master of French, he is still in the process of learning Spanish, German, and Chinese. What a man of many talents! That would explain why Mr. Biefnot’s not planning to pick up new hobbies anytime soon.
“If you’re doing too much in the end, you’re never going to be proficient in anything,” he said.
Despite the many activities he’s already doing, traveling was always a part of Mr. Biefnot’s agenda. It’s not his first time in China, as he’s also lived in Beijing. Besides that, he has also lived in Louisiana, Vietnam, Brussels, and Mumbai. It’s not the lifestyle of an average person, but Mr. Biefnot enjoys being “on the roll”.
He also adds that he’s content with coming back to China. “I found living in Beijing wasn’t enough,” Mr. Biefnot said. “There’s something about it, really—this element of exoticism. And I think it’s also because you hear so many stories about China. You see so many pictures, and when you finally come here, you think, wow, it’s really what it’s like in the picture or in the movie.”
Mr. Biefnot’s been to six countries... and counting. While he squints at a map of the world hanging in his classroom, he adds that he would also like to go to Chile, Argentina, Africa, and countries in Eastern Europe.
Despite these having a variety of places he want’s to live in, Mr. Biefnot didn’t forget about Belgium, where he spent twenty-five years of his life. Although he describes the town to be “a little bit dead in the evening”, Mr. Biefnot still visits his mother there every summer. “I have a weird attachment to being there. Because these are my roots,” he said.
Although the rest of On the Roll Again (again, hypothetical) remains ambiguous, Mr. Biefnot does retain the same attitude throughout:
“I value the idea that the moment is important. When you have a good moment you should at least be aware of it, and understand that it might not last forever,” he advised.
That is quite applicable to SAS students currently drowning in schoolwork and college applications. Perhaps you can relieve some of that stress by asking Mr. Biefnot whether you can join in his next guitar session. But it might be hard to track him down—he’s always on the roll.
Angela Ma
Mr. Biefnot grew up in a small town in Belgium, just the south of Brussels. He describes his high school life there to be “a little bit constraining”, but that didn’t stop him from trying new things.
“[High school] was when I started to grow out my hair,” Mr. Biefnot said. “I guess it was just a regular stage of rebellion. But now my hair is gone, so I don't think you can call me a rebel anymore.”
This rebellious phase also included rocking the electric guitar at 16-years-old—a hobby that Mr. Biefnot continues to do today. To him, playing the guitar was about getting a kick out of it.
 |
| Mr. Biefnot rocking his “infamous long hair” and electric guitar during his second year of college, around 1984 (courtesy of Marc Biefnot) |
“It’s about the feeling of being on stage and giving it all—it’s the sheer thrill of it.” Mr. Biefnot said, slamming his fist into the air. “That you can also get out of riding 200km an hour on a deserted highway, and that’s why people like sports. But in my opinion, it’s much nicer to do it when you’re performing.“
Although he wishes he could be more dedicated to the instrument, he does currently practice the guitar in an unnamed band with a few other teachers twice every week.
“I know that one of the other teachers want us to be called The Shambles,” Mr. Biefnot said. “I don’t know really why, maybe because we are not very good. And I said okay, but we need to get the Chinese equivalent for it.”
 |
| Mr. Biefnot still rocking the electric guitar but not the long hair, in Mumbai, 2010 (Courtesy of Marc Biefnot) |
Mr. Biefnot also learnt the saxophone at one point in his life, but he said he didn’t feel the passion for it. “In the end.... I dropped the hobby, sold my saxophone, and used the money to buy yet another electric guitar,” he laughed.
The arts seems like a recurring theme in Mr. Biefnot’s life. Besides music, he also enjoys photography and visits to art exhibitions. In response of the question of what he finds so fascinating about the arts, Mr. Biefnot leaned back and let out a laugh: “Well that’s a question I’ve been trying to get [my TOK students] to answer!”
“One thing I like is the creativity—the sheer creativity”, he said—nodding. “It’s about how someone can confront a situation: whether it’s a stage in their life or a problem, and what it is they can create out of that....There’s almost a therapeutic aspect in art. When you’re facing a situation and you don’t know how to express it until art comes. I’m also interested in seeing how people perceive the world and how they can make out of reality with their own personal filter.”
“But sometimes it’s just pleasing to look at,” he said—the pace of his voice slowing down as he let out a smile. “Sometimes art is just plain beautiful.”
It would make sense that, as a French teacher, Mr. Biefnot is also eager to learn new languages. While a master of French, he is still in the process of learning Spanish, German, and Chinese. What a man of many talents! That would explain why Mr. Biefnot’s not planning to pick up new hobbies anytime soon.
“If you’re doing too much in the end, you’re never going to be proficient in anything,” he said.
Despite the many activities he’s already doing, traveling was always a part of Mr. Biefnot’s agenda. It’s not his first time in China, as he’s also lived in Beijing. Besides that, he has also lived in Louisiana, Vietnam, Brussels, and Mumbai. It’s not the lifestyle of an average person, but Mr. Biefnot enjoys being “on the roll”.
 |
| Mr. Biefnot has been on the roll since 1970, vacationing on the Belgian coast (Courtesy of Marc Biefnot) |
He also adds that he’s content with coming back to China. “I found living in Beijing wasn’t enough,” Mr. Biefnot said. “There’s something about it, really—this element of exoticism. And I think it’s also because you hear so many stories about China. You see so many pictures, and when you finally come here, you think, wow, it’s really what it’s like in the picture or in the movie.”
Mr. Biefnot’s been to six countries... and counting. While he squints at a map of the world hanging in his classroom, he adds that he would also like to go to Chile, Argentina, Africa, and countries in Eastern Europe.
Despite these having a variety of places he want’s to live in, Mr. Biefnot didn’t forget about Belgium, where he spent twenty-five years of his life. Although he describes the town to be “a little bit dead in the evening”, Mr. Biefnot still visits his mother there every summer. “I have a weird attachment to being there. Because these are my roots,” he said.
Although the rest of On the Roll Again (again, hypothetical) remains ambiguous, Mr. Biefnot does retain the same attitude throughout:
“I value the idea that the moment is important. When you have a good moment you should at least be aware of it, and understand that it might not last forever,” he advised.
That is quite applicable to SAS students currently drowning in schoolwork and college applications. Perhaps you can relieve some of that stress by asking Mr. Biefnot whether you can join in his next guitar session. But it might be hard to track him down—he’s always on the roll.
Angela Ma
