Cadinot was born during
World War II, in German-occupied Paris, in the
Montmartre hill area of the
Batignolles Quarter. His parents were tailors who custom fit clothes. In the early 1960s, he studied at
École des Arts et Métiers and at the National School of Photography. He began to sell
nude photographs and finally moved to directing movies in 1978. Characteristic of Cadinot's films was an emphasis on plot, much more so than in typical porn films. His plots were often based originally on incidents from his own life, but he was known for adjusting the plot during filming to incorporate experiences of his actors. He insisted on realism in his films, especially in sex scenes, saying that the actors "do not portray things that are imposed on them by me, but things they like to do themselves". On 23 April 2008, Cadinot died of a heart attack. After his death, the company
French Art was headed by François Orenn, a classically trained
pianist who started working for Cadinot as a
score composer and who managed the company from 2002. Two unfinished films by Cadinot,
Subversion and ''Le Culte d'Eros'', have since been released. Orenn also began directing films of his own in Cadinot's style (
Anges et Démons and ''L'Avarice'') and with Cadinot's technical crew. In 2013, StudioPresse and PinkTv jointly acquired the Cadinot trademark and exclusive distribution rights on all Cadinot movies, including previously unreleased material. The website "Cadinot.fr" is owned by StudioPresse, which is known to own other gay labels such Jnrc, , GayArabClub etc. In October 2023, Editions Hors-Champ will be publishing a book of over a hundred black-and-white and colour photographs taken by Jean-Daniel Cadinot between 1970 and 2005. The editorial project is designed around a bilingual (French-English) biographical note, also illustrated with documents from the family archives. ==Partial filmography ==