Spotlight on animation in the projects selected for the 11th screen.brussels fund session

For its last session of 2019, screen.brussels fund has selected eight co-production projects, investing a total of €1,074,000. Seven of these projects are led by Brussels-based producers, a selection that includes five feature-length films (including two animated ones), two television series and a documentary. By employing professionals and companies based in the Brussels-Capital Region, these projects will result in a direct audiovisual expenditure of nearly €10 million in the regional economy.

Five feature-length films…

Inexorable

Produced by Frakas Productions (Liège) and The Jokers (France) and directed by Fabrice Du Welz (Brussels), this feature-length film tells the story of Marcel Bellmer, a writer who, years after his success has waned, comes out of a depression and decides to move house with his family. That’s when Gloria is hired as a housekeeper. Young and fragile, she shakes Marcel to his core. This project will employ about 20 Brussels-based technicians, with the majority of the post-production being done in Brussels (209 out of 217 days). The cameras will be rented from Eye-Lite (Schaerbeek), the technical equipment will be provided by Citizen Ciné Services (Forest), and the laboratory by Studio l’Équipe (Evere). The film will be edited by Stempel (Anderlecht), the colour grading done by Charbon Studio (Forest) and finally, the sound studio and editing will be provided by Boxon (Ixelles).

Lilith & The Ghastly Brothers

Produced by Minds Meet (Brussels) and Volya Films (Netherlands) and directed by Michael Van Ostade (Antwerp). Lilith & The Ghastly Brothers is a thrilling adventure film about Lilith, a young rebellious girl who has to go to boarding school against her will. Her mother Merel has to travel across the world to carry out research on birds. At boarding school, Lilith quickly makes some unique friends: Kasper, Margot and Jimmy. With them and the strange ghost hunters Wout and Hans Schimm, she finds herself in her own adventure. Lilith & The Ghastly Brothers is a film about family, friends, and learning to cope with the little dark monster inside all of us. Eight Brussels-based technicians will be working on this project, along with various Brussels suppliers. Studio l’Équipe (Evere) will be responsible for the audio post-production, Lites (Saint-Gilles) for equipment rental, and Lux (Saint-Gilles) for image post-production and SFX.

Carpe Diem (working title)

Produced by Wrong Men (Saint-Gilles) and Kidam (France), and directed by Emmanuel Marre (Brussels). Cassandre is a twenty-six-year-old air flight attendant at a low-cost airline. She lives an unfulfilling life, endlessly moving between flights and parties. As her Tinder profile says, she has chosen to seize the day. She identifies with her company’s motto: “The world will not wait”. The first film from the Brussels director that will involve a large part of the team for the filming – nearly a dozen technicians, as well as Cobalt for the image laboratory (Brussels) and Eye-Lite (Schaerbeek) for the equipment.

...including two animated features

Titina

Produced by Vivi Films (Brussels), Mikrofilm (Oslo, Norway) and Vivi Film CVBA (Dilbeek), and directed by Kajsa Næss (Oslo, Norway). Titina is a Polar epic about the mysterious death of Roald Amundsen, the famous Norwegian explorer, the sheer disgrace of Umberto Nobile, the Italian airship engineer, and Titina, the first – and last – fox terrier at the North Pole. Seen through the eyes of the street dog, Titina tells a true-ish story of glory and defeat. For this project, 25 technicians will be employed by Studio Souza for the entire production, the voice-overs will be performed by Sonhouse (Koekelberg) and the animation by Studio Souza (Koekelberg). 

Around The World in 80 Days

Produced by Umedia (Brussels) and Cottonwood Media (France) and directed by Samuel Tourneux (Paris). Passepartout, a young and timid marmoset with dreams of exploration, has his life turned upside down when he meets the cocky adventurer, Phileas Fogg. Always ready to take on any challenge with his trusty surfboard, Phileas Fogg accepts a wild bet: circumnavigate the planet in 80 days, with Passepartout as his trusty helper. For this project, Mac Guff Belgium (Ixelles) will employ some 30 Brussels-based technicians for 15 months.

Un documentaire

Trésors de la Mésopotamie

Co-produced by Need Productions (Brussels), Les Films Grain de Sable (France), TV Only (France), Vicky Miha Films (Greece) and Anywhere Films (United Kingdom), and directed by Pascal Cuissot (Paris). At 63, Iraqi writer Jawad Bashara has spent more than half of his life in exile. When Islamic State troops decided to erase the Sumerian origins of our civilisation, he decided to return to Iraq and take action. Jawad retraces the road that brought humankind into history, and, accompanied by archaeologists and geeks, he gives himself the mission of immortalising our common heritage. In addition to eight technicians from Brussels, the majority of the VFX – including a 3D recreation of the Tower of Babel – will be created in Brussels by Mac Guff Belgium (Ixelles). The image post-production will be carried out by Stempel (Anderlecht), the audio mixing and recording by Alea Jacta (Saint-Gilles), sound effects by Studio l’Équipe (Evere) and the lighting by Paprika (Schaerbeek).

Two television series

Faits réels

Produced by Beluga Jungle (Brussels) and C Production (France) and directed by Ionut Teianu (Paris). Throughout history women have had to fight battles. Some of them became prominent figures in public combat; they stood up for themselves and fought for equality, for their rights, and for justice. Faits réels is a fictional documentary series of these real-life events throughout history. The majority of the filming (36 out of 42 days) and the entire post-production will be done in Brussels. Some 23 technicians will be employed for this project, as well as three Brussels-based providers: Caviar (Brussels) for video post-production, Sonhouse (Koekelberg) for audio mixing, and Eye-Lite (Schaerbeek) for equipment rental.

Unseen

A series that will be entirely produced in Belgium by Kwassa Films (Brussels) and Be Films (Brussels), and directed by Geoffrey Enthoven (Brussels). Unseen is a fantasy series about how, over 20 days, people and their families encounter a mysterious phenomenon: some of them are becoming invisible. Their invisibility becomes either a disability or a power, a tool used for protection, for voyeurism, for revenge or for domination. Some 40 technicians (non-production), six main roles and seven secondary roles from the Brussels-Capital Region will be involved in this series. The majority of the post-production will be done in Brussels (337 out of 427 days), the sound mixing and editing will be taken on by Boxon (Ixelles), the sound effects by Rec n Roll (Schaerbeek), and finally, the lighting will be provided by Xav & Coco (Anderlecht).

Half of the films are mostly Belgian-funded

Of the eight films and series, four of the projects will be mostly funded in Belgium: Unseen, Inexorable, Lilith & The Ghastly Brothers and Carpe Diem.

Nearly all of the producers are from Brussels

Apart from Inexorable, the latest film by Fabrice Du Welz produced by Liège-based Frakas, all of the projects are led by Brussels-based producers. Three of the directors are also from Brussels: Emmanuel Marre (Carpe Diem), Fabrice Du Welz (Inexorable) and Geoffrey Enthoven (Unseen).

Half of the producers are women

Half of the selected projects will be produced by women (Unseen, Titina, Trésors de Mésopotamie and Faits réels), a notable development in an industry that often lags behind in terms of equality.

A return of nearly €10 million for the Brussels economy

The direct return on investment for the €1,074,000 given to the audiovisual industry in this session will amount to more than €10 million in spending promises. That’s €9 for every €1 invested (909%). The eight projects selected out of the 13 submitted will create work for dozens of Brussels-based professionals in all sectors, and will keep the companies working in this extremely dynamic sector very busy.