A very Belgian selection for the 10th session of the screen.brussels fund
Brussels, 10 July 19: For its second session of 2019, the screen.brussels fund has chosen 12 co-production projects with a total investment value of €950.000, seven of which are 100% Belgian-funded. Consisting of five full-length films, three television series, two documentary series, one web series and one collection of short films, these projects will provide work for the Brussels-Capital Region’s film professionals and firms, generating a return of 955% for the region’s economy.
Five full-length feature films
The new movie from Stephan Streker
Produced by Daylight films (Brussels) and directed by Stephan Streker (Brussels), the director has followed Le monde nous appartient and Noces with an opus inspired by a real-life event that stunned Belgium. With tens of local technicians including four section heads, the project also relies on the support of Brussels companies such as Studio L’Équipe (Evere) for the post-production and the likes of Eye-Lite (Schaerbeek) and Twins (Evere) for equipment. In front of the camera will be stars such as Jérémie Renier (Frankie, The Unknown Girl, Cloclo, L’enfant), singer, model and actor Alma Jodorowky, Emmanuelle Bercot (Girls of the Sun, My King, Polisse) and Félix Maritaud (Sauvage, BPM (Beats Per Minute).
La dernière tentation des Belges
Produced by Stenola (Brussels) and directed by Jan Bucquoy, a Brussels resident responsible for both films of The Sex Life of the Belgians, Camping Cosmos and La vie politique des Belges, this comedy-drama depicts a dad called Jan who, in order to stop his daughter Marie from jumping off a cliff, tells her stories and evokes moments from her past to keep her distracted for as long as possible. Bringing together a strong local team made up of half a dozen technicians, four of them section heads, the project also benefits from the backing of Eye-Lite and KGS (Schaerbeek) for equipment and machinery, as well as Alea Jacta (Saint-Gilles) and Charbon Cinéma (Forest) for sound studio and calibration, making the post-production entirely Brussels-based. As well, the film’s cast is also bursting with Belgian-ness, with faces known from Ostende to Durby such as Wim Willaert (When the Sea Rises, Cargo, Offline), singer Alice on the Roof and comedian Alex Vizorek.
Spaceboy
Produced by Kwassa films (Forest) and directed by Olivier Pairoux, this children's film invites us into the world of 11-year-old Jim, a dreamer and prodigy, who decides to secretly build a hot-air balloon in order to prove to his father that anything is possible if you believe in your dreams. With the majority of its filming and post-production taking place in Brussels, this comedy will provide work for some 30 technicians and 15 actors, as well as firms such as Zoom Production (Etterbeek) for post-production, Tanker (Molenbeek) for scenery and Deux sur Deux (Uccle) for VFX. In the leading roles will be the likes of Basile Grunberger (Our Struggles) and Yannick Renier (Ainsi soient-ils, Patients, Our Children, All Our Desires), ably abetted by familiar faces such as Jean-Benoît Ugeux (Le fidèle, La trêve, Je me tue à te le dire) and Bérénice Baoo (Cavale, Tueurs).
Do You Do You St Tropez
Produced by uMedia (Ixelles) and directed by Nicolas Benamou (France), who was behind such works as the 2 Babysitting movies, this film, which immediately evokes the sounds of the 1960s, features a screenplay by Jean-Marie Poiré and Christian Clavier (The Visitors, French Fried Vacation, Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au bon Dieu, etc.), in collaboration with Jean-François Halin, the screenwriter behind OSS 117. Gérard Depardieu, in the role of a chief of police, and Jérôme Commander, in that of a cook, complete the cast. It’s Saint-Tropez in the summer of 1970: Parisian police inspector Jean Boullin (Christian Clavier), a fully-fledged walking disaster, is sent to the home of billionaire Belgian celebrity (Benoît Poelvoorde) to investigate the attempted murder of his wife. At the lavish villa where the show business icon is vacationing, the inspector makes one awful gaffe after another as he seeks to identify the guilty party. All in all, almost 30 Brussels-based technicians will be on set with, at the controls, service providers such as Dada Studio, Steadycam and TSF (Schaerbeek) respectively for the music, Steadicams and equipment hire, along with Studio L’Équipe (Evere) for the sound and UFX (Ixelles) for the visual effects. Lastly, the recreation of the St. Tropez villa at Studio Monev will bring numerous days of filming to the Brussels region.
…including one low-budget production
Losers revolution
Produced by Kwassa films (Forest) and directed by Thomas Ancora and Grégory Beghin, the eponymous revolution is instigated by a group of friends hoping to create a social media buzz in order to get revenge, now they’re ‘adults’, on the bullies who made their lives hell at school. A ‘buddy movie’ with a Belgian flavour, this comedy shot on a tight budget is as Brusselesque as they come, with almost all of the team and the entire post-production process based within the region, namely 15 technicians and suppliers Story Digital (Ixelles) for the equipment, Cinelab (Brussels) for the post-production and Deux sur Deux (Uccle) for the VFX and graphics. Supporting Thomas Ancora is a born and raised Brussels cast that includes Tania Garbarski (Adorables, Ma Reum, Deux au carré, Le tango des Rashevski) Clément Manuel (Ennemi Public, Falco, Ainsi soient-ils, Don’t Tell Her), comedian Kody (Belgian comedy show, Le grand cactus, Ma Reum, How I Met My Father) and Baptiste Sornin (My Family and The Wolf, Two Days, One Night, Baden Baden, Au service de la France).
Three television series
Hoodie
Produced by Hotel Hungaria (Flanders) and directed by Olympia Allaert, Senne Dehandschutter, (Brussels) and Anthony Nti (Ghent), this abundant series (156 episodes) aimed at a young audience on Ketnet tells the adventures of 16-year-old Pieter and three of his pals, all of them urban parkour nuts who also act like modern-day Robin Hoods, fighting crime in their Brussels’ neighbourhood. Logically enough, all of the shooting, about 189 days spread over 15 months, will take place in Brussels, with half a dozen technicians, including two section heads and a sizeable bunch of actors involved. On-set catering will be supplied by l’Atelier Groot Eiland.
Parlement
Produced by Artemis production (Schaerbeek). Arriving back in Brussels the day after the Brexit vote, Samy, a young assistant at the European Parliament, begins a trying journey of renunciation without ever giving up on his motivation to change the world, even if only at his level. A series that oscillates between drama and comedy, Parlement is filmed mainly in Brussels (37 out of 45 days), with a large part of the post-production of this international joint effort with France and Germany also taking place in the Belgian capital. This original pan-European political comedy project will also be produced in English, French and German, while some 40 technicians, a dozen actors and two section heads will contribute their talents. Service providers include Studio L’Équipe and Audiosense (Evere) for the image post-production and sound equipment, along with Eye-Lite and KGS (Schaerbeek) for the cameras and machinery.
The Window
Produced by Velvet Films (Forest), this dramatic thriller focuses on the elite world of professional football in England and the murky business dealings surrounding it. Through the account of the talented Jordan Burdett, a rising star under the control of his brother and his agent, all the dirty laundry of a business that is worth billions is laid bare over 10 episodes of 45 minutes each. While this international series supported by ZDF is mainly shot in Belgium (including 5 days in Brussels) and a large part of the post-production will be done in Brussels. The sound editing and mixing will take place at Boxon (Ixelles), the sound equipment will be supplied by Audiosense (Evere), the VFX and credits will be handled by Digital Golem (Schaerbeek), and the post-synchronisation and sound will be completed at Dame Blanche (Etterbeek). There will be three section heads and some 15 technicians working on the series, as well as a dozen local actors, rubbing shoulders with a top-notch international cast, the details of which are still under wraps.
A web series and a collection of short films
La théorie du Y
Produced by Narrativ Nation (Brussels) and Entre Chien et Loup (Schaerbeek) and directed by Brussels’ Caroline Taillet and Martin Landmeters, this is the highly anticipated second season of the successful web series stemming from the call for projects by RTBF’s Webcreation & Transmedia unit. This 100% Brussels creation consisting of 10 seven-minute episodes immerses us in the LGBT world in a surprising yet realistic way. The entire team (designers, technicians, cast members, equipment, catering, scenery, post-production) are local and, as icing on the cake, the 15 days of filming all take place in Brussels. It centres on the characters Anna, played by Léone François, and Malik depicted by Salim Talbi, both trying to reconcile their sexuality with the traditional worlds to which they belong. Brussels and its diversity play a major role in this generational adventure and, all in all, there are 21 local technicians involved, as well as the firms TSF and KGS (Schaerbeek) for the image equipment and machinery hire, Audiosense (Evere) for the sound equipment, and Demute (Molenbeek) and Brussels Video Crew (Watermael-Boitsfort) for the sound and image post-production. Lastly, on-set catering will be provided by À chacun sa madeleine (Brussels).
La belge collection (vol.1)
Produced by Angie (Schaerbeek), this is a collection of four short films directed by Brussels residents, namely Guillaume Senez, Pablo Munoz Gomez, Ann Sirot, Raphael Balboni, Laura Petrone and Guillaume Kerbusch. This first edition of a collection of short films aimed at raising the profiles of young Belgian actors among public and professionals in Belgium and abroad. These four 15-20-minutes films also place Brussels in the spotlight by declaring their love for the city, in the style of ‘NY, I Love You’ or ‘Paris, je t’aime’. Accordingly, 25 days of filming will take place on Brussels’ soil, with 30 people split between the different teams and local firms Eye-Lite (Schaerbeek) and Studio l’Équipe (Evere) take care of the equipment and post-production.
Two documentary series
Borderline
Produced by Off world (Koekelberg), this documentary series consists of six episodes by six different European directors, two of them from Brussels (Anna Savchenko and Annabel Verbeke). Borderline takes us to the fringes of Europe, along the edges of our continent, from Croatia to Ireland and Northern Ireland by way of Norway and Belarus. Borderline uses these national divides to highlight a Europe in the throes of upheaval, in terms of both diversity and fragility. Some 20 Brussels’ technicians are involved, and all of the post-production will be done in Brussels: the sound and dubbing post-production at RGV Audio (Schaerbeek) and Sonhouse (Molenbeek), the sound equipment supplied by Audiosense (Evere), camera hire from Axis One (Evere), image post-production by The Fridge (Molenbeek) and music recording by Jet Studio (Molenbeek) .
A four episodes documentary series
Produced by Medianext tv (Schaerbeek) and directed by Gregory Goehtals (Brussels), this documentary series features a decidedly Brussels team including eight technicians, four of them section heads, plus support from Clair-Obscur (Schaerbeek) for the calibration, Focus Live (Saint-Gilles) for the equipment and RGB Audio (Schaerbeek) for the mixing.
100% Belgian…
Among the 12 projects selected, seven are being funded entirely in Belgium: La théorie du Y, La belge collection, Losers Revolution, Spaceboy, La dernière tentation des Belges, Chasse à l’homme and Hoodie.
… and a new generation of talent from Brussels
Also noteworthy is the blossoming of some rising Brussels stars, such as the directors, producers and actors involved in ambitious projects like La belge collection, Losers Revolution, Spaceboy, La dernière tentation des Belges, La Théorie du Y and Chasse à l’homme.
*ROI for the Brussels’ economy
The direct return on this session’s €950.000 investment in the audiovisual sector stands at €9 million in spending promises. That’s €9.50 spent per euro invested (955.5%). The 11 projects selected out of the 24 submitted are creating employment for tens of Brussels residents – across all professions – and filling the order books of our companies active within this extremely dynamic sector.