During the 10th session dedicated to animation, the Wallimage board of directors clearly took advantage of the broad array of possibilities offered to them. The Walloon fund will co-finance two new series, a feature film and also awarded a Crossmedia grant for a particularly appealing digital extension, aimed at the youngest.
Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands. All over Europe, famous art works simultaneously disappear. . Interpol is at the end of their wits. Coincidence? Hardly, more like a conspiracy. One man is behind it : the Machiavellian Arturo who has an egg to peel with society. In every country, he can count on the help of clever accomplices. However, several protagonists have a hidden agenda, and the whole affair quickly becomes more than “just” an international heist. Let the hunt begin!
The 11th investment round for Wallimage/Bruxellimage came to an end on Monday, 7th May, after an anxiously awaited board meeting. Given the number and the quality of submitted files, the task at hand was particularly hard for the directors, who were as always obliged to make harsh choices in order to respect the budget.
Finally, three majority and three minority files were selected. These should return some of the most important economic effects in the history of the mixed fund.
Without further ado, let’s present our line-up for this session: four feature films and a hugely ambitious series of three documentaries. Suspense behind, but soon also on the big screen! Indeed, this rarely happens but three of the selected projects are thrillers: romantic, noir and even fantastic.
Frédéric Delcor, Secretary-General of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, and Philippe Reynaert, manager of Wallimage and Bruxellimage, celebrate Belgian cinema.
On Monday 24 April, at noon, Wallimage and the Federation Wallonia-Brussels held a press conference together to emphasize the extraordinary Belgian presence at the Cannes Festival. A logical step, given how much both institutions (and the tax shelter) allowed our film industry to blossom, and today to play in the (very) big leagues.
Wallimage will once again have four films selected for the main sections of the Cannes Festival. Ernest et Célestine, co-produced between La Parti Production in Belgium, Les Armateurs in France and Melusine in Luxembourg, has just been announced for the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.
This feature film is the work of the slightly crazy due behind Panic at the Village: Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar. For this very different experience they associated with Frenchman Benjamin Renner.
Ernest et Célestine is once more proof that in Wallonia, cinema can count on a cutting edge technical industry, seeing how Digital Graphics and Dame Blanche Genval are among the high-tech companies who contributed their know-how to the success of this adventure.
Sandrine Bonnaire is not only an exceptional actress, but she is also on her way to becoming a great director. She immediately followed up her first film, a documentary about her sister, with a painful fictional story, about a couple torn apart by the death of a child, caught up in troubling circumstances.
J’enrage de son absence, co-financed by Wallimage/Bruxellimage has just been selected for the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes, as a Special Screening. This means there are a total of four films representing the Walloon fund at the festival as of today. For the Brussels-based branch it is however a first in 2012.
End of shoot picture at the Métropole. Cannes was just a dream then...
The news from Cannes was already delightful for Wallimage, with two films in the official selection. Success however, quickly becomes a habit. For the past five years, the Walloon fund had at least three films featured at the Croisette. This year, we once again met the Olympic limit, as the selection for the Semaine de la Critique was announced on Monday.
David Lambert’s debut film, which the board of directors decided to support in March 2011, will indeed join our other films in Cannes. Jean-Yves Roubin (Frakas), the Belgian producer of the film, is obviously beyond thrilled. Hors les Murs joins A perdre la raison and De Rouille et d’Os.
Three feature films, all produced in Liège. Can we still call this coincidence?
A perdre la raison has been selected for “Un Certain Regard”.
It has become a splendid habit: as was the case the past few years, Wallimage will once more be strongly represented at the Cannes Festival. While we are still waiting on the nominees for the Semaine de la Critique and the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, we already know that two of our major co-productions are part of the official selection: De Rouille et d’Os by Jacques Audiard, with Matthias Schoenaerts, Marion Cotillard and Bouli Lanners, is in the competition and Joachim Lafosse’s À perdre la raison, with Emilie Dequenne, Niels Arestrup and Tahir Rahim, goes to the “Un Certain Regard” section.
We certainly would make a detour to see Dave’s region. No longer necessary thanks to Joël Franka’s debut film.
On Monday, 5th March, a particularly animated board meeting ending with a verdict for the 44th Wallimage investment round. The amount and quality of submissions forced the board of directors to make some drastic choices. In the end, no less than five (!) very different feature films were selected. Three are minority co-productions, two are Belgian majority, revealing two debuting directors.
Since Wallimage decided to dedicate an investment line to animation, the fund has been pleased to see that each session brings many projects and that companies specialised in this field are now working constantly.
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