Duelles, presented by Versus, is a psychological drama telling the story of Alice and Céline (Anne Coesens and Veerle Baetens), two best friends whose friendship is put to the test by a tragic event. After Cage and Illegal, Olivier Masset Depasse’s third feature film is a disturbing, frightening and Machiavellian thriller in which two women anxiously must face each other.
The film will be shot in May 2017 in the region of Liege. The bulk of the post-production will be handled in Wallonia as well by the local companies Kyoudaï Box, Alt, Genval les Dames and the Studio L’Equipe Bierges. Mikros Image will be responsible for the VFX and Filmik for the reproduction in 35mm.
Also set in the region of Liege, the second 100% Belgian project is a very different one: a documentary about the great industrialist John Cockerill set within the background of the history of metallurgy and recent industrial developments in Wallonia. Les Films de la Passerelle and director Bernard Balteau will work together with a technical team from Wallonia. The shooting and post-production will also take place in Wallonia. We expect an engrossing film which should draw interest far beyond the borders of our region!
While the new French Tax Credit system makes French producers less likely to turn to Belgian funding, we still saw one project coming from France! The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir is a co-production involving France, Belgium (Scope Pictures), Italy and India.
This is an adaptation of a worldwide bestseller directed by Canadian Ken Scott to whom we owe the irresistible Starbuck. The film brings together an impressive international cast including one of India’s most famous actors named Dhanush, renowned French actress Vanessa Paradis and actor Vincent Lafitte, as well as the American actress Erin Moriarty. It will be shot partly in Belgium, although the action does not take place there. Pierre Mertens will handle the sound and Philippe Ravoet will edit the film.
The increasing scarcity of co-productions with France also brings new collaborations. One of them is a co-production with Germany presented by Velvet Film’s manager Sebastian Schelenz and named Liliane Susewind. Adapted from a series of successful books, this feature film for children (although not animated) follows 11-year-old Lilian Susewind who has the extraordinary ability to talk to animals. Some 10 days of filming will be done in Wallonia, Benuts will handle the special effects and Genval-les-Dames the dubbing.
For the first time, Netflix will co-produce a TV movie in Belgium. To do so, they chose the co-production company Fontana which paradoxically finds itself at the head of a film with 100% Belgian financing. Fontana’s manager Jean-Jacques Neira will work together with Nicolas George as executive producer. The Most Assassinated Woman in the World tells the story of Paula Maxa, the star actress of the Theatre Grand Guignol in 1930s Paris, who died more than 10,000 times on stage. The film will be shot in Liège (minus four days in Paris for outdoor shots) and played by Anna Mouglalis and Niels Schneider. Wallonia-based Mikros and Dame Blanche will be involved in the post-production.
On the television screen, TV series are slowly becoming a staple favourite with viewers around the world. La Treve and Public Enemy have drawn international attention to Belgian productions, which we hope will benefit the promising Quartier des Banques. Presented by Panache in co-production with the Swiss production company PointProd, the series plunges us into the secret world of a private bank whose CEO is found dead and his sister decides to investigate… The leading role has gone to a Belgian actress who is very active on stage and whom we’ve also seen in Public Enemy: Laura Sepul, who will share credits with Lubna Azabal. Vincent Van Gelder will film this financial thriller while Sonicville, Mikros and Écoute Une Fois will be in charge of producing the sound and visuals.
