1.A room chock full of relaxed people, impatient to discover the event of the year before everybody else does. A room full of professionals also, who grew together with Wallimage, political representatives who put the framework in place for the Walloon fund to grow, and last but not least fans who will discover everything which happened over the past ten years, receive very nice gifts and leave with a huge smile plastered on their faces as well as the satisfaction of knowing they live in a great region (and that’s awesome, isn’t it?)
2.A little clip to start off the evening. It all begun with a joke at Cannes, make a Walloon version of Johnny Hallyday’s huge hit, and it ended up being a real cult object. Of course! It represents all the assets of the region: talent AND relaxing, professionalism AND a never-ending sense of humour. Versatility, too. A cult object, we assure you!
3.A happy man. Philippe Reynaert, director of Wallimage since its inception in 2001, was the logical choice. The fact he is the epitome of all qualities our region possesses (see previous photo), allows him to be the living incarnation of the Walloon dynamic forces, to be able to oil the machine each time it is necessary, to liven up the image of the region to the outside world, but also here. But above all, it makes him capable of managing a financial fund with a large public vocation. Ten years later, his voice was shaking with emotion.
4.A fantastic film. It is hard to make a good comedy. And almost impossible to come next after a phenomenal success such as Welcome to the Sticks. But Nothing to Declare, co-produced in Wallonia by Scope Pictures and co-financed by Wallimage, does better! Its rhythm, inspired by American comedies (such as Meet the Parents, among others) and a terrific couple of actors, make the film a total success, filmed here in our region with a slew of beginning and confirmed Belgian actors, such as newcomer Julie Bernard who will make Frenchman Dany’s heart beat faster all along the film.
5.A nice crew which “does the job”, so to speak. We all agree that Nothing to Declare is an awesome comedy. But sharing this fine moment with the film’s crew, that’s even better. The die-hard promoters were particularly pleased with the reception from the public in Mons! Even though it were especially Benoît Poelvoorde and Dany Boon who livened things up under the well-willing eye of genius Bouli Lanners, it was the Belgian co-producer Geneviève Lemal, wearing her incredible Super Walloon t-shirt (we’ll show it in detail later) who particularly enjoyed the promise of a box office triumph. Let it be the 26th soon!
6. A top notch reception. Olivier Leenaert, Wallimage’s own bull, knows how to organise a party. Yesterday, after the showing, the atmosphere was relaxed and the service perfect. Everyone ate well, drank well, laughed well. Not an inkling of tension between France and Belgium could be found here!
7. Ministers who calmly discuss everything under the sun. When Jean-Claude Marcourt, the current Minister responsible for Wallimage meets Serge Kubla, who created the fund, they don’t just have Nothing to Declare. Both men talked (a lot). In a friendly atmosphere.
8.Interregional friendship. The theme of Nothing to Declare is how stupid racism is. Whether it be between French and Belgians like in the film or any other racism, like in real life. The idea of creating the regional funds to finance films goes absolutely against this: it aims to bring sensitivities together to cooperate in friendship. Cineregio, uniting more than 30 European funds is living proof of that. How about Belgium? Look at those smiles on the faces of Philippe Reynaert and Pierre Drouot, his Flemish counterpart. You immediately understand these two men find real pleasure in their encounters. Both regions obviously benefit.
9. Happy people everywhere! Smiles and laughter were the only things on the programme at Imagix! On screen, in the theatre, during the reception. For a tenth anniversary, nobody brought any ill tempers. Right, Stéphanie and Christophe?
10. Finally, of course, we need chips shops. A French one on the left, a Belgian one on the right. Another genius idea which enchanted the guests, who didn’t have to be asked twice before eating two helpings with frika(n)delle(s). Well, you had to compare to find out which is better! The result? Let’s say it’s an ex-aequo (even though we only say this not to hurt anyone’s feelings: everyone just knows that Walloon chips are better ;-))
Well, what do you say? We meet again in ten years?
