On May 6 , the 1st jury of the new WALLIMPACT line, dedicated to the economic development of audiovisual projects, met to analyze eight projects submitted by as many Belgian production companies : 3 live-action feature films, 1 animated feature film and 4 series live-action feature film.
The jury was composed of members of the fund’s team, as well as three external experts , each of whom brought an original perspective to a rather complex examination. Bruno Plantin-Carrenard, COO of UGC Belgium, Maxime Cottray, Vice President of Production & Finance at XYZ Films (live from L.A.) and Alex Verbaere, independent expert, have largely contributed to densify a long and exciting discussion at the end of which it was decided that 100 000 euros would be invested in two projects : a feature film live fiction and a medieval series that clearly aims to be exploited on platform. Both works were initiated in Belgium.
The feature film was proposed by Altitude 100. After the hilarious Je suis mort, mais j’ai des amis, the Malandrin brothers return to comedy with Mommy, Daddy, the Alien and Me, a very mainstream project which tells the adventures of a little boy of 8 years old and an alien who feeds on the energy of cell phones. Thanks to Wallimpact, the narrative development will be boosted as well as the R&D research related to the special effects which will be ensured by the Walloon company Benuts. The shooting should take place in 2022 or 2023.
Brought to you by Wrong Men North, the series Testament has been entrusted to Jamie Hannigan (Pilgrimage). His current script is based on the French comic book series “Le Troisième Testament”, by Xavier Dorison and Alex Alice. Fascinated by the series since he was a teenager, Benoit Roland (Wrong Men) acquired the rights and has been in charge of development in partnership with Wild Atlantic Pictures, an Irish company that has already produced Nightflyers for Universal and Fate : The Winx Saga for Netflix. The first season of this medieval adventure series will feature eight one-hour episodes, full of epic action and adventure. It will take place in early 14th century Europe , a dark and cruel time in which a secret carried by a legendary relic could change the world… or end it. Part of the production of this bigger than life work will obviously be located in Wallonia.
This double choice perfectly translates the will and the objectives of Wallimpact We can either have a real impact on the potential of a film initiated in Belgium by allowing its producers to invest more heavily in its development, or we can support a Belgian company that will be able to play a decisive role in the creation of a large-scale project and thus ensure that it has a prominent position in the international co-production that will be set up.
The next application deadline is August 27 . The jury will meet in September to decide on the winner or winners.
