22nd of May

Koen Mortier’s 22nd of May has won the Golden Owl at the 25th edition of the Leeds International Film Festival (3-20 November), where it triumphed over 11 other movies in Official Competition. In addition to the Golden Owl, 22nd of May also celebrated its 25th festival selection at Leeds. The film is also set for release in France and Germany.

The festival jury in Leeds described 22nd of May as ‘a powerful and evocative story of guilt and payback… Mortier mixes reality with the aesthetics of pop video to create an unique and intense film.’ The jury also appealed to UK distributors to make sure the film was added to the line-up for local cinemas.

Hans Van Nuffel’s Oxygen and Michaël R Roskam’s Bullhead head this year’s list of nominations for the Flanders Film Awards, collecting nine and eight noms respectively in ten categories. The awards ceremony takes place on Saturday 10 September at the fifth Ostend Film Festival.

A jury chaired by actor Peter Van den Begin (Frits & Freddy, Dirty Mind), consisting of Studio 100 topper Hans Bourlon, TV host Phara de Aguirre, actress Els Dottermans, musician Piet Goddaer, former sportsman and columnist Jan Mulder, photographer Lieve Blancquaert and director Christophe Van Rompaey, selected three nominations in each of the ten categories.

Koen Mortier's 22nd of May is celebrating its 15th festival invite thanks to the film's selection for the Étrange Filmfest (2-11 September) in Paris. In addition to 22nd of May, the festival is also showing Mortier's debut feature, Ex-Drummer, and a selection of his shorts as part of a special on the Flemish helmer. Furthermore there are plans for a French release of both 22nd of May and Ex Drummer in theatres and on DVD respectively.

22nd of May has been selected for the festival's New Genre Competition. The fest, which is held at the prestigious Forum des Images, praises the director’s career: ‘Mortier launched his cinematic career late in life, at the age of 30, with experimental short films such as Ana Temnei (1993) and A Hard Day’s Work (1995). […] His career path surprisingly mirrors that of Roy Andersson (Songs from the Second Floor).”

Koen Mortier’s 22nd of May and Kadir Balci’s Turquaze have been invited to this year’s 35th edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival (20 March-5 April). Both films will screen in the World Cinema programme. Also selected is the animated feature A Cat in Paris by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, which is to have a gala premiere at Hong Kong.

Kadir Balci’s Turquaze had its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival, and also toured other fests such as Hamburg and Palm Springs. Producer is Dirk Impens for Menuet. International sales are handled by Delphis Films. The festival describes Turquaze as “Realistic yet warm, tense yet romantic, this is a fresh and uplifting spin on the modern issue of multiculturalism”.

Koen Mortier’s controversial debut feature Ex Drummer is to open in New York on 3 March. The film will screen at reBar’s reRun, the hot independent movie theatre in Brooklyn.

In Ex Drummer, three disabled rock musicians are searching for a drummer for their band, The Feminists. A well-known writer seems like the right guy for the job, but his only handicap is that he can't play the drums. He joins the group anyway, but soon after his arrival, personal disputes and family feuds start to jeopardise the band’s fragile future.