Code 37

Young Flemish helmer Jakob Verbruggen is to direct five-part series The Fall for UK pubcaster BBC. Verbruggen's feature debut Code 37 is to receive its international market debut at this year's European Film Market in Berlin while this year's Fantasporto will mark its international premiere.

Verbruggen will start shooting The Fall in Belfast at the end of March. The series tells the story of the personal life of a serial killer who's being sought by a female police officer, played by Gillian Anderson, best known for her performance as Scully in The X-Files. The Fall is written by BAFTA nominee Alan Cubitt and produced by Gub Neal of Artists Studio. Both have form in the Prime Suspect franchise as well as other Brit crime drama. The series should air on BBC2 later this year or in early 2013.

The 32^nd Oporto International Film Festival (24 Febr – 3 March) has invited works from no less than four Flemish filmmakers for its line-up. Frank van Passel’s Madonna’s Pig, Jakob Verbruggen’s Code 37, Nuru, a short by Michael Palmaers, and Christophe Van Rompaey's Lena have been selected for Fest.

Code 37 became an instant box office hit in its home territory when released last fall. The film was running alongside Madonna’s Pig and Geoffrey Enthoven’s Come As You Are in theatres and together the films even managed to register over 80,000 admissions during one weekend. The film is to receive its market première at this year's European Film Market in Berlin. Code 37 director Jakob Verbruggen is now also set to direct the BBC mini-series The Fall, written by the BAFTA nominated Alan Cubitt.

Flemish films locally registered a total of 80,000-plus admissions in the 11 November weekend. Both Code 37 – The Filmand Come As You Are (Hasta la vista) continue to perform strong at the local box office, each of them now having passed the 200,000-admission mark, while Frank Van Passel’s return to the big screen, Madonna’s Pig, had a good start.

Both Code 37 – The Film and Come As You Are passed the 200,000-admission mark this weeking, reaching Platinum Award status in Flanders. While Come As You Are is in its nineth week of release, Code 37 opened three weeks ago. Both titles continue to draw large audiences to the cinema. Code 37 – The Film ended second at the local, following Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin.

Jakob Verbruggen’s feature debut Code 37 registered a stunning 109,477 admissions in its first week at the local box office, making it the second best start for an indigenous film after 2007’s record-breaking Loft by Erik Van Looy.

The film, based on the popular Code 37 crime TV series, immediately started strong with well over 8,000 admissions on its opening night. In its first week, it also had the highest screen average nationally. In Code 37: The Movie, Ghent vice squad chief inspector Hannah Maes and her team are investigating a series of weird indecency offences taking place in the city's nightlife district.