Seventeen-year-old Mamebou lives in the last house of a dead-end street in Brussels.
Growing up in a disadvantaged environment, promising Mamebou never had a chance of living a normal life. At the age of twelve, he experienced a first conflict with the law. Ever since, Mamebou finds himself in a continuous struggle with his drug addiction, his lack of self-esteem in addition to enduring poverty, which keep him from getting his life back on track. His family and the present social network seem inadequate to provide a solution. Meanwhile, Mamebou’s perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted whilst he’s desperate to find a way out of his cul-de-sac.
Desert Island is an uncompromising, intimate and dark portrait of a young man trying to cope with his fate.
Info
| Title | Desert Island |
|---|---|
| Original title | L' île déserte |
| Original version | Dutch, French |
| Status | Completed |
| Category | Docs |
| Year of production | 2011 |
Credits
| Screenplay | Steve Thielemans |
|---|---|
| Photography | Steve Thielemans |
| Editing | Steve Thielemans, Jan De Coster, Michel Hubignon |
| Music | S.D. Willems |
| Released | 27/11/2011 |
| Other | Camera: Steve Thielemans |
Technical specs
| Running time film | 55' |
|---|---|
| Release format | HDV |
| Aspect ratio | 1:1.85 |
| Colour | Colour |
Partners
| Supported by | Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) & VRT |
|---|
Awards
Award overview: “BEST BELGIAN DOCUMENTARY” at Docville, 2011.
Festival selection: DOCVILLE, the International Documentary Filmfestival in Leuven
Desert Island and Grande Hotel grab FIPA kudos
Steve Thielemans’s Desert Island took the FIPA d’Or for Creative Documentary at this year's 25th International Festival of Audiovisual Programs (FIPA, 23-29 January). Lotte Stoops’ Grande Hotel received the Michel Mitrani Prize. No less than eight Flemish productions screened at FIPA this year.
The Michel Mitrani Award, named after the late founder of the festival and worth €8,000, is traditionally awarded by France Télévision on the night prior to the closing ceremony. The jury of five selected Grande Hotel from a total of seven nominated films from different sections of the festival.
Last edited on 10 November 2011