The Extraordinary Life Of Rocky

Guy Lee Thys’ new feature Mixed Kebab and Geoffrey Enthoven’s award-winning Come As You Are have been selected for the Cinequest Film Festival (28 February-11 March) in California. Three shorts also made it to the pioneering fest's final line-up: Kevin Meul’s The Extraordinary Life of Rocky, Boris Sverlow’s Shattered Past and Nicolas Daenens’ 27.

Mixed Kebab, which will premiere internationally in the Global Landscapes Competition of the festival, is praised by Cinequest’s Terra Wood for the way the ‘electrifying and multicultural cast brilliantly captures courage, tolerance and the beauty of love conquering hate’. Geoffrey Enthoven returns to Cinequest after his previous feature The Over the Hill Band was presented as part of the 2010 edition of the fest.

Geoffrey Enthoven’s Come As You Are and Kevin Meul’s short film The Extraordinary Life of Rocky have won the Golden Spike for Best Feature and the Meeting Point Award for Best Short Film respectively at the 56th Valladolid International Film Festival (22-29 October). In addition to netting the Spanish fest’s main prize, Come As You Are also won the Young Jury Award in the Official Competition.

Come As You Are has been enjoying remarkable success both at home and abroad. In its home territory, the film has already registered over 150,000 admissions. After its world premiere at the World Film Festival of Montréal, where it won the Grand Prix des Amériques and the Audience Award, among others, the film was sold to nine territories including Brazil, Canada, Germany, France and Spain. Negotiations with other countries are ongoing, while the rumors of an international remake keep surfacing. International sales are handled by Films Boutique.

Kaat Beels’s feature debut Hotel Swooni has been confirmed for the New Directors Competition of the Chicago International Film Festival (6-20 October). With the selection of her debut from a pool of over 100 first and second films, Beels confirms her international reputation as a talent to watch.

Hotel Swooni premiered internationally at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and is now making its US bow in Chicago. Not only has the film obtained a ticket for the New Directors Competition for first and second films, but it is is also programmed in the ReelWomen section, which focuses on ‘the input of female writers and directors’.

A record number of Flemish productions and co-productions have been invited to the 35th edition of the Montreal World Film Festival. In addition to the premieres of Geoffrey Enthoven’s Come As You Are and Bavo Defurne’s North Sea Texas, which had been announced earlier, Montreal confirmed the selection of feature documentary Epilogue, as well as five short films and two minority co-productions with Flanders.

With its total of ten Flemish (co)productions, Montreal has plumped for bold, new and emerging talent from Flanders. No less than five shorts are to debut: the Cannes awarded Swimsuit 46 by Wannes Destoop, Cannes selected Bento Monogatari by Pieter Dirkx, Kevin Meul’s debut The Extraordinary Life of Rocky, Lenny Van Wesemael’s Dancing with Travolta and Mathias Verleyen’s short documentary Sous la Peau (Underneath the Skin).

Kevin Meul's debut short The Extraordinary Life of Rocky has been selected for three European film fests: the Milano Film Festival, the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival and the Favourites Film Festival in Berlin.

At the Milano Film Festival the black comedy will compete in the International Short Film Competition, known as the most eclectic section of the festival. The film will also compete in the European Short section of the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival. The film has also been selected for Berlin's Favourites Film Festival, which specialises in featuring audience award-winning titles.