Germaine

The Belgian Consulate in LA have announced that director Frank Van Mechelen’s domestic box-office hit Germaine will screen in Santa Monica, CA as a part of the ‘Grit and Whimsy’ Belgian film series.

Originally launched as part of the celebrations of Belgium’s presidency of the European Union in 2010, the ‘Grit and Whimsy’ Belgian Film Series is now organized on a permanent basis by the Belgian Consulate General in LA, in cooperation with Flanders Image amongst others.

Two major Flemish productions, Germaine and Time of My Life, have been boosted by a slew of positive news and numbers. Both films are based on true stories and have succeeded in catching the attention of media and public alike. Nic Balthazar’sTime of My Life was receveid enthusiastically at Berlin's EFM, while Frank Van Mechelen's Germainehas proven itself as a true box-office hit.

Films Distribution, international sales agent of Balthazar’s second feature Time of My Life, confirmed that the film drew a great deal of attention at Berlin’s European Film Market. Towards the end of March, Time of My Life will be released in The Netherlands, Luxemburg and the French-speaking region of Belgium. Time of My Life has already managed to claim two major festival awards: the Audience Award for Best Film at both the RamDam Festival and The End Festival in Amsterdam. The film was also honoured with a special mention from the jury at the prestigious Rome Film Festival.

Being set in the 1970s doesn't make Germaine a museum piece. 'Even now, 40 years on, it remains very current,' says its director, Frank Van Mechelen. The film is based on a play from the period, which was inspired by the author's experience of a wildcat strike. Van Mechelen thinks the questions of community and family loyalty that it raises should still resonate. 'I hope that things are still the same now, that people feel a sort of solidarity, that they want to help each other.'

The story revolves around the Debruycker family. Jan (Stany Crets) works at a zinc factory in Balen, a small town in the Kempen region in the north east of Belgium. When a strike breaks out in the winter of 1970-71 he is not too keen on taking part, but he is also not brave enough to follow his bitter old father's advice and cross the picket line. With no money coming in, the family has to get by on what his daughter Germaine (Evelien Bosmans) brings in from working at the checkout in a supermarket in near-by Mol.

Frank Van Mechelen’s Germaine has captured audiences in its home territory. After only three weeks on release, the film has already passed the 100,000-admission mark, giving it Gold status. Actresses Evelien Bosmans and Clara Cleymans are to accept the Golden Award from the Ostend Film Festival on 11 January.

Germaine, Van Mechelen’s third feature after Hell in Tangier (2006) and The Intruder(2005), now takes its place in the top 10 of most visited films in Flanders. The Golden Award for 100,000 admissions is an initiative of the Ostend Film Festival. Last year, Michaël R Roskam’s Bullhead, Jakob Verbruggen’s Code 37 – The Film and Geoffrey Enthoven’s Come As You Are also reached either Gold, Platinum or Diamond status.