EN - Pim lives with his ex-beauty queen, single mother in a small town on the Belgian coast. An introverted boy, Pim brightens up his days with drawing and dreaming up fantasy lives. He expresses his emerging desires through a secret collection of "borrowed" objects that he keeps in a shoebox.
With teenage years comes sexual awareness and he now draws and dreams of Gino, the older boy next door, his motorcycling hero. But this first love seems likely to end in disappointment.
Pim’s mother, Yvette, has dreams of her own. Tired of unwanted suitors and bored with small town life, she longs to leave everything behind and to see the world. Pim and Yvette’s dreams collide when handsome Zoltan arrives in town with the fun-fair and becomes their new lodger.
FR - Pim vit avec sa mère, une ancienne reine de beauté célibataire, dans une petite ville à la côte belge. En tant que garçon introverti, Pim embellit ses journées en dessinant et rêvant d’une vie imaginaire. Il exprime ses désirs émergeants à travers une collection secrète d’objets « empruntés » qu’il garde dans une boîte à chaussures.Avec l’adolescence arrive le désir sexuel et désormais, il dessine et rêve de Gino, le garçon plus âgé vivant à côté, son héro en motocyclette. Mais ce premier amour semble se terminer par une déception.Yvette, la mère de Pim, a ses propres rêves. Fatiguée des prétendants qu’elle ne désire pas et de la vie dans une petite ville, elle veut laisser tout derrière elle et découvrir le monde. Les rêves de Pim et d’Yvette se heurtent lorsque le beau Zoltan arrive en ville avec la fête foraine et devient leur nouveau locataire.
Info
| Title | North Sea Texas |
|---|---|
| Original title | Noordzee, Texas |
| Original version | Dutch |
| Status | Completed |
| Production | Majority Flemish |
| Category | Features |
| Year of production | 2011 |
Credits
| Cast | Jelle Florizoone, Eva Van Der Gucht, Nina Marie Kortekaas, Mathias Vergels, Katelijne Damen, Luk Wijns, Thomas Coumans, Ben Van Den Heuvel, Patricia Goemaere, Nathan Naenen, Noor Ben Taouet, Ella-June Henrard |
|---|---|
| Photography | Anton Mertens, SBC |
| Editing | Els Voorspoels |
| Sound | Johan Somers |
| Art director | Merijn Sep |
| Costume | Nathalie Lermytte |
| Music | Adriano Cominotto |
| Production design | Kurt Rigolle |
| Other | Based on the novel ‘Nooit gaat dit over’ by André Sollie |
Technical specs
| Running time film | 96' |
|---|---|
| Release format | DCP JPEG 2000 |
| Aspect ratio | 2.35 Cinemascope |
| Colour | Colour |
Partners
| Supported by | Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) |
|---|
Festivals
Montreal World Film Festival 2011, Filmfestival Oostende 2011,
Awards
Montreal World Film Festival 2011: Silver Zenith Award for best feature debut and the Fipresci International Press Award.
Sales
Belgium (theatrical – KFD); Germany, Austria (all rights – Salzgeber & Co); Italy (all rights – Atlantide Entertainment); The Netherlands (all rights – Cinemien); UK (all rights – Peccadillo Pictures); US, Canada (all rights – Strand Releasing); Poland (all rights – Tongariro Releasing)
North Sea Texas grabs Swiss Culture Prize
Bavo Defurne’s feature debut North Sea Texas has won the Network Culture Prize in Bern, Switzerland, a biannual prize encouraging public awareness and rewarding outstanding work in going public with gay cultural concerns. With the award comes a cash prize of CHF15,000 (approx. €12,350). Director Bavo Defurne accepted the honours in person during an awards ceremony on Saturday.
The introverted Pim grows up in the late sixties in some shabby little village on the Belgian coast. He is a real dreamer and when puberty kicks in, Pim starts dreaming of Gino, the older boy next door.
North Sea Texas takes on Thailand
Bavo’s Defurne’s feature debut North Sea Texas recently celebrated its release in Thailand by Mongkol Major. The release in Thai cinemas follows earlier international successes in Germany and the UK, where the film attracted positive reviews in the likes of The Guardian and The Times.
Mongkol Major, which took on North Sea Texas for Thailand (Thai poster on the left), also handles major films in its territory such as The Twilight Sage, The Hunger Games and Haywire.
North Sea Texas grabs fifth international prize
Bavo Defurne’s feature film debut North Sea Texas has snared its fifth international prize. The film screened at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (27 April-6 May) where it was not only programmed as the closing picture, but also received the HBO Jury Prize for Best Full Length Feature.
More than a year after its Belgian release, North Sea Texas keeps on scoring overseas on both sales and festival selections. Recently Bavo Defurne’s feature had the honour of opening the Pink Apple Zürich Film Festival (2-10 May) in advance of its German theatrical release on 10 May.
UK release for North Sea Texas
Bavo Defurne’s feature debut, North Sea Texas, opens in British theatres today. It’s quite exceptional for a Belgian film from Flanders to get a wide UK release. Peccadillo, one of the UK’s principal distributors, signed up for the film’s theatrical release and has also set a VOD and DVD release for August.
Just last Sunday, North Sea Texas closed the London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival with a red carpet moment. After its passage in London, the film even received a three star review in The Guardian. Reviewer Henry Banes pegs it as a ‘beautiful-looking film about fledging gay love on the Belgian coast’ with brilliant acting.
Bavo Defurne scoops festival award in Cape Town
At the fifth edition of the Cape Winelands Film Festival in Cape Town, South Africa (14-24 March), Flemish director Bavo Defurne was awarded the Best First Feature Director Award for his feature debut North Sea, Texas. The film will be domestically released on DVD on 10 April.
North Sea, Texas keeps on scoring overseas. On 1 April, the film officially closes the London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and about a week later the movie will be released theatrically in the UK. Meanwhile, the film is already screening in movie theatres in The Netherlands. North Sea, Texas has so far been sold to ten territories, including the US, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Switzerland and Poland.
Last edited by Netlash on 4 February 2013