Bo and Sammy selected for Giffoni

Hans Herbots’ Bo has been selected for the 40th Giffoni Film Festival (23–31 July) in Italy. The film will be competing for the Gryphon Award in the Generator +16 section. Giffoni audiences will also see the teaser of Ben Stassen’s 3D spectacular Sammy’s Adventures – The Secret Passage (A Turtle’s Tale).

In Bo, 15-year-old Deborah wants to escape her dull suburb and enjoy the alluring city of Antwerp. Her new friend, 18-year-old Jennifer, leads her into the glitzy downtown nightlife. When Jennifer admits she’s an escort girl, Deborah is intrigued by what appears to be an easy way of getting cash. Under the alias Bo, she takes her first steps into a world she can’t handle. The downward spiral leads her to cheap thrills, drugs and into a juvenile institution. To escape this spiral, Deborah can only count on herself.

Bo will be competing against 12 other films in the Generator +16 section. The film is not the only Flemish production at Giffoni. Festival audiences will also get a chance to enjoy a preview of Ben Stassen’s Sammy’s Adventures. The teaser of this ambitious animated film is included in the festival’s premiere section.

Giffoni is well known for promoting cinema for young people. Ever since its foundation in 1971, the Giffoni Film Festival (GFF) has worked with juries exclusively made up of young people as part of its mission statement to ‘promote and develop cinema for young people’.

Bo is produced by Bert Hamelinck and Frank Van Passel for Caviar Films. The 3D animated Sammy’s Adventures – The Secret Passage is an nWave production.