Felix van Groeningen's Berlinale Panorama Special entry The Broken Circle Breakdown, has captured the hearts of festivalgoers at the Berlin International Film Festival (7-17 February). On Tuesday night, the film screened at the 1,400-seat Friedrichstadt-Palast, where it received a warm applause that lasted several minutes.
Director Felix van Groeningen and main actors Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh were visibly moved by the overwhelming applause, which continued all the way through the end credits. Producer Dirk Impens and violist Nils De Caster were present as well. As a bonus, Baetens, Heldenbergh and De Caster performed Didn’t Leave Nobody but the Baby, one of the songs from the film, live on stage, which resulted in another enthusiastic round of applause by the audience.
Two years after the successful passage of Michaël R Roskam’s Bullhead at the Berlinale, The Broken Circle Breakdown is turning into an equally popular audience favourite at this year’s festival. The film has also been scoring at the European Film Market in Berlin, where sales agent The Match Factory is representing it internationally. Various countries have already expressed a strong interest in the film. Consequently, it’s expected that a number of important distribution deals will be finalised, even before the end of the festival.
An intense melodrama bursting with passion and music, The Broken Circle Breakdown is a story about how love can conquer fate, and sometimes not. Felix van Groeningen and Carl Joos wrote the script. Nico Leunen edited the film, while the photography was done by Ruben Impens. The soundtrack was created by The Broken Circle Breakdown Band, led by Bjorn Eriksson, and is still the number one record in Belgium.
Dirk Impens of Ghent-based production outfit Menuet (Turquaze, The Misfortunates) produced the film, making it the fourth collaboration between him and van Groeningen. The Broken Circle Breakdown was made possible with the support of the VAF/Film Fund of Cultural Affairs Minister Joke Schauvliege.