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Subscribe to the RSS feedPink Martini confirmed for soundtrack of Bavo Defurne’s Souvenir
The soundtrack of Bavo Defurne’s second feature film Souvenir is to be composed by the Pink Martini ensemble. Also Adriano Cominotto has been confirmed for the film’s musical score. Cominotto previously created the soundtrack of Defurne’s debut feature North Sea Texas.
Pink Martini was created in 1994 in the United States by founder Thomas Lauderdale and brings a combination of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop. The ensemble reunites some 10 to 12 musicians and had its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008.
Broken Circle and Borgman in Sydney’s Competition
Felix van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Breakdown and Alex van Warmerdam’s feature Borgman, a co-production with Flanders through Epidemic, are selected to compete in the official competition of this year’s Sydney Film Festival (5-16 June). The Sydney fest is one of the world’s longest-running festivals, its official competition presenting the Sydney Film Prize and $60,000 in cash.
After taking the Berlinale by storm, The Broken Circle Breakdown went on to conquer other parts of Europe. Now, also Australia has fallen for the intense drama.
Magnificent Seven conquer Croisette
Acting talent from Flanders will be all over the place at this year's Cannes. A staggering seven Flemish actors star in films that are shown in the Fest's Official Selection: Matthias Schoenaerts stars alongside Mila Kunis, Marion Cotillard and Clive Owen in Guillaume Canet’s Out of Competition entry Blood Ties. Jan Bijvoet, Jeroen Perceval, Tom Dewispelaere and Gene Bervoets feature in Alex van Warmerdam’s Official Competition entry Borgman. Johan Leysen plays in François Ozon's Jeune et Jolie, also presented in Competition. Finally, Wim Willaert takes the lead role in Gilles Coulier’s short Mont Blanc, which is also competing for a Golden Palm.
Actor Wim Willaert and director Gilles Coulier are no newcomers to Cannes. Willaert was also cast for Gilles Coulier’s earlier short Iceland which made it into 2010's Cannes Cinéfondation student competition. Willaert also stars in Offline by Peter Monsaert which Lumiere/Lunanime presents at the Market. Mont Blanc is produced by Dirk Impens (of the award-winning The Broken Circle Breakdown which also screens at the Market) for Menuet.
Vincent Bal’s The Zigzag Kid wins European Young Audience Award
The Zigzag Kid by Vincent Bal has won the European Young Audience Award after 12-to-14-year-olds from nine European countries casted their vote for one of the three nominated youth films. The Zigzag Kid, a Dutch-Belgian co-production quickly surfaced as the absolute favourite by grabbing the highest scores in every country. Issued by the European Film Academy (EFA), it’s the second time the Young Audience Award was presented.
On May 6 the nine partnering European countries organised a Young Audience Film Day for the second year in a row. An audience of 12-to-14-year-olds got the chance to watch EFA’s three nominated films and to vote for their favourite. Also in the running was the Franco-Belgian animation feature The Suicide Shop as well as the German film UPSIDEdown.
Rain, The Fifth Season and Oh Willy… to LA Film Fest
Gerard-Jan Claes and Olivia Rochette’s documentary Rain will have its US premiere in the documentary competition of LA Film Fest (13 – 23 June 2013). Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth’s feature film The Fifth Season has been selected for the International Showcase in LA while the award-winning animated short film Oh Willy… by Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels was confirmed for the short film program.
On 25 May 2011 the world renowned Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris presented 'Rain', its first ever performance of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Directors Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes followed the rehearsal process from the auditions to the opening performance.
Broken Circle wins over Scandinavian audience
The Broken Circle Breakdown has won the Audience Award at the fourth edition of CPH PIX in Copenhagen (11-24 April). Felix Van Groeningen’s feature film scooped one of the mere two awards that are granted each year, the Politiken Audience Award and the New Talent Grand Prix that awards first feature films of promising directors. CPH PIX, together with its partner festival focusing on documentaries CPH:DOX, is one of the most renowned Scandinavian film fests.
In co-operation with the Danish newspaper Politiken, CPH PIX annually presents one film with the Politiken Audience Award. The festival audience choses the winner out of a pool of 10 contestants pre-selected from the CPH PIX programme, all of them having the potential to be distributed to Danish cinemas. Next to The Broken Circle Breakdown Joachim Lafosse’s Our Children, a co-production with Flanders via Prime Time, was also nominated.
Borgman selected for Cannes’ main competition
Alex van Warmerdam’s Borgman is set to screen in Official Competition at this year’s 66th Cannes Film Festival (15-26 May). Flemish actors Jan Bijvoet, Jeroen Perceval, Tom Dewispelaere and Gene Bervoets take on leading roles in this feature, co-produced with Flanders via Koen Mortier and Eurydice Gysel’s Epidemic. Earlier this week, it was already announced that Gilles Coulier’s short film Mont Blanc is also competing in Cannes.
Opening with Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, this year’s Official Competition sees 22 features including the Dutch-Belgo-Danish co-production Borgman by Alex van Warmerdam (Abel, Ober, The Last Days of Emma Blank). Central character in this dark, malevolent fable is Camiel Borgman. He arrives as an outsider in the sealed-off streets of modern suburbia. His presence unleashes a growing gallery of distortion around the careful façade constructed by an arrogant, comfortable couple, their three children and nanny.
Cleveland honours Nic Balthazar
Nic Balthazar was presented with a Someone to Watch Award for his entire oeuvre so far. The Flemish director received the award during his visit to the International Film Festival of Cleveland (3-14 April), where both Ben X and Time of My Life screened. Since 2003 the festival annually chooses one or more rising film professionals.
‘It’s a tremendous honour and quite funny that the festival decided to show my entire oeuvre’, states a smiling Nic Balthazar. ‘But their timing couldn’t be any better. The general reaction to Time of My Life has been very positive and intense. After Palm Springs we were rather curious to see how the Midwest would respond tot such a tricky subject as euthanasia. But the way the film has been received out here is overwhelming. Getting the chance to tell this story abroad has always been one of our main objectives.
CPH PIX picks three from Flanders
This year’s fifth edition of Copenhagen’s CPH PIX Film Festival (11-24 April) presents three (co-)productions from Flanders. Felix van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Breakdown and Joachim Lafosse’s Our Children are screening in the Politiken’s Audience Award spectrum, while Comrade Kim goes Flying, a co-production by Anja Daelemans, is selected for an Open Air film screening.
An intense drama, van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Breakdown is screening in the fest’s Politiken’s Audience Award section, which assembles a selection of 10 films which could fare well in Danish cinema distribution and also harbours Joachim Lafosse’s Our Children. The winning film is rewarded with support to be launched in Danish cinemas and will also be shown on Danish television.
Flanders trio triumphs in Aubagne
Fien Troch’s Kid, Peter Monsaert’s Offline and Roman Klochkov’s Natasha were the big winners at the 14th Aubagne International Film Festival (8-23 March). While Kid received both the Grand Jury Prize and the Award for Best Music, Offline scooped the Award for Best Script. Roman Klochkov’s Natasha was awarded the Prize for Best Animated Short Film. It was also announced that French distributor Mica Films is to release Monsaert’s Offline in French theatres this summer.
In addition to the Grand Jury Prize Fien Troch’s third feature film, Kid, also received the Award for Best Music, acknowledging Senjan Jansen’s original musical score. Kid follows the story of a seven-year-old boy who lives with his mother and brother on a farm. The fatherless family struggles to make ends meet. When disaster strikes and the two brothers have to move in with their aunt and uncle, Kid misses his mother more than ever and longs to be with her. The film received a special mention at the latest edition of the Ghent Film Festival.