Lost Persons Area

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York is to present the work of director Caroline Strubbe, the first of the new batch of Flemish filmmakers to have her films selected by the prestigious cultural institute. Both her debut feature Lost Persons Area and her follow-up film I’m the same I’m an other will be screened on a daily basis throughout the first week of July.

‘Caroline Strubbe is a voice I haven’t heard before’, says Dave Kehr of the Film Department of the Museum of Modern Art. ‘At times intimate, detailed and realistic, but at the same time enigmatic, evasive and with a lot of respect for the mystery of people and places. I’m very proud and honoured to be able to present these extraordinary films to New York audiences.’

All eyes are on Flanders at this year’s European Film Festival in Les Arcs (15-22 December), with the fest organising a Focus on Belgium. No less than eight Flemish features, as well as three shorts are part of the focus. Belgian Cinema from Flanders is also well represented at the Arc 1950 coproduction forum with three projects on the bill. Additionally, Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth’s The Fifth Season is screening in the International Competition in Les Arcs and therefore in the running for a Crystal Arrow.

For its fourth edition, the European Film Festival in Les Arcs chose to add a Focus on Belgium to its line-up. Chaired by Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer, who after Cannes’ International Critics’ Week is also artistically leading the Tribeca Film Festival, the selection committee in Les Arcs nominated eight Flemish feature films and three shorts.

Caroline Strubbe’s Lost Persons Area won the Grand Jury Prize at the Rencontres Cinématographique Salon de Provence Film Festival (29 March – 5 April). The prize is awarded by a board of members of the Rencontres Cinématographique and by special invited viewers.

In the film, a story about people lost in the meanders of life, Strubbe follows the lives of Bettina and Marcus, a passionate couple who live in a canteen in the middle of a vast field with endless lines of pylons. Marcus is trying to set up his own business and works as a foreman in the maintenance of these power-lines. Bettina, bored and longing for a better life, runs the canteen for the workingmen. Their nine-year-old daughter Tessa wanders the industrial area, looking for bits and pieces to occupy her mind, skipping school whenever she can. When Marcus hires a Hungarian engineer, Szabolcs, to become part of his company, their unconventional way of living takes a new turn. A tragic accident although will shatter everyone’s pursuit of happiness.

This year's 21st edition of Cinequest in San Jose, California, is to present three recent features from Flanders: Koen Mortier's 22nd of May, Hans Van Nuffel's Oxygen, and Gust Van den Berghe's Little Baby Jesus of Flandr. Cinequest 21 runs from 1-13 March.

According to Variety, Cinequest, set in the heart of Silicon Valley, 'manages to straddle two worlds – film geeks and financial barons – with remarkable alacrity… Eager to emphasize its maverick stance, the fest has positioned itself at the cutting edge, as a showcase for new technologies and champion of the more DIY end of US and global indie film businesses, with programming that routinely eschews the typical fest fare.'

The Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) has approved funding for eight fiction feature projects in different stages of development this month. The list contains both established names such as Felix van Groeningen (The Misfortunates) and Caroline Strubbe (Lost Persons Area) as well as these of emerging talents.

Half of the greenlighted projects are still in the early stages of development and have received scriptwriting support. Lee & Cindy C., a tragicomedy on rock’n roll dreams and unpredictable love, will be produced by Eyeworks Film & TV drama and scripted by Stany Crets (Old Belgium). Manu Riche receives script funding for a feature film project titled Problemski Hotel.