23/08/2023 - Also among the cast, in their first-ever screen roles, are the Belgian actress-director’s daughter, Billie Vlegels, and Gorik van Oudheusen, better known under his rapper name, Zwangere Guy

Actresses Veerle Baetens and Billie Vlegels, and actor-rapper Zwangere Guy

The shoot for Come Back, the feature debut by Jan and Raf Roosens, got under way a few days ago. The two brothers made a name for themselves thanks to their short films Roktop, Buddy and White Goldfish, with Buddy having been selected in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and the latter having received the Critics’ Week label in 2020. They are also very active in the domain of advertising.

They therefore make the leap to feature-length territory with Come Back, a coming-of-age tale hinging on the character of Ava, a young woman of 14 who is attempting to find where she belongs in the world. She is "bedazzled" by the spotlight trained on her parents, a couple of DJs who have had their moment of glory. Now they are divorced, and Ava lives alone with her father. When her mum, Naomi, tries to make a comeback on the international DJing scene, Ava will discover a new world – that of nightlife and clubs. But while her mother is in her element, things are more complicated for Ava, who will have to adapt if she wants to avoid losing her own identity.

Of course, music will play a prominent role in the film, and as such, it has been entrusted to Jeroen De Pessemier, the founder of the successful Belgian electro group The Subs.

In the main roles, we find Flemish actress Veerle Baetens, who burst onto the international scene with her role in The Broken Circle Breakdown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Felix van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
film profile]. She was also glimpsed recently in the series Cheyenne & Lola and will be gracing screens in Quitter la nuit [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine Girard
film profile], set to be premiered at Venice. She has also just directed her first feature, When It Melts [+see also:
film review
interview: Veerle Baetens
film profile], which was selected for Sundance. Joining her on screen, for her first appearance in a film, is her daughter, 14-year-old Billie Vlegels, as well as Gorik van Oudheusen, also known as the rapper Zwangere Guy (the first Belgian musician to have gone gold with a Dutch-language rap album).

The movie is being produced by Bart Van Langendonck for Savage Film, who is also the producer of Veerle Baetens’ own film. Come Back is being co-produced by Jacques-Henri Bronckart for Versus Productions (Belgium), as well as by Rococo, the directors’ own outfit, and Elen Havenith for PRPL (Netherlands). It has received backing from the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, screen.brussels, the Tax Shelter and Shelter Prod, as well as from Antwerp Film Bonus and the Netherlands Film Fund. Indie Sales is overseeing the international sales.

(Translated from French)