10/12/2002 - The Dardennes' favourite actor makes his Spanish feature debut with Marc Rocha's Empty Hands

Belgian actor Olivier Gourmet is to make his Iberian acting debut in Les mains vides by Catalan director, Marc Rocha . Gourmet, the favourite actor of the brothers Dardenne (La Promesse, Rosetta) won the best actor award in Cannes this year for the Dardenne’s Le Fils (The Son). Gourmet will co-star opposite Eduardo Noriega, the Spanish actor who came to the forefront of public attention in Alejandro Amenabar’s Open Your Eyes, and French actress Mireille Terrier (Boys meet Girls directed by Leos Carax and Un monde sans pitié by Eric Rochant).
Les main vides, produced by France’s JBA Production and co-produced by Spain’s Eddie Saeta, is Rocha’s third feature film. Rocha, a native of Barcelona, won critical acclaim at the 1998 edition of the Locarno Film Festival with L’arbre de les cireres. It is hoped that Les mains vides will raise Rocha’s profile, not least thanks to the prestige of the international cast.
The film will be made over seven weeks on location in Port-Vendres near Perpignan.

(Translated from French)