12/05/2011

While the film world has its eyes fixed on a tiny strip of the Côte d’Azur, news is that competition will be stiff at the upcoming 30th Montreal World Film Festival (August 18-28).

Fobic Films has just announced that Geoffrey Enthoven’s new title, Hasta la Vista [+see also:
trailer
interview: Geoffrey Enthoven
film profile], will take part in the competition. The helmer’s previous film, The Over the Hill Band [+see also:
trailer
film profile], featured out of competition at the 2009 festival. Given that the two most recent Flemish titles presented in competition at Montreal – Nic Balthazar’s Ben X [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nic Balthazar
interview: Peter Bouckaert
film profile] in 2008 and Hans Van Nuffel’s Oxygen [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2010 – won the Grand Prix of the Americas, expectations are clearly high for Enthoven’s latest release.

Hasta la Vista is the fifth feature from the director since his debut title Children of Love was released back in 2002. The film is based on the true story of a young American man, Asta Philpot, known to the general public for his fight for the right to a fair and uninhibited sexuality for disabled citizens, a subject treated in the 2007 British documentary, For One Night Only.

Enthoven brings us on a road trip to Spain, in the company of three young men thirsty for love and wine. Whilst they are familiar with the latter, the former is something they have only ever imagined, as one man is blind, another is in a wheelchair, and another completely paralysed. Through this tale of rites, Enthoven wants us to forget the protagonists’ handicaps to draw attention to the fact that we are all handicapped when it comes to relationships.

Produced by Mariano Vanhoof for Fobic Films, the film received backing from VAF and opens in Belgium this September through Kinepolis.

(Translated from French)