22/04/2015 - Following Toto the Hero in 1991, the Belgian filmmaker is making his big comeback to the section that kicked off his career, with The Brand New Testament

In The Brand New Testament [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco van Dormael
film profile], selected in the Directors’ Fortnight of the 68th Cannes Film Festival, God lives – in Brussels. And he’s a bastard. He’s horrible to his wife and his 11-year-old daughter, who gets her revenge by posting everyone’s death dates on the internet… Jaco Van Dormael has assembled a five-star cast: rubbing shoulders with Benoît Poelvoorde (as God) and Yolande Moreau (as God’s wife) are such names as François Damiens and Catherine Deneuve. Having directed just four films in 24 years, Van Dormael is an occasional filmmaker, despite being a regular at Cannes. Toto the Hero won the Caméra d’Or there in 1991, and The Eighth Day earned Daniel Auteuil and Pascal Duquenne a double Best Actor Award in 1995.

Produced by Terra Incognita, Climax and Caviar in Belgium, Après le Déluge in France and Juliette Films in Luxembourg, The Brand New Testament received backing from the CCA, Wallimage, RTBF, the VAF and Screen Flanders. The film will be out in the autumn, distributed in Benelux by Belga Films and in France by Le Pacte, which will also be handling its international sales.

In the official competition, we find a Flemish short film, Copain, by Jan and Raf Roosens. It is also worth pointing out that Het paradijs by Laura Vandewynckel has been invited to participate as part of the Cinéfondation programme.

Belgium is also a popular country for co-productions, and indeed, The Wakhan Front [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Clément Cogitore has been selected in the Critics’ Week. This ambitious war film is set during the Afghanistan conflict and brings together Jérémie Renier, Swann Arlaud and Kévin Azais. The movie is co-produced by Tarantula, which is back on the Croisette after the surprise selection of its first feature in 2002, A Piece of Sky by Bénédicte Liénard, in the Un Certain Regard section, followed by selections for Battle in Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Reygadas
interview: Jean Labadie
film profile] in competition in 2005, Congorama [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] in the Directors’ Fortnight in 2006, Salt of This Sea [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in Un Certain Regard in 2008 and Face [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in competition in 2009. Other regulars on the Croisette will also be present as co-producers: the Dardenne brothers and Les Films du Fleuve are celebrating the selection of the feature debut by screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, Les Cowboys [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], starring François Damiens, in the Directors’ Fortnight. Saga Film will also be presenting one of its co-productions, I Am a Soldier [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Larivière
film profile] by Laurent Larivière, starring Louise Bourgoin and Jean-Hugues Anglade, in the Un Certain Regard section.

Lastly, an impressive number of Belgian actors will be present on the Croisette: those in The Brand New Testament, of course, but also Matthias Schoenaerts in Maryland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alice Winocour
film profile] by Alice Winocour and Laurent Capelluto in I Am a Solider in Un Certain Regard; Marc Zinga with Dheepan [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Jacques Audiard
film profile] by Jacques Audiard; Catherine Salée in the opening film, Standing Tall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuelle Bercot
film profile] by Emmanuelle Bercot; and Jérémie Renier, who plays the lead role in The Wakhan Front.

(Translated from French)