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FUNDING Belgium

screen.brussels’ second committee supports 12 new projects

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- Among the projects being backed are two animated titles (directed by Ben Stassen and Joann Sfar) and four majority Belgian features

screen.brussels’ second committee supports 12 new projects
Director Ben Stassen

Brussels-based regional investment fund screen.brussels, which was launched at the beginning of 2016, has announced the results of its second support session. Among the projects set to receive backing are two animated features (helmed by Ben Stassen and Joann Sfar) as well as four Belgian features. 

After producing a fresh adaptation of Robinson Crusoe [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
this year, Belgian producer-director Stassen, a pioneer in 3D animation, is back at work on a new project, The Son of Bigfoot, which will be staged in Brussels by nWave. Joann Sfar will also be supported for a feature that adapts his own series of  Little Vampire [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
comic books, which is being co-produced in Belgium by La Compagnie Cinématographique.

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As for fiction titles, screen.brussels is getting behind two feature debuts: La Part Sauvage by Guérin van de Vorst, produced by relatively new outfit Wrong Men North, and Seule à mon mariage by Martha Bergman, produced by FraKas. The fund is also backing the new feature by Amélie Van Elmbt (Headfirst [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), Drôle de père [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amélie van Elmbt
film profile
]
, produced by Les Films du Fleuve, the Dardenne brothers’ company. Another intriguing project on the list is Ascension Day, the upcoming movie by Flemish director Bas Devos (Violet [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), which covers a very recent episode in Brussels’ history, as it outlines the intertwined destinies of three characters who have absolutely nothing in common, but who have cause to meet in a Brussels on full lockdown following the attacks of 22 March this year. The film will be staged by Minds Meet and Artemis.

Lastly, we should note that screen.brussels will also be involved in the biopic The Happy Prince, focusing on the final days of Oscar Wilde and directed by British actor Rupert Everett, in addition, naturally, to the next series that RTBF has in the pipeline: Unité 42 delves into the struggles faced by the Brussels Digital Unit, a police unit that specialises in solving crimes linked to digital and online technologies. The series, produced by Left Field Ventures, has already been pre-purchased by France 2. 

All in all, a sum of €1.315 million has been invested in these 12 projects, and this should generate €16 million in audiovisual expenditure in the Brussels region, not counting indirect benefits.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

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