06/06/2019 - The Belgian helmer is currently filming his third feature, an off-the-wall comedy that boasts a five-star cast

Belgian director Olivier Van Hoofstadt is back with a new film, Lucky [+see also:
trailer
film profile], an off-the-wall comedy complete with a flamboyant cast, including Alban Ivanov, Michael Youn and Florence Foresti, who are flanked by Sarah Succo, François Berléand, Corinne Masiero, Daniel Prévost, and Belgian comedians Kody and Walter.

Cineuropa met up with them during the three-day shoot that took place in Belgium at the start of this week. "You want to know what it’s about in just a couple of words? A guy has a brilliant idea: to steal a police dog." And that’s all we know for now… 

But one thing is certain: "It’s certainly not a sequel to [cult 2006 movie] Dikkenek! It’s a zany and extremely original comedy, filmed as if it were an action flick. The preparation process with my DoP took four months, I spent two months working with the costume designer, and we have no fewer than 45 sets…"

All of that would seem to make it a very large-scale project, with genuinely lofty artistic and aesthetic ambitions. "We are paying very close attention to the sets and the lighting. That said, the film relies a great deal on the performances of the actors, who are pretty incredible. We have been editing on the fly since the start of the shoot, and the pace is pretty crazy. It hasn’t let up for one second." 

While Dikkenek director Van Hoofstadt has not shot a feature since 2008’s Go Fast [+see also:
trailer
film profile], he has been doing a lot of writing ("I wrote a feature that was shot in the USA, another one that was filmed in Spain and a third one that is never going to get made"), helmed a number of ambitious short films (such as A/k in 2016) and filmed around 100 adverts. "The good thing about the ad format is that you become more efficient. Today, I can direct a dog wearing a hat just as well as I can a bloke who only speaks Slovenian!" 

Lucky, principal photography for which will continue until 13 June, is being produced in France by Tchin-Tchin Production and 2.4.7. Films, in co-production with Belgian outfits Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique. Apollo Films Distribution will manage its distribution in France, where audiences can expect to see the movie hit screens in the first quarter of 2020.

(Translated from French)