On 24 June, filming commenced on Belgian filmmaker Christophe Hermans’ first full-length movie, The Hive [+lee también:
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entrevista: Christophe Hermans
ficha de la película]. Mainly known for his documentary work (Eclaireurs, Les Perruques de Christel), the Belgian helmer is now taking the plunge into feature films and adapting The Hive, the novel by the French writer Arthur Loustalot.

From as far back as they can remember, Marion, Claire and Louise’s lives have always been ruled by the emotional highs and lows of their mother, Alice. Now, only their love can save her from the destructive spiral in which she is caught and dragged ever further into with every passing day. Theirs is an infinite love, as violent as it is indescribable.

By way of this female quartet and these adolescent girls who must contend with the bipolar disorder of their mother, the filmmaker is looking to question our notions of filial and maternal love, but also our ideas of psychological pain, the medical treatment of this pain, and its limits. In nigh-on no exit style, the film is set almost exclusively in a fully restored apartment in the centre of Liège, where the team and the actors will be based until 26 July.

In the robes of Alice, we find the French actress Ludivine Sagnier, whom we’ll soon be seeing in Julien Rappeneau’s Of Love and Lies [+lee también:
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entrevista: Véro Cratzborn
ficha de la película] by Vero Cratzborn (read our news). Playing opposite her are two young and promising Belgian actresses, Sophie Breyer (who was discovered in Belgium in the TV series The Break) and Mara Taquin (soon to be seen leading the cast in Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano’s The Specials [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]), but also Sagnier’s real-life daughter, Bonnie Duvauchelle. Flemish actor Tom Vermeir is also in the game.

The Hive is produced by Frakas Production, who seem to be on endless filming detail, after Banu Akseki’s Sans soleil, and before starting work on the next offerings by Fabrice du Welz and Patrick Ridremont. The picture is co-produced by Avenue B in France and by Polar Bear in Flanders.