After wrapping principal photography in Belgium and the Netherlands, Threes Anna’s drama The Warden has entered post-production. This is the helmer’s third feature, following her award-winning directorial debut, The Bird Can’t Fly (2007), and Silent City [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film] (2012), a movie about a young European woman experiencing loneliness in Tokyo while mastering the Japanese art of filleting fish.

The story of The Warden, penned in its entirety by the director herself, revolves around a biologist and experienced birdwatcher who has lived all alone on an island near the coast for many years. He is working as an ornithologist when, all of a sudden, he gets the unexpected news that he has to retire and that his post will be made defunct. The birdwatcher decides not to give up and plans his protest. The lead role is played by Westernieland-born cabaret performer and writer Freek de Jonge.

Speaking about the film’s post-production and her experience on set with the crew and with de Jonge, Anna told Cineuropa: “As a writer-director, the editing – the third time you tell your story – is the most exciting period of filmmaking. All of the elements are on the table, and I am free to reshuffle them. It’s like cooking, and I never follow the recipe completely. It all depends on the quality of the materials. The Warden is a solo-film about an old man alone on an island full of birds. Freek de Jonge, a 75-year-old Dutch comedian, was my actor, and his performance exceeded all expectations. Today, I felt like I was in a sweet shop surrounded by the most fantastic ingredients. Now the trick is to make the most beautiful meal possible out of it all.”

The Warden is being produced by veterans Hanneke Niens and Hans de Wolf (who worked together on recent flicks such as The Beast in the Jungle [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Clara van Gool
fiche film], Dorst and The Reports on Sarah and Saleem [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]) for KeyFilm in cooperation with Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS. Furthermore, the project recently received a grant from the Netherlands Film Fund, the country’s film agency.

The movie will have its world premiere in 2020.