Busy week in Belgian theatres

by Aurore Engelen

28/10/2009 - This is a busy week in Belgian theatres with a large flurry of new releases on no less than 210 screens.

Greatly publicised in the media, This Is It alone claims 51 screens. There are other heavyweights, including Astro Boy (42 screens), released just in time for the Halloween holidays, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s new film, Micmacs [trailer], which holds its own on a 47-print run across the whole of the country, which is quite rare for a French film. Its distributor Cinéart clearly has faith in the unlikely duo of Jeunet and Dany Boon, or otherwise the impressive cast of supporting actors.

In this context, it will certainly be difficult for Yann Moix’s second film Cinéman [trailer] (distributed by Victory Productions, and co-produced by Scope Pictures, with backing from Wallimage and the Tax Shelter fund), to make its mark, despite its 17-print run in Brussels and Wallonia. While the director’s previous film, Podium, benefited from Benoît Poelvoorde’s extraordinary popularity in Belgium, we can’t be sure that Franck Dubosc (who, moreover, replaced Poelvoorde at the last minute) will attract as many Belgian viewers.

Meanwhile, a Belgian title quietly makes its way into Flemish theatres. Kinepolis is launching a ten-print run of Belgian director Dorothée Van Den Berghe’s second film My Queen Karo [trailer].

The film centres on Karo, a 10-year-old girl who tries to find her place in the libertarian community where her parents take up residence in Amsterdam in 1974. Produced by Caviar, the film was co-produced by Belgium’s Tarantula and Holland’s IDTV.

Finally, the Halloween holiday line-up also includes three European films for children: Martijn van Nellestijn’s Sinterklaas en de Verdwenen Pakjesboot [trailer] (the umpteenth episode of a successful Dutch series); Pascal Jardin’s Totally Spies [trailer] (also adapted from a French TV cartoon); and, for very young children, the third instalment in the adventures of the little Swedish ghost, Laban.

(Translated from French)