09/03/2016 - Cinéart is releasing Keeper, Guillaume Senez’s sensitive feature-film debut produced by Iota Production, in around ten French-language Belgian cinemas

Keeper by Guillaume Senez

Today sees the Belgian theatrical release of Belgian director Guillaume Senez’s first feature film, Keeper [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Guillaume Senez ­
interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
film profile]. The film takes a deep and scrutinising look into the procrastination of a young couple, who, confronted with an unplanned pregnancy, decide to keep the baby in spite of their respective families’ reticence. Not only does the film examine future mother Mélanie’s concerns, but it also has the virtue of taking an in-depth look into the young father-to-be, torn between his adolescent urges, his potentially promising goalkeeping career and this responsibility, which was suddenly thrust upon him without him asking for it. This subject is treated delicately and modestly; the film doesn’t seek to judge the decision that these two youths made, nor their families’ behaviour. There are no flashy effects, nor raunchy sex scenes – the adolescence portrayed in this film is relatively normal, bordering on banal, but nevertheless, we find ourselves fascinated by the raw nature of these characters during this period of transition in their lives, in which every decision seems to be definitive. The film is carried by the spontaneity and charm of its pair of up-and-coming lead actors (Kacey Mottet Klein and Galatea Bellugi), who are supported by their parents (played by Catherine Salée, Sam Louwyck and Laetitia Dosch) through thick and thin.

Keeper, produced by Isabelle Truc (Iota Production), in co-production with Louise Productions, Offshore Film and Savage Film, is part of an exciting year for Belgian film debuts, which has already seen the release of Antoine Cuypers’ Prejudice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antoine Cuypers
film profile] and Valéry Rosier’s Parasol [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. All three of these films are being distributed in Belgium by Cinéart. It is also interesting to note that it has been a long while since this distributor, a long-time partner of Belgian cinema, has taken on so many debut films, having instead chosen to focus its efforts on the safe bets the Belgian film industry has to offer for a few years now.

(Translated from French)