31/07/2009

We were expecting him at Cannes, but in the end he’ll be at Venice, hoping to add to his tally of festival accolades. Jaco Van Dormael will unveil his new and highly-anticipated work Mr. Nobody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco Van Dormael
interview: Jaco Van Dormael
film profile] on the Lido at the start of September.

Marco Muller’s announcement will have pleased the film’s production team, for it was rumoured they had turned down an out-of-competition screening on the Croisette.

In past months and since this surprise selection, there has been crazy speculation about the film. A trailer and a few photos are circulating, while the synopsis is the subject of intense curiosity, and with reason.

The setting is 2092. Nemo, 123 years old, is the last remaining mortal in a world peopled by immortals. As he approaches his final moments of life on earth, he looks back at his past. Or should that be his pasts?

The Venice screening should provide a few initial answers, as viewers await the film’s Belgian release on October 7 (Belga Films). Pathé will manage French distribution.

Initiated 13 years ago by the director, Mr Nobody is a highly unusual addition to the Belgian film landscape and has already been described by newspaper Le Soir as “the craziest Belgian film ever made”.

It took three years to secure financing for this mega-production with a huge budget (over €30m) and an international cast. Four countries co-produced: France (Pan-Européenne), Belgium (Climax Films), Germany (Lago Film, Integral Film), and Canada.

In Belgium, the film received backing from the Film and Audiovisual Centre of the Belgian French Community, the Vlaams Audiovisual Fund, Wallimage and Tax Shelter.

Beyond these rather material considerations, the film is above all a poetic fable, a nostalgic and, at the same time, futuristic exploration of Van Dormael’s world, in his words his “first youthful film”.

(Translated from French)