In its 81st session, Wallimage has decided to co-fund 8 projects based on economic criteria only: 5 feature films, two documentaries, and one TV series for a a total of 1.250.000 euros.
Coproduced in Belgium by Entre Chien et Loup, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is Terry Gilliam’s new feature. Shooting is scheduled for November with Michael Palin and Adam Driver in the lead. Sound postproduction will largely take place in Wallonia (Ecoute une fois and Dame Blanche), but the real challenge falls on Be Digital who will be responsible for the ambitious SFX of this dreamlike fantasy.
Mon ket, first film from… François Damiens is another unusual project. The film is produced by Artémis, co-written by Benoit Mariage (Cowboy) with additional writing credits for Matthieu Donck (La Trêve, Torpedo). The subject of the film has been kept secret but one can already expect a potential success at the box office. Genval les Dames will handle sound effects and Digital Graphics will create the titles. The actor will team up with usual collaborators: Virginie Saint-Martin for photography, Pierre Mertens for sound and Paul Rouschop for production design.
Light-years from the world of François Damiens, Tarantula is coproducing a biopic about the last years of Christa Päffegn, better known as Nico who died at the age of 50 in Ibiza after a a bike accident. Nico, 1988, directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, will partially be shot in Wallonia where the neighborhoods and buildings of Liège will take on the appearance of… Manchester and Prague in the late eighties. This (re)location is made possible by Igor Gabriel’s rigorous location scouting. Dame Blanche Genval and Sonicpil will handle sound design.
Scope Pictures is the majority producer of L’échange des princesses. Directed by Marc Dugain, this period piece will be entirely shot in Wallonia. Not only does the film boast an impressive cast (Lambert Wilson, Catherine Mouchet) including a handful of Belgian actors (Olivier Gourmet, Thomas Mustin, Vincent Londez, Patrick Descamps…) but Mikros will act as main lab and handle the SFX, while editing will be held at Studio l'Equipe (Wallonia). Sound editing will take place at The Post Box, and sound mix at Mute&Solo. Grand slam!
Castles will also be part of the picture in Le Manoir, coproduced by Nexus Factory with Gaumont, a genre-film leaning towards straightforward comedy interpreted by the up-and coming French youtube all-stars. This project will also be entirely shot in Wallonia. Editing will be done at Baraque à Films; Dame Blanche (Wallonia) will take on sound editing and sound effects. Studio sequences will be shot at Keywall in Marcinelle while FILM FX will handle special effects. Hard to be any more Walloon than that for a… French film.
Alongside theses specific cinema projects, the Board of Wallimage will support three television projects.
Les Enfants du Hasard will be co-directed by Thierry Michel and Pascal Colson. In a day and age where immigration fuels the sickest fantasies, the directors wanted to find out if integration was a gentle utopia or a true opportunity for all. Naturally produced by Les Films de la Passerelle, Les Enfants du Hasard (Hasard is the name of the coalmine) will be released in June 2017.
On a different production scale, Premier homme, co-produced by AT-Doc, is a feature documentary of great ambition coming in the footsteps of the famous BBC documentaries Aux origines de l’humanité. The main challenge for this film revolving around the most recent discoveries in paleoanthropology will be to create special effects that meet today’s standards for this genre. Mikros Wallonia has been handed this key responsibility. The Post Box will be in charge of sound.
The final project receiving support is a Flemish series. Over the course of ten episodes, we’ll follow the thunderous Jan de Lichte et sa bande. The hero of this saga is a Belgian Robin Hood who truly existed. The project has been entrusted to distingued directors such as Robin Pront (D’Ardennen). Matteo Simoni (Marina) and Stef Aerts (Belgica) are on board in the leading roles. The crew will settle in Wallonia for 60 days out of the 90 scheduled shooting days and most of the post-production will be carried out in southern Belgium: Mikros will handle image, and Sonicpil will do sound.
More information on Wallimage website . You can also send an email to info@wallimage.be or contact Wallimage by phone at +32 65 40 40 33.
