Gent, Belgium born filmmaker Felix van Groeningen has steadily offered cinema that explores intimate relationship dramas, family sagas, addiction narratives, and coming-of-age stories, and it all began back in 2004 with Steve + Sky. With an output that includes The Misfortunates (2009), The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012 – read review), Belgica (2016 – read ★★★ review), Beautiful Boy (2018) and 2022’s The Eight Mountains (Jury Prize at Cannes), for his eighth feature, the Belgium-Italy co-production returns to fragility and resilience of human relationships with the focus being reconnection after crisis.
Shot in Belgium back in August of last year, the five week shoot was filmed in
Antwerp, Ghent, and Ostend.
Written by Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch and Anne Paulicevich, this is described as partially autobiographical, after a long-hidden affair is revealed, a couple’s life together begins to unravel. What initially appears to be a story of betrayal and relationship collapse gradually transforms into a journey toward honesty, intimacy, healing, and a renewed understanding of love.
In English, Italian, Dutch, and French lingo, returning players Charlotte Vandermeersch and Luca Marinelli will burn up and or burn down the frame.
The Eight Mountains folks in producer Hans Everaert and production designer Massimiliano Nocente return to the fold, and so does frequently used cinematographer Ruben Impens. Editor Jean-Christophe Bouzy joins for first time. Other producers include Lorenzo Gangarossa, Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli.
With a late autumn shoot last year we were thinking that would rush a cut for the Cannes comp deadline, however with the Italian elements in this film perhaps a first time in Venice was pre-established. We’ll likely see this on the Lido. Mubi landed the rights to this.
