With back-to-back pick ups at the AFM, plus last year’s distribution of Moscow, Belgium, I think NeoClassics Films (the small indie distribution co. from Culver City) have a thing for Belgian cinema. This past weekend they picked up the U.S. rights to Felix van Groeningen’s The Misfortunates, Belgium’s Foreign Oscar submission and they followed this up with the worldwide rights pick-up of a film I’ve never hard of in Geoffrey Enthoven’s The Over The Hill Band – a dramedy that has been compared to Young@Heart. The Misfortunates will get released in December for nomination consideration, while Over the Hill Band should be released in 2010 and geared towards a very specific audience.
The Misfortunates sees Gunther Strobbe, 13, share’s his grandmother’s roof with his father and three uncles. Daily, Gunther is steeped in ambiance of frenzied binges, shameless womanizing and unending bumming around…Gunther looks likely to suffer the same fate. Unless he can find a way to get the hell out of there. The pic was featured in the Director’s Fortnight section in Cannes and was also shown at TIFF.
