10/07/2009

The Belgian production Liar premiered in Karlovy Vary’s Forum of Independents yesterday, and the debut feature by Tom Geens is indeed a truly independent production.

In Liar, a young man (Jean-Benoît Ugeux) has lost his job but he forgoes telling his parents or his girlfriend. Instead, he tries to find a new job using an entirely invented resume, thus lying to both his loved ones and his prospective employers.

The film is set in a version of the Belgian capital that is slightly askew, infusing the film with a sense of unease and unsuspected humour.

The film was produced by John Engel of the Belgian Cinéastes Associés association, an offshoot of the directors guild Association des Réalisateurs et Réalisatrices de Films (Belgique francophone) (ARRF).

The association has been quietly funding two “micro-budget films” in both 2008 and 2009, in collaboration with Franco-German broadcaster ARTE and Walloon TV station RTBF. Liar and Get Born by Nicole Palo were the first two projects made by ARRF last year. Both have been shown on the co-producing TV stations and are currently making the festival rounds.

Geens, who was educated in London, made his French-language debut at home, on a budget of “20 euros,” as Engel jokingly told an appreciative audience in Karlovy Vary. “And all twenty of them are right there on screen,” he added.