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PRODUCTION Belgium / Netherlands

Stijn Coninx draws inspiration from the Brabant killers in Don't Shoot

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- The Flemish director started principal photography for his new film in late August; the movie is based on the infamous criminal case, and more specifically on the testimony of a survivor

Stijn Coninx draws inspiration from the Brabant killers in Don't Shoot
Director Stijn Coninx

With Don't Shoot [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, Flemish director Stijn Coninx, the man behind massive mainstream hits like Koko FlanelDaens and, more recently, Soeur Sourire [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 and Marina [+see also:
trailer
interview: Cristiano Bortone
film profile
]
, is trying his hand at depicting the Brabant killers, the criminals at the source of a news story that shook Belgium in the 1980s and that still haunts it today, given that the identities of the perpetrators are still hazy.

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Don't Shoot is based on the book by, and life of, David Van de Steen, who lost his parents and his sister in the attack on a supermarket in 1985, the last such crime attributed to the Brabant killers. The film starts off with the attack itself. David, then aged nine, is taken in by his grandparents after the death of his family. The film therefore aims to portray the victims, their resilience and the way they overcome such immense trauma. This is a doubly topical theme for the director: not only are those responsible still unknown, but the recent rise in the number of terrorist attacks in the West is leaving a huge number of unarmed and distraught victims in its wake.

For this project, which is deeply rooted in Belgium’s DNA, Coninx is joining forces for the fifth time with actor Jan Decleir, who has appeared in such films as The Alzheimer Case [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
Loft [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
Les Barons [+see also:
film review
trailer
Interview with director and actress of…
interview: Nabil Ben Yadir
film profile
]
 and, more recently, Blind Spot [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nabil Ben Yadir
film profile
]
.

The Brabant killers seem to have served as a particular source of inspiration for Belgian directors over the last few years, as they also lie at the heart of Above the Law [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Troukens
film profile
]
, the film by François Troukens and Jean-François Hensgens that was unveiled as a world premiere at Venice at the beginning of the month.

Produced by Eyeworks, in co-production with Les Films du Fleuve, and Kaap Holland FilmDon't Shoot has received backing from such sources as the Flanders Audiovisual Fund. The movie’s Belgian release has been scheduled for 24 October 2018.

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(Translated from French)

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