10/04/2007

Khadak [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Woodworth
interview: Jessica Woodworth
film profile] , the feature debut by documentary filmmakers Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, sold internationally by German outfit Telepool, has been snapped up by US distributor Lifesize.

The film (see Focus) – which was selected at several international festivals, including Toronto, Thessaloniki and at Venice, where it won the Lion of the Future Award – opened in Belgium through Cinéart on February 21 and continues its theatrical run in Flanders.

Brosens previously scripted, directed and produced a Mongolian trilogy – City of the Steppes (1993), States of Dogs (1998) and Poets of Mongolia (1999) – while Woodworth directed the 1999 documentary Urga's Song.

A poetic and political tale, like the directors’ documentaries, Khadak follows a young Mongolian who leaves the steppe and heads to the city, where he discovers the frightening future that lies in wait for his country and, at the same time, accepts his tragic destiny as a shaman.

Co-produced by Germany (Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktions-GmbH) and the Netherlands (Lemming Film), Khadak –backed by the Vlaams Audiovisuel Fonds and the Communauté française de Belgique – is from the slate of the directors’ outfit Bo Films.

The directing duo are currently in Peru preparing their next feature, Fragments of Grace, which is nearing the end of the scriptwriting phase and is expected to get the same financial backing as Khadak.

Set in the Quechuan society, Fragments of Grace is scheduled to shoot between Belgium and Peru. The film will explore the themes of exploitation of the Earth and the loss of cultural identity through the story of one woman.

(Translated from French)