11/05/2023 - Filming began on 4 May for the Belgian filmmaker’s 9th feature, with Anthony Bajon in the titular role

After Inexorable [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabrice Du Welz
film profile], presented in Toronto in 2021, Fabrice Du Welz returns with Maldoror, a deep dive into the traumas of contemporary Belgium centred on a young recruit in a small police station. Paul Chartier, the newcomer, devotes himself to "Operation Maldoror,” set up in the greatest secrecy to keep an eye on a notorious criminal, as two girls have just disappeared. Faced with the dysfunction of an uncoordinated and unstructured police system, Chartier suffers the failure of the operation and sinks into obsession. He then embarks on a solitary crusade against a tentacular evil that fractures him from every side…

The script was co-written with Domenico La Porta — "a very well documented script", the director told us a few months ago, as well as a historical film, since the action takes place in 1990s Belgium, in the Charleroi region. Through the journey of its hero — which brings up themes dear to the director, notably the hold of evil — the film is an opportunity to explore the recent history of his country, the marks that these cases of sexual delinquency have left on the population, and the accounts to be settled regarding their chaotic handling.

An ambitious project which could resonate internationally and offer the young Anthony Bajon (Silver Bear for Best Actor in Berlin for The Prayer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cédric Kahn
film profile], recently seen in the impactful series Reign Supreme [+see also:
series review
interview: Olivier Wotling
series profile] and the film Athena [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Romain Gavras
film profile], and currently starring in Junkyard Dog [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) the opportunity to prove himself once again in a demanding and striking role. Throughout the investigation, he will come across an impressive cast of the director's loyal followers, such as the young Alba Gaïa Bellugi, heroine of his last film Inexorable, where we also met Mélanie Doutey, who is also part of the cast; but also Laurent Lucas and Jackie Berroyer, already on board for The Ordeal [+see also:
trailer
interview: Fabrice du Welz
film profile]; as well as some newcomers and, not the least, like Alexis Manenti (recently seen in Love According to Dalva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot
interview: Emmanuelle Nicot, Julie Esp…
film profile]), Sergi Lopez (recently in Pacifiction [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile]) and Béatrice Dalle (this year in The Beast in the Jungle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Patric Chiha
film profile]).

Like Inexorable, Maldoror will be produced in Belgium by Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandre Warnauts for Frakas Production, and produced in France by Manuel Chiche for The Jokers, who will also distribute the film in France. International sales will be handled by WTFilms. The film has received support from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, RTBF, VOO and Be Tv, Proximus, Wallimage, screen.brussels and the Tax Shelter (via Shelter Prod, taxshelter.be and ING) in Belgium, and Canal+, France 2 Cinéma and SofiTVCiné in France. Filming is scheduled to last from 4 May to 28 June in Belgium.

(Translated from French)