05/12/2006

Heading for North America once again, with its selection in the World Cinema competition at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival (January 18-28, 2007), Khadak [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Woodworth
interview: Jessica Woodworth
film profile] by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth will disembark there crowned with the Lion of the Future (Luigi de Laurentiis Award for a First Feature) after its international premiere in Venice Days (see article), and its successive appearances at several festivals, including Toronto and the recent Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Although both directors are well-known for their documentaries, especially the Mongolian trilogy (City of the Steppes, State of Dogs and Poets of Mongolia), Khadak – also set in Mongolia, which recounts its rifts and the story of a young man forced to accept his destiny as a shaman – is their debut feature.

A co-production with Germany’s Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktions and Dutch outfit Lemming Film, the film was produced by the company of its directors, Belgium-based Bo Films, together with backing from the Vlaams Audivisueel Fonds, Communauté Française de Belgique, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and Nederlands Fonds voor de Film, investment from ZDF/Arte, NPS and VRT, as well as development funding from the MEDIA Programme and Rotterdam’s Cinémart.

Sold internationally by German outfit Telepool and opening in Belgium through Cinéart in late February 2007, the film is slated for release in several territories, including the Netherlands (Contact Film), Germany (Pegasos) and Switzerland (Cineworx), as well as in the US, France, Italy, Greece and Asia (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan).

(Translated from French)