Anke Blondé, who was a casting director for many years, made a name for herself in 2019 with her first feature film, The Best of Dorien B. [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anke Blondé
scheda film], which already told the story of a breakdown. Dust [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anke Blondé
scheda film], written by screenwriter Angelo Tijssens (author of Girl [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lukas Dhont
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intervista: Eden Dambrine
intervista: Lukas Dhont
intervista: Lukas Dhont
scheda film], among others), was inspired by the true story of two Flemish entrepreneurs on the verge of being imprisoned for fraud. The film made its world premiere in Competition at the 76th Berlinale.

Cineuropa: What do you think is at the heart of the film?
Anke Blondé: Male identity. These are two entrepreneurs who have lost their money, their power and their status, and who have to deal with what remains of their past glory. Who are they when everything around them collapses? They have to abandon their suits and their masks.

How did you react when you discovered the project?
As I read the script, I found myself drawn into the story, which surprised me with its humour and irony, but also with its complexity and humanity. This story is like an onion, it has so many layers. I immediately became attached to the two alpha males from the 90s. And then Angelo let me make the story my own, until it became mine. Angelo is so talented, he's an extraordinary observer, he has a great eye for detail. I'm very happy that we finally managed to make this film, which took a long time to finance.

Who are Luc and Geert?
They are products of their society. They have forged a moral code based on their era: when you are a man, you must be successful, have money and power. Ultimately, they are archetypal men, a kind of knights in shining armour. When crisis strikes, one explodes and the other implodes. One of the themes of the film is that men don't know what to do with their emotions and feelings. It's very masculine, and even more typical of their region, West Flanders. You always have to “keep calm and carry on”. I'm very proud that we were able to convey this cultural specificity in the film. We are raised to remain modest. These two entrepreneurs wanted to fly too high and ended up burning their wings.

It is above all the story of their downfall, the last 36 hours before their imprisonment.
Angelo did not want to tell the story of their greatness, just their decadence. We know they are falling, the question is how they will fall. What remains of their identity, overwhelmed by this feeling of guilt? They have betrayed so many people by committing fraud in this way. My goal was for us to be able to relate to them, to their questioning. Even though they did wrong, I wanted to show their humanity.

They feel guilty, and suddenly begin to question their trust in one another.
The economy is based on trust and faith. People believe in a system, in a product, in the possibility of getting rich. It's like living in a bubble, which is something I also wanted to convey in the film. People tend to believe in promises. But like capitalism, these promises can fail. It's also a film about communication. There's a profound irony in seeing these two men selling a product to the whole world to facilitate communication, when they themselves are incapable of communicating with each other or with their loved ones.

The narrative moves forward in fits and starts, with numerous flashbacks.
I wanted to stay as close to them as possible, which is why in the editing we chose to “mix” the story’s timeline. The idea was for the audience to feel caught in a kind of loop, like the characters themselves, endlessly replaying the events. It becomes an obsession for them: Geert is obsessed with the success he must give up, Luc with shame. Throughout the narrative we also see documents being shredded, which became a recurring motif in the editing. It inspired us to “shred” the story as well.

The film is set in 1999 and deals with a technology of the future that, for us today, is already obsolete; there is a certain irony in that.
I’m almost 50 years old; I was 17 when the first mobile phones appeared, then came the internet. I became fascinated by technology, and it all moved so quickly. Yet today we are at a turning point, and perhaps this is the right moment to tell these stories. We have gone too far with robots. We need to talk about it. We cannot turn human beings into machines. It is a burning issue. What we truly need are human connections, human relationships, face-to-face conversations. Technology helps us, of course - but it lacks humanity. It may sound a little naïve, but I sincerely believe it.