Mid-April will mark the start of principal photography for the debut fiction feature by Belgian director, author and actor Jean-Benoît Ugeux. Having trained at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Ugeux first appeared in numerous theatre productions, also occasionally gracing the big screen, including in the films of Joachim Lafosse (What Makes You Happy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Fabrizio Rongione
intervista: Joachim Lafosse
scheda film] and Private Property [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]). In the 2010s, he could often be seen in French-language films, both Belgian and French – for instance, in Racer and the Jailbird [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Michael Roskam
scheda film] by Michael R Roskam, which earned him the Magritte Award for Best Supporting Actor. What’s more, he was duking it out for the Magrittes again this year for his turn in Last Dance [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Delphine Lehericey
scheda film] by Delphine Lehericey. In parallel with this, he has been shooting numerous short films, alternating between fiction and documentary. La Musique, which came out in 2019, was a resounding success at festivals, and in 2023, Arbres won the Magritte Award for Best Short Documentary. Now, as his feature debut, the documentary Little Jailhouse in the Prairie, starts to travel after being presented in January at the Ramdam Festival in Tournai, he is poised to begin the shoot for his first fiction feature, L’Âge Mûr (lit. “The Middle Age”).

The movie follows the story of Ludovic, a forty-something architect whose life is going swimmingly and who strikes up a romantic relationship with Nathalie, a mother to two young girls. As their budding romance gradually blossoms, Ludovic becomes closer to the girls, with whom he develops a connection and a rapport, the likes of which he has never experienced before. But when Nathalie decides to distance herself from Ludovic, he feels as though he is losing something that’s beyond his control. It’s the start of a terrible fall from grace.

Jean-Benoit Ugeux will play the role of Ludovic himself. Starring as Nathalie is the excellent Ruth Becquaert, who has been a staple on Flemish television, and whom we saw gracing screens in The Chapel [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dominique Deruddere
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intervista: Nabil Ben Yadir
scheda film]. Also among the cast is Laurent Capelluto (glimpsed recently in Clenched Fists [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Vivian Goffette
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intervista: Rachid Hami
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intervista: Pierre Salvadori
scheda film]). The shoot will take place from 15 April-31 May, in and around Brussels.

L’Âge Mûr is being staged by Benoît Roland for Wrong Men, which has multiple projects both in the cinemas and in production. Indeed, Wrong Men is in the middle of post-production on Guérin Van de Vorst and Sophie Muselle’s film Au bord du monde [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], as well as on the upcoming movie by Valéry Rosier. The outfit has also just wrapped the shoot for the new effort by Laurent Micheli, Nino dans la nuit, and is following this up immediately with principal photography for Spleen-off by Claude Schmitz and Kika by Alex Poukine.

L’Âge Mûr has received support from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Film and Audiovisual Centre, VOO and Be Tv, as well as screen.brussels and the Belgian Tax Shelter.