On the film set of Next to Her

Last Saturday was World Cat Day. Is there a better way to celebrate that day than by shooting a short film starring your own cat?

The film in question is the adaptation of my story Next to Her, the tale of an elderly man, Maurice, who visits his dying wife at the hospital. A shared lunch is all they have left, but his wife's thoughts drift off towards the ghost of her cat, Avalon, whose picture sits on the bed stand 'next to her'. As Maurice gets frustrated with his wife's behavior, the fine line between nurturing and torturing is easily crossed.

Behind the scenes of the romantic comedy Plan Bart

I recently had the opportunity to document one day behind the scenes of Belgium’s latest romantic comedy Plan Bart. The film is directed by Roel Mondelaers and stars popular Belgian actors Wine Dierickx (Loft, Any Way The Wind Blows, Madonna's Pig, Smoorverliefd, Steve + Sky), Jeroen Perceval (Bullhead, With Friends Like These) and Wouter Hendrickx (The Shittiness Of Things, Long Weekend).

"Plan Bart will be a charming mix between 500 Days Of Summer, Juno and Notting Hill,"  director Roel Mondelaers explains. "Sarah, the main character, is a young woman of 35 years old who discovers the love of her life doesn’t want to have children, though he has always claimed the contrary. She dumps him, and when she doesn’t immediately find another man to become the father of her child, convinces an ex-boyfriend to impregnate her in exchange for money. They agree to never see each other again. But is this really possible?"

During my day on set, the crew filmed a scene in which Sarah (Wine Dierickx) meets her ex-boyfriend (Jeroen Perceval) by accident in Bar Walvis in Brussels. It was a particularly hot day and the production was moving slower than expected. Production assistants looked stressed-out. Extras complained they had to wait in the heat from 8am till late in the afternoon before they could actually start their scenes. But in the end, the work got done, and the crew returned home content with the results.

Special thanks to Caviar and the crew of Plan Bart for letting me capture and share these moments behind the scenes.

 

Behind the Scenes of The Strangers Outside

The filming of my novella The Strangers Outside has started. Want to know what's going on behind the scenes? Then get a look at these pictures of the film set in Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Nil-Saint-Vincent, Ophain and Mont-Saint-Guilbert. In the meantime, don't forget to order the book The Strangers Outside from Amazon.

Director Philippe Geus discussing his vision with the rest of the crew.

My cat Avalon was part of the cast of The Strangers Outside. He loved being on the film set and did exactly what he was expected to do. I suppose that being fed his favorite Schesir chicken and apple dinner helped quite a bit. He even had a bottle of water with his name on it. Avalon will soon have his own cartoon series as well.

This is what's left of Avalon after his encounter with the strangers outside.

Just by looking at the pictures, you can tell what a brilliant actor Pierre Lekeux is.

Preparing the special effects for actress Iulia Alexandra Nastase.

Cinematographer David Taillebuis used Jaume Balaguero's Darkness as a visual inspiration for The Strangers Outside.

The Strangers inside ...

Pictures by Katia Fontaine and Magali Baeck.