Philippe Bober’s Coproduction Office, whose recent films include Jessica Hausner’s Cannes Competition title “Club Zero” and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness,” has kicked off international sales on Gust Van den Berghe‘s “The Magnet Man.” The Paris and Berlin based production and sales outfit is attending this week’s MIA Market in Rome.
Van den Berghe’s previous films, “Blue Bird” (2011) and “Little Baby Jesus of Flandr” (2010), have both premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
“The Magnet Man,” which is in post-production, tells the tragicomic tale of how our greatest talents can become our greatest flaws, and how unpredictable our lives can be.
The film follows Lucien, who is a human magnet: everything made of iron sticks to his body. Rural Belgium at the beginning of the 20th century is no place for his unusual natural talent. One day, he accidentally gets attached to a train that carries him far away. On his journey, Lucien stumbles across a travelling theater troupe. His magnetism attracts both good and bad, often changing the course of his destiny.
The protagonist Lucien is played by Danny Ronaldo, a real circus performer from Belgium, who comes from an old circus family. The set design was entirely fabricated for the film in an old-school studio style, in which the background and sky are all hand painted.
Van den Berghe wrote the screenplay. The director of photography is David Williamson. The production designer is Natalia Treviño. The costume designer is Alette Kraan. The make-up designers are Sophie Garlinskas and Emilie Franco. The editors are Thomas Pooters, David Verdurme and Benjamin Mirguet. Music is by David Van Keer and Birger Embrechts.
The film is a coproduction between Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands, produced by Minds Meet in coproduction with Les Films Fauves, Lemming Film, Coproduction Office and Shelter Prod. It was supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), Film Fund Luxembourg and the Netherlands Film Fund.
