Need to know: Early in its existence, Belgian outfit Savage Film scored a major breakthrough when its Flemish thriller Bullhead (2011), directed by Michael R Roskam and starring then-newcomer Matthias Schoenaerts, was nominated for an Oscar. That gave Savage immediate international credibility, and it followed up with Robin Pront’s thriller The Ardennes (2015) and Roskam’s Racer And The Jailbird (2017), which premiered at Venice. Now, Savage is in Cannes as a co-producer on the new Dardenne brothers’ feature Tori And Lokita, screening in Competition. Bart Van Langendonck produced documentaries before founding Savage in 2007. Quickly developing a reputation as ‘Flemish noir’ specialists, the company also makes arthouse features and documentaries including Frederique De Montblanc’s Dragon Women (2022), a film about female executives in the world of high finance. From its early days, Savage has operated in association with leading Belgian outfit Eyeworks Film & TV Drama (now owned by Warner Bros), whose managing and creative director Peter Bouckaert was an early champion of Bullhead.
Key Personnel: Bart Van Langendonck, producer and CEO.
Incoming: Roskam’s TV miniseries about Emmanuelle star Sylvia Kristel; Het Smelt, the directing debut from The Broken Circle Breakdown star Valerie Baetens; and The Chapel from veteran filmmaker Dominique Deruddere.
Bart Van Langendonck says: “The problem with making feature films in Flanders today is that we are such a small territory [and] we need co-productions to finance our budgets. I am hoping the international streamers will see that we can provide them with great content from Flanders.”
Contact: bart@savagefilm.be
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