'Mesmerising' Belgian film to get international release

Major arthouse sales agency The Match Factory, based in Cologne, has bought the rights to sell the upcoming Flemish film Girl to international regions. The Match Factory is a powerhouse in the independent filmmaking circuit, acting as a sales agent to such films as 45 Years, Hannah Arendt and Toni Erdmann.

Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) reports that The Match Factory make the announcement at the Berlin International Film Festival, which kicked off last week. The sales agent, which works to get movies released in regions around the world, also represented Flemish films The Broken Circle Breakdown and Belgica.

Girl is the feature film debut by Lukas Dhont, who has already made a name for himself with two award-winning shorts, L’Infini and Corps Perdu. The new movie is the story of a teenager desperate to fulfil her dream of becoming a ballerina. Her biggest obstacle is not her dance talent but her body: She was born a boy.

Girl has won Works in Progress prizes at two film festivals over the last few months, and The Match Factory signed on to it based on early scenes. “We are very happy to work with Lukas on his mesmerising and bold debut film,” said a representative of the company in Berlin. “We all strongly believe in the great impression a film like Girl will make on audiences and critics.”

Film industry site Screen International called Girl one of the five “hottest projects” to come out of the Benelux this year. Girl is schedule for release in the latter half of 2018.