Flying Home press kit

present
a film by Dominique Deruddere
length 95 minutes
release date April 2nd 2014
table of content
synopsis ................................................................................................................................................... 3
intro by ludo poppe .................................................................................................................................... 4
personages | cast
-
jamie dornan ................................................................................................................................ 5
-
charlotte de bruyne ...................................................................................................................... 6
-
jan decleir ................................................................................................................................... 7
dominique deruddere about the cast ........................................................................................................... 8
cv director dominique deruddere .............................................................................................................. 12
cast ....................................................................................................................................................... 13
crew ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
technical details ...................................................................................................................................... 15
contact .................................................................................................................................................. 16
‘Flying Home’ is Dominique Deruddere's 9th feature film after ‘Crazy Love’ (1987), ‘Wait Until
Spring Bandini’ (1989), ‘Hombres Complicados’ (1998) and 'Firmin' (2007). In particular,
'Everybody Famous’ (2001) has put Dominique on the international map with an Oscar Nomination
for Best Foreign Film. ‘Flying Home’ is a production of Otomatic and Mauna Kea Films. The film
will be released in cinemas through KFD on April 2nd, 2014.
www.FLYINGHOME.be
page 2 of 16
synopsis
Colin, an ambitious American investment banker, proposes one of his potential customers
- a rich Arab sheik and passionate pigeon fancier - a deal: if he can convince the Flemish
pigeon fancier Jos Pauwels to sell his champion dove then the Sheikh do business with
him.
Colin sets of for Flanders and pretends to be a teacher. But when he meets the stubborn
owner, and his beautiful granddaughter Isabelle, he realizes that his assignment will be
more difficult than he had hoped.
www.FLYINGHOME.be
page 3 of 16
intro by producer ludo poppe
A PARABLE OF LOVE
It’s not easy to push writer-director Dominique Deruddere in a box. He’s too sober to lose
himself into art-house, but too imposing to make ordinary commercial genre films.
Dominique creates his own world like few directors dare to do. In those worlds all stories
are easy but the lessons of life are great. The protagonists behave simply, without useless
depth, because everything is in the spirit of a bigger lesson in life. From ‘Crazy Love’ till
‘Hombres Complicados’ till ‘Everybody Famous’, Dominique directs as a parable-teller.
Four years ago, I met Dominique Deruddere for the first time in Los Angeles where he
lives in voluntary exile. The exuberant life in Brussels started to take its toll and especially
his wife Lorette insisted on a cleansing treatment, far away from the nightlife. He then
made a choice and discovered a big truth: nothing is more important than to be near your
loved ones.
It’s no coincidence that this big truth is to be found in his next film. ‘Flying Home’ is a
parable of love: how love is more important than all the rest and that you have to sacrifice
everything for it.
Again, Deruddere creates his own world, with a sheikh, an American yuppie and a Flemish
village that came out of the former century. With all these ingredients, Deruddere made a
very beautiful love story, which reminds the viewer of what’s important in life, after which
he will leave satisfied the room.
Ludo Poppe, Producer
www.FLYINGHOME.be
page 4 of 16
characters | cast
colin | jamie dornan
Colin Montgommery has it all. He's young, rich, handsome, intelligent and successful. He
lives in New York, ‘on top of the world’. He lives only for his work, has barely a social life, and
is willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants. He is a ruthless businessman who does
not deviate from his path until he ends up in Flanders, and there he discovers that there is
more to life than money and power…
jamie dornan | colin
Jamie Dornan (°1982, Belfast, Noord-Ierland) is an actor, known for ‘Marie-Antoinette’ (2006),
‘Shadows in the Sun’ (2009) and ‘Beyond the Rave’ (2008).
At the age of fourteen Jamie participated in an amateur drama group and performed different
plays all over Ireland, including ‘The Cherry Orchard’ of Anton Chekov.
In 2001 his sister Liesa encouraged him to take part in a new tv-show on Channel 4, ‘Model
Behavior’. He was selected and although he did not make it to the finals, the program launched his
career because he was spotted by many agencies. One year later Jamie dropped his studies to
become a professional model. He became a well known face in the model world and in 2003 he
met Keira Knightly. Thanks to her he made his first steps in the world of big screen movies (Keira
introduced him to her agent) and he played his first feature ‘Marie-Antoinette’ of Sophia Coppola.
In 2004 Jamie became the face of Calvin Klein. He posed many years for different brands but in
2012 he decided to focus on his acting career. He did the final season of ‘Once upon a time’ and
got the lead role of
serial killer Paul Spector in the BBC Two crime drama series ‘The Fall’.
He is set to portray the titular character of Christian Grey in the feature film adaptation of the
best-selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey.
www.FLYINGHOME.be
page 5 of 16
isabelle | charlotte de bruyne
Isabelle is studying biology at the University of Ghent. After the death of her father a few years ago,
her mother moved back to the Netherlands and Isabelle now lives with her grandfather. She is a
young, modern woman who happens to live in a village and is very satisfied with it. When Colin arrives
in Bunderzele she is very curious to meet the young American. Not only because he’s a handsome
man, but also because she’s very intrigued by his search for his ancestor's grave.
charlotte de bruyne | isabelle
Charlotte De Bruyne (° 1990, Ghent) started to follow theater workshops in 2002 at the
Kopergietery in Ghent. She played in several stage productions including ‘Stand by Me’ by Gregory
Caers and ‘Dark Green’ by Janni van Goor. In 2008 she started to work for theater Ontroerend
Goed with the show ‘Adolescents Are Not’, after that she played in different representations of the
company including 'A Game Of You', 'Intern', 'The Smile Off Your Face', 'Under the Influence' and 'A
History of Everything’ (in collaboration with the Sydney Theatre Company).
In 2012, Charlotte was a permanent member at the theater company. In 2008, she also attended
the theater school of the KASK in Ghent. In 2011, Charlotte had the chance to be under the wings
of Touching Well its first show, 'XXXO', which she made along with former colleague Nathalie
Verbeke. 'XXXO' wins the 2012 Total Theatre Award for Best Young Work at the international
theater festival in Edinburgh. This season Charlotte appeared in the new full-length album, ‘Little
Black Spiders' by Patrice Toye, in which she played one of the lead roles.
In the autumn of 2013 she played in the new representation of Ontroerend Goed, 'Fight Night',
which was released in April 2013 at the Vooruit in Ghent. In 2014, Charlotte will be seen in
'Friends' by Cecilia Verheyden, together with Anemone Valcke.
www.FLYINGHOME.be
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jos pauwels | jan decleir
Jos is a retired village doctor and widower. In Bunderzele everybody looks up at him, not only
because he is a righteous and well-read man, but also because Jos is an excellent fancier. He has a
very intense and unique connection with his birds. His favorite, ‘Wittekop’, is very close to his heart ...
jan decleir | jos pauwels
Jan Decleir (° 1946, Niel) is one of Belgium's most honoured actors. He began his career in
theater, with companies like KNS, De Internationale Nieuwe Scène and The Blue Monday Company.
He also toured extensively with theater monologues by Dario Fo and Hugo Claus.
In the early Seventies Jan Decleir debuted in 'Mira' (1971, Fons Rademakers). He acquired
international fame with his part of father Daens in 'Daens' (1993, Stijn Coninx), a film nominated
for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
In the Oscar-winning film ‘Antonia’ (1995, Marleen Gorris) and 'Character' (1997, Mike van Diem)
Jan Decleir is starred. In 'Character' he embodies the unwavering bailiff Dreverhaven, in 'Antonia'
we see him as the somewhat introverted neighbor Bas.
‘The Alzheimer Case’ (2003, Erik Van Looy), in which Jan Decleir played the assassin Ledda,
earned international acclaim. In the U.S., comparisons with superstars as Robert De Niro, Dennis
Hopper, Anthony Hopkins and Gene Hackman were made.
At the Montreal Film Festival in 2005 he received the prize for Best Actor for his role as John
Roerhorst in 'Screen Off' (2005, Pieter Kuijpers), a film in which he appears next to the Dutch
actor Jeroen Krabbé.
Followed including parts in ‘Verlengd Weekend’ (2005, Hans Herbots), 'Wolfsbergen' (2006,
Nanouk Leopold), 'Man zkt vrouw’ (2007, Miel Van Hoogenbemt) and ‘Les Barons’ (2009, Nabil
Ben Yadir), 'With Man and Power’ (2012, Lenaerts & Van Dyck). In ‘Ich & Kaminski’ (2013,
Wolfgang Becker), he played a remarkable role together with Geraldine Chaplin.
www.FLYINGHOME.be
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dominique deruddere about
~ jamie dornan
Dominique Deruddere:: ‘The actor we wanted for the role of Colin had to be someone that would be
able to portray in a believable way the reversal of a ruthless businessman, who encounters himself
in Flanders Fields and questions his lifestyle. Via our British casting agent Kate Dowd, I received a
lot of resumes and tapes sent by young actors who fitted the picture 'handsome and successful',
but no one appeared to have that ‘second layer’, which is so necessary for the main character.
Jamie had more than his 'pretty boy' look at first revealed. I was immediately interested and a
scene from the yet unfinished 'The Fall', the series directed by Jakob Verbruggen was decisive to
me. This young fashion model turned out to be a solid actor!
Further casting sessions with Jamie, and possible Isabelles, strengthened my impression that
Jamie would be able to act out Colin's deceitful plan, without losing the viewer's sympathy for the
main character. Jamie has managed to convey the increasing doubt and struggle of the main
character with a lot of nuance and talent.
He's an actor of whom we - of course also by his part in 'Fifty Shades of Grey’ - will hear a lot in the
future worldwide, and I am delighted that two Belgian directors, Jakob Verbruggen and myself,
might have been at the cradle a great career?’
~ charlotte de bruyne
Dominique Deruddere has rarely been searching for so long for an actor or actress, who would
know bring to life what he had in mind. For the part of Isabelle every Flemish actress between
twenty and thirty years, both known and unknown, did audition. And although he saw a wide range
of very talented actresses – he did not find his Isabelle.
Dominique Deruddere: ‘When Charlotte De Bruyne walked in I was so impressed by her presence
that I immediately referred her to the last round after the reading of the first scene, in which four
favorite actresses had to play a few scenes with Jamie to test the chemistry between the
protagonists. ‘She's the best kisser,’ said Jamie after the last casting session when I asked him
why he found Charlotte the best choice. He will undoubtedly be right about that kissing, but
Charlotte is much more than that. She is an actress with such ease of talent that everything just
seems to happen naturally. And yet she is a professional and she knows very well what she is
doing. Thanks to her, Isabelle has not become a typical Flemish countryside girl. Charlotte's talent
and personality made of Isabelle a modern young woman that happens to live in the countryside
and seems pretty happy with it. For Colin Isabelle personifies everything he cannot find in New
York: sincerity, naturalness, sensitivity. Charlotte has ensured that her character has all of these
qualities, and the love that this successful businessman feels for this Flemish young woman, is
completely believable.’
www.FLYINGHOME.be
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~ jan decleir
When writing the screenplay,, Dominique Deruddere envisioned Jan Decleir from the beginning.
Dominique Deruddere:: ‘Who else could have played this part? The patriarch of the village, the
loving grandfather, a passionate pigeon fancier. Jan can do anything, that we all know. Yet there
was something he had to learn for this role - how to hold a pigeon. To prepare for the role,
ro I went
with Jan to see a fancier with whom we spent a few hours in the loft. It soon became clear that the
typical gestures, such as the unfolding of the wings, checking the eyes and chest, are not easy to
learn. So during his summer holidays in France
France,, Jan got two pigeons to practice with. Each pigeon
expert who will see the film will have to admit that Jan has mastered the gestures of the fancier to
the smallest detail. Jan started actually to get attached to the pigeons in France. After months of
practice,
ctice, he left the door of the pigeon-cage
pigeon
open at the end of his vacation. ‘To see if the pigeons
would see me and come back,’ he explained. The pigeons apparently loved only their mate because
Jan never saw them again. They now live somewhere in France,
France hopefully happily ever after.’
~ viviane de muynck
Viviane De Muynck worked years ago with Dominique Deruddere in 'Suite 16’. This collaboration
went so well that I was hoping to make very quickly another film with Viviane. Still, it would take
almost twenty years before we would work together again. Viviane is a class actress, a grand cru
that gets better with age. For ‘Flying Home’ she is the voice of the people. Martha has spent her
entire life in a small town (Bunderzele) and knows everything and everyone.
ev
Her initial mistrust of
the U.S. 'intruder' evolves quite rapidly into warm sympathy and in that sense Martha symbolizes
the friendly hospitality for which the Flemish people is known. When Colin shames the trust and
when doubts increase, it is precisely Martha’s
Martha revelation that gives him the courage to try to repair
what he has broken. That revelation is an important key scene in the film and the way Viviane
brings this scene to life and moved the spectator and Colin is typical for her great and unique
talent.’
www.FLYINGHOME.be
.be
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~ josse de pauw
With ‘Flying Home’ it is the sixth time that Josse De Pauw and Dominique Deruddere have worked
together.
Dominique Deruddere ‘Sometimes you know an actor too well. I know exactly when Josse plays but
not really fits into his part. For the role of the priest, I hoped Josse would step out of his comfort
zone to portray a character that was far away from his personality. When I saw his unprecedented
achievement in the monologue 'Raymond', a part of the character he had to create was brought to
life. I thought. It turned out that the pastor of Watou (of the presbytery where ‘Flying Home’ was
filmed) was the decisive factor. To me, he was the living incarnation of what I had in mind, plus
some extras. I could not wait to bring Josse and pastor together because I knew for sure that the
man would inspire Josse. But Josse is no imitator, and he would not be Josse if he would just
imitate the man. Perky and talented as he is Josse has put my ‘advices’ in a jar, shook it up, and
what came out was a unique character that gave us a Josse De Pauw in top shape. A Josse as we
have never seen him. If anyone would know, it's me.’
~ ali suliman
‘I saw Ali Suliman for the first time in ‘Paradise Now’, a powerful film from 2005 by Hany Abu
Assad, and I haven’t forgotten Ali. I was thrilled that he accepted the part of Sheikh Nayed. If
anyone could give a human dignity to this character without falling into a kind of carnivalesque
cliché of 'Sheikh' than it was Ali. My instincts proved I was right. He also thought it was very
important that the sheikh would be presented as a man of flesh and blood. The introduction scene
of the sheikh in his loft in Dubai is decisive and a beautiful illustration. Because creating the
character of a sheikh who is a passionate pigeon fancier, without - unintentionally - making people
laugh, is only given to certain class actors. To me, Ali succeeded one hundred percent in our
stated goal. I will be eternally grateful to him for this.’
www.FLYINGHOME.be
page 10 of 16
~ anthony head
‘There are actors who arrive on your set, and the only thing you have to do is ‘sit back and enjoy
the show’. Anthony Head is such an actor. He’s a pro that does every take exactly the same and
yet always plays something completely different. Colin's father is an important character in the film
to let us to understand why Colin is the man, he became. Anthony had only two scenes to create
that complex father-son
son relationship and he has ddone
one so with great gusto. We only had one day of
filming together, but it is a day which I enjoyed and I will not forget.’
~ the dove in the movie
The pigeon has a great mythical value in almost every culture and often symbolizes love and
faithfulness. The parallel between the journey of the champion dove to his beloved and the search
for Colin to his true happiness gives the story an underlying symbolic power.
~ the First World War in the movie
The subplot of Colin’s grandfather, who was killed in the First
First World War, makes the self-discovery
self
of Colin stronger. Colin is closely confronted with the fact that once hundreds of thousands of men
younger than he is died for a cause. The fierce corporate raider who has lived only for himself
comes to realize that there is more in life than ambition and financial gain.
www.FLYINGHOME.be
.be
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cv director dominique deruddere
Dominique Deruddere (°1957, Turnhout) has been passionate about filmmaking since he
was a child. Thanks to his older brother, who lent him his movie camera, young Dominique
managed to make his own films, starting in super 8 at the age of fourteen (‘Oranje Licht’),
proceeding to 16mm (‘Bedankt Ma’) before accessing to 35 mm (‘Wodka Orange’).
After these shorts - made before, during and after his film school years, Deruddere
collaborated with his childhood friend Marc Didden, co-writing the script of
‘Brussels by Night’ (1983) and playing a significant part in ‘Istanbul’ (1985).
In 1986, the young director made the right pick when he decided to film a story by
Charles Bukovski. Indeed what was intended as a thirty minute short was, thanks to a farseeing producer, expanded into a feature film.
‘Crazy Love’ (better known as ‘Love is a Dog from Hell’) was released worldwide, became a
festival favorite and was unanimously acclaimed as an achievement. The film also drew the
attention of Francis Ford Coppola who, through his Zoetrope production company, helped
Deruddere to set up his next project, an adaptation of John Fante's ‘Bandini’, filmed in the
USA in 1989, also distributed all over the world.
Dominique Deruddere came back to the States in 2001 to defend his film
‘Everybody Famous’, which had been nominated for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award.
Among Deruddere's other films are : ‘Suite 16’ (1994), ‘Hombres Complicados’ (1997),
‘Pour le Plaisir’ (2004) ...
www.FLYINGHOME.be
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cast
Colin Montgomery ................................................................................................................ JAMIE DORNAN
Isabelle Pauwels ..................................................................................................... CHARLOTTE DE BRUYNE
Jos Pauwels ............................................................................................................................ JAN DECLEIR
Martha ....................................................................................................................... VIVIANE DE MUYNCK
Priest ............................................................................................................................... JOSSE DE PAUW
Sheik Abdullah Nayed ................................................................................................................ ALI SULIMAN
father Colin ........................................................................................................................ ANTHONY HEAD
mother Colin .................................................................................................................. SHARON MAUGHAN
man in bar .......................................................................................................................... GENE BERVOETS
and also :
Max Perkis
Numan Acar
Mitchell Mullen
Omar Bin Haider
Piet Fuchs
Eline Van der Velden
www.FLYINGHOME.be
page 13 of 16
crew
director .................................................................................................................. DOMINIQUE DERUDDERE
writer .................................................................................................................... DOMINIQUE DERUDDERE
producer .................................................................................................. LUDO POPPE | MAUNA KEA FILMS
.................................................................................... DOMINIQUE DERUDDERE | OTOMATIC PRODUCTIONS
executive producer ............................................................................................................... MEG THOMSON
....................................................................................................................................... PHILIPP STEFFENS
............................................................................................................................................... COTTY CHUB
...................................................................................................................................... PIETER VAN HUYCK
............................................................................................................................................. KRIS SPAEPEN
line producer ................................................................................................................ NADINE BORREMAN
director of photography ............................................................................................ FRANK VAN DEN EEDEN
film editing ....................................................................................................................... ELS VOORSPOELS
sound ................................................................................................................................... DIRK BOMBEY
....................................................................................................................................... SENJAN JANSSEN
............................................................................................................................... PHILIPPE CHARBONNEL
decor ................................................................................................................................ HUBERT POUILLE
costume design .................................................................................................................... LORETTE MEUS
make-up .................................................................................................................... MARIËL HOEVENAARS
music ....................................................................................................................... WOLFRAM DE MARCO
press responsible ............................................................................................... ISABELLE COUVREUR | KFD
www.FLYINGHOME.be
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technical details
title ......................................................................................................... FLYING HOME
original language ................................................................................................... Dutch
second language ................................................................................................. English
location ....... Kleiputten, Watou, Koekelare, Heuvelland, Zottegem, Haaltert, Dubai, Barcelona
recording period ........................................................................................ summer 2012
length .......................................................................................................... 95 minutes
producer ............................................................................................... Mauna Kea Films
....................................................................................................... Otomatic Productions
coproducer ........................................................................................ Twenty Four 9 Films
........................................................................................................ Kanakna Productions
......................................................................................................................... GL Films
with the support of ................................................................................... VAF | Filmfonds
................................................................................................. Kinepolis Film Distribution
................................................. de tax shelter maatregel van de Belgische federale overheid
...................................................................................................... Beyers Duivenvoeders
................................................................................................................................ één
........................................................................................................................... Telenet
.................................................................................................................... Added Value
distributor ................................................................................ Kinepolis Film Distribution
release .................................................................................................. 2nd April 2014
international sales .................................................. Film Sales Company | NY 10016 | USA
www.FLYINGHOME.be
page 15 of 16
contact
distributor
Kinepolis Film Distribution (KFD)
Eeuwfeestlaan 20 - Boulevard du Centenaire 20
1020 Brussels
www.kfd.be
pers :
- Isabelle Couvreur
phone +32 2 474 26 81 / mobile +32 476 66 92 95
[email protected]
marketing :
- Stéphanie Maussen
phone +32 2 474 26 88 / mobile +32 486 805 250
[email protected]
producer
producer
Mauna Kea Films
Den Beyerd 9
3140 Keerbergen
www.maunakeafilms.com
producer :
- Ludo Poppe
mobile +32 (0)496 38 22 80
[email protected]
www.FLYINGHOME.be
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