Croatian Programme - Minority Co-Production

The King of the Belgians suffers a gunshot wound to the ear in an incident in Sarajevo and wakes up on a Croatian island, once Tito’s famed summer residence. While he tries to escape from the island to save his Kingdom, an envoy arrives announcing that the King has been proclaimed the first Emperor of a nationalist Nova Europa. Fed up with others determining his destiny, the King takes matters into his own hands.

Belgium, Netherlands, Croatia, Bulgaria | 2019 | 95’
drama, comedy

DIRECTORS Jessica Woodworth, Peter Brosens | SCREENPLAY Jessica Woodworth, Peter Brosens | CINEMATOGRAPHY Ton Peters | EDITOR David Verdurme | PRODUCTION DESIGN Sabina Christova| COSTUME DESIGN Morana Starčević  | SOUND Charo Calvo | SCORE Alen Sinkauz, Nenad Sinkauz | MAKE UP Petya Simeonova | ACTORS Peter Van Den Beg, Lucie Debay, Geraldine Chaplin, Titus De Voogdt, Bruno Georis, Udo Kier, Siniša Labrović, Darko Stazić, Alen Sinkauz, Hassan Abdelghani | PRODUCERS Jessica Woodworth, Peter Brosens | COMPANY Bo Films | COPRODUCERS Boris T. Matić, Lana Matić, Frans van Gestel, Arnold Heslenfeld, Laurette Schillings, Marc-Henri Wajnberg, Mira Staleva, Stefan Kitanov | COPRODUCED BY  Propeler Film (Croatia), Topkapi Films (Netherlands), Wajnbrosse Productions (Belgium), Art Fest (Bulgaria) | DISTRIBUTION Zagreb Film Festival | SALES AGENT Be For Films

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS  International Film Festival Toronto, Warsaw International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival, Göteborg Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival

Jessica Woodworth (Washington, 1962) is an American-Belgian director, screenwriter and producer. She studied literature, classical theatre and documentary filmmaking, as well as multiple languages. She mostly directs with Peter Brosens, and their films have received numerous awards and have been screened at numerous festivals. Their first joint film Khadak (2006) has won the Lion of the Future award in Venice. Woodworth and Brosens also founded the independent production company Bo Films.

Peter Brosens (1962) is a director, screenwriter, producer, and cinematographer, who studied social and cultural anthropology. Along with the acclaimed documentary Magnolia Trilogy, for which he has received the Polar Star Award from the Mongolian president, he has directed numerous films with Jessica Woodworth: Khadak (winner of Venice’s Lion of the Future 2006), Altiplatno (CannesCritics’ Week 2009), The Fifth Season (Venice Official Competition 2012), King of the Belgians (Venice Orizzonti Competition 2016, nominated for Best Comedy at EFA 2017).