Angel at Sea

Colour, 35 mm
Belgium, Canada, 2009, 86 min
WP – World premiere
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Synopsis

Twelve-year-old Louis lives with his parents and older brother in a small town in southern Morocco. Louis is a happy boy who loves the sea, his father, to play soccer with the local kids, and to laugh. One day his father tells him a secret that only they will share. The secret immediately changes the lives of young Louis and his family – enough to cause the boy to lose his innocence forever. This outstanding feature debut relies heavily on excellent performances by Olivier Gourmet, Anne Consigny, and especially the highly convincing Martin Nissen as Louis. The movie is gorgeous to look at, with a gripping story whose ambiguities evoke multiple questions but few answers.

About the director

Frédéric Dumont (b. 1961, Brussels) finished up studies at Belgium’s IAD University in 1987, then worked as an assistant director for six years. In 1993 he made his first short, Viva Belgica, then mainly focused on documentaries and TV reports. Filmography – shorts: Une journée particulière (1994), Murmure (1994), Au bout du regard (1994), Les médecins (1995), Imaginez un outil pour parler du sida (1995), Bruxelles, ville portuaire (1996); documentaries: Le chemin des aigles (1992), Les Belges du bout du monde (1997), Homme à la soirée de la cave (2000), Chasseur d’étoiles (2000), Un simple maillon (2002), Trace de vies (2003). Angel at Sea is his feature debut.