Archive of films Bullhead / Rundskop

Belgium / Netherlands
2011, 129 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2011

The young cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille receives a tempting offer to get involved in a profitable but illicit business. This dark thriller begins as a mafia movie but gradually changes into a strong psychological drama, gaining much from captivating camerawork and the outstanding physical acting of Matthias Schoenaerts.

Synopsis

This dark crime thriller is set in the world of the Belgian "hormone mafia,” a group of people trading in hormone injections for bovine growth. Buff, 30-year-old Jacky, who helps his uncle run a cattle farm, receives a tempting offer to get involved in this profitable but illegal business. His partner in crime is to be a Flemish cattle trader, an untrustworthy creature who is behind the recent murder of a federal policeman. The story reveals Jacky’s tragic past and the lone struggle he must wage with his own body. This ambitious debut from screenwriter and director Michaël R. Roskam begins as a mafia movie, then gradually transforms into a strong psychological drama, gaining much from captivating camerawork and the outstanding physical acting of Matthias Schoenaerts.

About the director

Michaël R. Roskam (b. 1972, Sint-Truiden, Belgium) studied painting at St-Lukas Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels (1997). He didn’t begin shooting films until 2002 when he completed his first short Haun, which screened at many international festivals. His next short Carlo (2004) also met with success, winning Best Photography at the Festival du Court-Métrage de Bruxelles, the Public Award at the Leuven Short FF, and several other prizes. Another popular festival short followed, The One Thing to Do (2005), and then Today Is Friday (2007). The director commented on his feature debut: "I’ve always been fascinated by American gangster films. I love them! I wanted to do one in my own way, on my own soil, with my own background.” Bullhead screened in the Panorama section at this year’s Berlinale.

Contacts

Celluloid Dreams
2, rue Turgot, 75009, Paris
France
Tel: +33 149 700 370
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.celluloid-dreams.com

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Michaël R. Roskam
Screenplay:	Michaël R. Roskam
Dir. of Photography:	Nicolas Karakatsanis
Music:	Raf Keunen
Editor:	Alain Dessauvage
Producer:	Bart Van Langendonck
Production:	Savage Film
Cast:	Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian, Tibo Vandenborre, Frank Lammers
Contact:	Celluloid Dreams

www:	www.bullheadthefilm.com

Guests

Michaël R. Roskam

Film Director