Network of Festivals in the Adriatic region

Maldoror
Belgium, France, 2024, 155'
Directed by: Fabrice du Welz
Screenplay: Fabrice du Welz, Domenico La Porta
Cinematography : Manu Dacosse
Editing : Nico Leunen
Cast: Anthony Bajon (Paul Chartier), Alba Gaïa Bellugi (Jeanne »Gina« Ferrara), Alexis Manenti (Luis Catano), Sergi López (Marcel Dedieu), Laurent Lucas (Charles Hinkel), David Murgia (Didier Renard), Béatrice Dalle (Rita), Lubna Azabal (Mme Santos), Jackie Berroyer (Jack Dolman), Mélanie Doutey (Juge Remacle), Félix Maritaud (Roberto Santos)

Du Welz’s latest work is a police film, a naturalistic fresco that takes us to the heart of the Sicilian community in Charleroi in the middle of the 1990s, largely inspired by the case of the paedophile serial killer Marc Dutroux.Paul Chartier is an impulsive young police recruit with a troubled past – his father was a convict and his mother a prostitute. But he buried those memories long ago. Now he navigates deftly between his professional ambitions and the extended Sicilian family he is preparing to marry into. When two girls go missing, the idealistic Paul is assigned to “Maldoror”. This secret unit has been set up to monitor a dangerous sex offender. When the operation fails, fed up with the limits of the legal system and increasingly obsessed with the case which he is sure is a part of something much larger, Chartier embarks on a solitary hunt to bring down the culprits.

"My intention is to explore the nature of evil and the quest for justice through realistic and evocative fiction. I wanted to probe the darkest aspects of the human soul and offer a profound reflection on powerlessness in the face of institutional dysfunction. Through the character of Paul Chartier, I wanted to approach resilience, obsession, blindness and the will to change things against all odds. For me, Maldoror is a turning point, designed to shed light on a societal trauma and offer a fresh perspective on our ability to confront evil."
Fabrice du Welz

Fabrice du WelzBorn in 1972 in Belgium. Du Welz studied at the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Liège and at INSAS, a film school in Brussels. In the 1990s he directed many Super 8 films and wrote humorous sequences for Canal +. He rose to prominence already with his 1999 short, A Wonderful Love. His feature debut, The Ordeal, screened at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography (selection)
2004 Calvaire (The Ordeal)
2008 Vinyan
2014 Alléluia (Alleluia)
2016 Message from the King
2019 Adoration
2024 La Passion selon Béatrice (The Passion According to Béatrice)
2024 Maldoror 

The Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region is supported by the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe.

The Winter Edition of the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region will take place between 22 January and 5 February, offering audiences in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia the opportunity to watch a selection of award-winning regional films for free – in cinemas and as video-on-demand.

The following award-winning regional films will be on view: Forever Hold Your Peace (Živi i zdravi by Ivan Marinović), Family Therapy (Odrešitev za začetnike, by Sonja Prosenc), Mother Mara (Majka Mara, by Mirjana Karanović), My Late Summer (Nakon ljeta, by Danis Tanović) and Planet 7693 (Planeta 7693, by Gojko Berkuljan).

The programme begins on 22 January with free cinema screenings in Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Herceg Novi, and Skopje, while from 23 January all films will also be available for streaming on the platform ondemand.kinomeetingpoint.ba.

On 22 January at 19.00, as part of the opening of the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region Winter Edition, the film Forever Hold Your Peace (Živi i zdravi) by Ivan Marinović will be screened free of charge in Cankarjev dom's Kosovel Hall. Marinović's film is a bitterly comic story about a wedding that takes place despite the bride’s decision to give up on marriage. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director Ivan Marinović.

My Late Summer (Nakon ljeta, by Danis Tanović) is a comedy-drama about a young woman who comes to an island to claim her inheritance, only to be confronted with her own past, family secrets, and identity issues. Mother Mara (Majka Mara, by Mirjana Karanović) is an intimate drama about loss, grief, and the unexpected bond that develops between a mother and her deceased son's friend. Planet 7693 (Planeta 7693, by Gojko Berkuljan) is a warm family story about a boy who, with the help of an unusual friend, tries to repair his family’s damaged relationships. Family Therapy (Odrešitev za začetnike, by Sonja Prosenc) follows a seemingly perfect family whose idyllic existence is shattered by the arrival of a young stranger. His presence exposes their internal issues, fears, and dysfunctional relationships

The Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region Winter Edition brings together the region’s leading film festivals, including the Ljubljana International Film Festival – Liffe, the Zagreb Film Festival, the Auteur Film Festival Belgrade, the Sarajevo Film Festival, the Herceg Novi Film Festival and the Manaki Brothers festival from North Macedonia. 

Running for the fourth consecutive year, the Winter Edition of the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region has been designed with the aim of increasing the visibility, accessibility, and promotion of outstanding European films across the Adriatic region.

Please note: Due to licensing restrictions, the film Fiume o morte! will not be available for streaming on the online platform in Slovenia.

The Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region is supported by the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe.

Officially presented at the 31st Auteur Film Festival

Fabrice du Welz’s film Maldoror has won the Audience Award for Best Film of the Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region – the Adriatic Audience Award, which was officially presented at the 31st Auteur Film Festival in Belgrade. The aim of the Adriatic Audience Award, presented by the Adriatic Region Festival Network, is to promote and increase the visibility of European film, and the award will also enable the film to be screened in cinemas across the region formerly known as Yugoslavia. Maldoror received the highest number of audience votes by combining results from all member festivals of the Adriatic Region Festival Network, including the Sarajevo Film Festival (BiH), the Herceg Novi Film Festival (Montenegro), the Ljubljana International Film Festival (Slovenia), the Auteur Film Festival (Belgrade), the Zagreb Film Festival (Croatia), and Manaki Brothers (North Macedonia). Maldoror is a fictionalized story inspired by real events that took place in Belgium in the mid-1990s. After two girls disappeared in 1995, young police officer Paul Chartier joins the secret unit “Maldoror,” tasked with monitoring the main suspect. When the operation fails, Paul – disillusioned with the system – embarks on an independent investigation that grows into an obsession.

The film focuses on a realistic portrayal of the struggle against deeply rooted evil and a society that fails its most vulnerable members. Maldoror is the first part of Fabrice du Welz’s planned trilogy about the dark side of Belgian history, power, and justice. The film received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

The author of the visual design of the Adriatic Audience Award is Srđan Stefanović (1985), an academic sculptor and painter.

The Adriatic Region Festival Network is supported by the MEDIA sub-programme of Creative Europe.