Revisiting Belgium’s Most Haunting Scandal w/ Fabrice Du Welz

Listen to our podcast conversation with Fabrice Du Welz, director of Maldoror, premiering out of competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.

TFV’s Matt Micucci shares a conversation with director Fabrice Du Welz, whose latest film, Maldoror, is premiering out of competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. A gripping and intense thriller, Maldoror tells the story of a young and impulsive Belgian cop on a desperate search for justice, all set against the backdrop of one of Belgium’s most haunting scandals – a series of kidnappings of young girls that shook the nation in the 1990s and that left a deep scar in the Belgian soul.

In our conversation, Du Welz opens up about the challenges of revisiting such a traumatic chapter in his country’s history and the catharsis of revisiting it in cinematic form. We also delve into what draws him to portrayals of evil and how this marks a significant evolution in his filmography. Beyond this, we go back to Du Welz’s earliest memories of cinema, his study of acting and theatre, and how all that shaped the filmmaker he is today.

Showcast is a series of candid podcast conversations from film festivals and film markets, presented by The Film Verdict and hosted by Matt Micucci.

Featured image: Sofie Gheysens