_{Omen by Baloji}

Belgian artist and maker Baloji is what Americans call a multi-hyphenate, and a very successful one too. He came to fame in the 1990s with the hip hop group Starflam, before conquering the worlds of fashion and the visual arts. Now, his debut feature Omen is selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2023.

Omen follows Kofi, who returns to his birthplace after being ostracized by his family, and is described as “an ensemble film about four people accused of being witches and sorcerers. Despite their misfortune they find the way to guide each other away from their socially imposed destinies and into the phantasmagoria of Africa.”

Main producer Benoit Roland of Belgian production outfit Wrongmen elaborates. “It is a film very much linked with Baloji's style, his aesthetic, and his way of presenting narrative. He uses magical realism as a tool to give us a unique view on contemporary Africa that we are not at all used to seeing, especially [regarding] Congo which is a very difficult country that has many problems - a country in crisis. Omen is a drama that shows very complex family issues linked with traditional beliefs such as sorcery and witchcraft.”

“It's a very strong film about very contemporary issues, and dealing with the diaspora of many people,” agrees Dutch co-producer Sander Verdonk (New Amsterdam).

Omen marks the seventh collaboration between Roland and Verdonk, who are firm friends as well as business partners. “At an early stage, we discuss projects and see what the opportunities are,” says Verdonk. “On this film, there was a very strong possibility to finance it in the Netherlands, not only because of the quality of the script and the filmmaker, but also the need and the urge to have more diverse voices being heard.”

When it was presented to the Netherlands Film Fund, it was quickly greenlit for selective funding and Production Incentive support. It was also one of the first films to benefit from the pan-European New Dawn Fund that was launched in 2022 to support films from previously unheard voices in order to help create more diverse, and hence more representative, production output in the future.

“There are many ways to do co-production,” points out Roland. “I think the beauty of doing a co-operation with someone like Sander is that we have known each other for so long and we have developed enormous mutual trust. There's no question of that. So we can talk about our projects, how and where we need each other, and when. It's easy and it’s quick and for a first feature film like this, it was absolutely necessary.”

“We were young producers and we grew together and worked on each other's films and it's been a really great creative and financial collaboration,” adds Verdonk. “And that continued on Omen.”

The Dutch contribution on Baloji’s debut effort is mainly to be seen in the post-production. The visual effects and grading were completed at FeverFilm while Posta oversaw the sound design and effects.

“Baloji, who's really a ‘sound’ guy, was absolutely delighted with the work of Sander’s team in Amsterdam,” says Belgian producer Roland. “It came with challenges of course, because it's not always the same language [the film is shot in French, Swahili, Lingala and English]. But Baloji is really international, and is used to working with crew from everywhere in the world. And Amsterdam is next door. So, yes, this was really smooth. And I don't always say that about co-productions.”

Verdonk describes director Baloji as “an extreme multi-talent.” To accompany this film the director is producing four music albums based on the main character of the film. “In the Dutch film industry, not that many people know Baloji yet, but in the fashion industry, he's very well-known already, and also in music and the arts. It's fascinating to see how he connects all these great talents.”

Roland points out how he was an avowed fan of Baloji’s rap music in the 1990s. A few years ago, the pair were introduced by a mutual friend. “He [Baloji] was looking for a new producer, and I was very excited by this project.”

“The goal was always to shoot in Congo,” the Belgian producer continues. “It's not an easy country to shoot in, and it has been a long process to understand what was important for him [in terms of] his political involvement, his artistic involvement. But it has been worth it.”

The film will be released across the Benelux by Imagine, and both producers foresee a successful future festival run. What’s more, Verdonk is keen to oversee an active impact campaign to heighten awareness of the issues that the film raises.

What is of immediate concern is getting some of the child actors (non-professionals) that star in the film over for its Cannes world-premiere. This is no easy task. Not only do the kids have neither passports nor visas, some of their births weren’t even registered. In the filmmakers’ favour, however, is Omen’s status as the first Congolese film to be selected for the illustrious event on the Riviera.

“I think that fact will make it happen, but as you can imagine it’s not a standard procedure to get somebody into Europe and out of an African country without papers,” Verdonk ends.

Omen's sales are handled by Memento International

For a full overview on everything from the Netherlands at Cannes, click here.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________