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By Pieter van Hees
By Pieter van Hees
By Pieter van Hees
By Pieter van Hees

DIRTY MIND

By Pieter van Hees

"Tragicomedy laced with dark humor and some impressive stuntwork."
Variety

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

Karlovy Vary IFF, L’Étrange Festival, Reykjavik IFF, Oldenburg IFF, Netherland Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Festival du nouveau cinema Montreal, Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid (in compentition), Cinémascience Festival ( Grand Jury Prize and Jury Prize for Young Researchers)

SYNOPSIS

Diego has always been number two in the stuntman team with his brother, till he gets injured in an accident and wakes up as the cool and fearless Tony T. Jaana, an ambitious neurologists working on her doctor theses, sees in him a typical case of Frontal Syndrome and wants to cure him. But Tony doesn’t want to be cured right away. He becomes a top stuntman and wins the respect of his family. Women find it hard to resist Tony’s disarming straightforwardness. Except that one woman Tony feels increasingly attracted to: Jaana. Tony’s dilemma grows when he notices his exuberant behaviour is getting him more and more enemies: his brother, who fears he is being outshined, his mother, who thinks Tony starts ressembling her ex, and his father, who fears his young new wife likes Tony a bit too much. And then there is professor Vandewoestijne, Jaana’s supervisor, who fancies Jaana and believes the faster sexy Tony is operated on, the better. Shall Tony choose for the operation that makes him Diego again? Dirty Mind is a tragic comedy about neurological determination, about love as a symptom and about the fine line between manly behaviour and behavioural disorder.

DIRECTOR´S STATEMENT

Now that it’s no longer politically correct to make fun of lesbian conservatives, the Islam or dwarf throwing, there are only two minority groups left to make comedies about: white middleclass males and neurotic brain scientists. I decided to make a film about both of them.

For me, the whole Frontal Syndrome involved is just a metaphor to talk about how Western males struggle with their masculinity. I tried to make Dirty Mind raw, nu and dirty. And more importantly, funny, but also moving. Real comedy hurts.

DIRECTOR´S BIOGRAPHY

After making several short films with strong festival careers (Black XXX-Mas, Belgium Strikes Back,...) writer-director Pieter Van Hees (1970) has now embarked on a trilogy of features called Anatomy of Love and Pain, in which he dissects all aspects of a relationship.

Part 1, Left Bank, was released March 2008 to great critical acclaim and enjoyed a 13 week-run in Belgian theatres. It premiered internationally at the Edinburg Film festival (where it was picked up by IFC for US distribution) and was selected for festivals in Oldenburg, Austin, Valencia, Leeds, Sitges and North Carolina..Part 2, the highly anticipated Dirty Mind, will be released January 2008. Part 3, The Wasteland, is currently in development.

The way these three films combine a highly original way of storytelling with a very nu visual style make Pieter Van Hees a quite unique voice in Belgian cinema.

CAST

Diego / Tony T.: Wim Helsen
Cisse: Robby Cleiren
David Vandewoestijne: Peter van den Begin
Jaana: Kristine van Pellicom

CREW

Director: Pieter van Hees
Script: Pieter van Hees
Cinematography: Jan Vancaillie
Editing: Nico Leunen
Producer: Frank van Passel, Bert Hamelinck, Kato Maes
Production: Caviar Brussels

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Original Title: Dirty Mind / 35mm & Digital Beta / 16:9 / Colour / Dolby Digital / 102 min / Flemish with English subtitles / Belgium 2009

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