SYNOPSIS
Nicolas III, King of the Belgians, suffers a gunshot wound to the ear during an unfortunate incident in Sarajevo. He wakes up in a sanatorium on a Croatian island that once was Tito’s renowned summer residence. The King’s entourage tries in vain to protect him from the news that the recent implosion of their kingdom has sparked the collapse of the European Union. The fragile King demands to return home at once, but instead he is condemned to a strict regime of rest and rehabilitation by the authoritarian sanatorium director, Dr. Otto Kroll. A delegation from Vienna arrives headed by the distinguished Dr. Ilse von Stroheim, architect of a nationalist Nova Europa. She bears the thunderous news that the last King of the Belgians will become the first Emperor of Europe. The King, fed up with others determining his destiny, decides to take matters into his own hands.
Awards
Special Mention | Avanca FF, Portugal, 2020
CAST & CREW
Peter Brosens
Director
Producer(s)
Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Script
Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Director of Photography
Ton Peters
Production designer
Sabina Christova
Music by
Alen Sinkauz, Nenad Sinkauz
Sound
Pepijn Aben, Matthias Hillegeer, Alek Goosse
Edit
David Verdurme
Cast
Peter Van den Begin, Lucie Debay, Udo Kier, Geraldine Chaplin, Bruno Georis, Titus De Voogdt
Production company(ies)
Bo Films
Peter Brosens
Born in 1962, Leuven, Belgium. Peter Brosens has been an independent filmmaker and producer since 1991. He studied urban geography and cultural anthropology. Brosens is a 1995 EAVE graduate. Prior to The Fifth Season he produced and directed creative documentaries such as his Mongolia Trilogy: City of the Steppes (1993), State of Dogs (1998) and Poets of Mongolia (1999).
Filmography
El Camino del tempo (1992, doc.), City of Steppes (1993, doc.), State of Dogs (1998, doc.), Poets of Mongolia (1999, doc.), Khadak (Co-dir.: Jessica Woodworth, 2006), Altiplano (Co-dir.: Jessica Woodworth, 2009), The Fifth Season (Co-dir.: Jessica Woodworth, 2012), King of Belgians (Co-dir.: Jessica Woodworth, 2016), The Barefoot Emperor (Co-dir.: Jessica Woodworth, 2019).
Jessica Woodworth
Director
Jessica Woodworth
Born 1971, in Washington DC, USA, Jessica Woodworth grew up between Europe and the US. She studied literature at Princeton then worked in China for European networks. She received her MA in documentary from Stanford. Jessica Woodworth was the president of the Jury at the 2011 Ghent IFF. Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth won the Lion of the Future at the 2006 Venice IFF with Khadak. Their second fiction, Altiplano, was launched in Cannes in 2009 and won the Golden Kinnaree at the Bangkok IFF.
Filmography
Virgin Diaries (2001), Urga Song (1999, doc.), Khadak (Co-dir.: Peter Brosens, 2006), Altiplano (Co-dir.: Peter Brosens, 2009), The Fifth Season (Co-dir.: Peter Brosens, 2012), King of Belgians (Co-dir.: Peter Brosens, 2016), The Barefoot Emperor (Co-dir.: Peter Brosens, 2019).
