Atlas International takes on sales for Tallinn’s The Weeping Walk

Atlas International Film has taken on international sales for Dimitri Verhulst’s feature debut, The Weeping Walk (Waarom Wettelen). The news was revealed by Atlas Managing Director Michel J. Vandewalle and the film’s producers, Eurydice Gysel and Koen Mortier of Brussels-based Czar Film & TV.

November 18, 2024

The announcement comes on the eve of the film’s premiere at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, where The Weeping Walk is part of the First Feature Competition.

The Weeping Walk is an absurd, at times surreal and a-typical road movie in which a deceased mother’s unexpected last will turns a funeral into a procession of several days across the countryside. This emotional funeral march gives the grieving family time to connect with one another and uncover long-buried family secrets. By the time the deceased is laid to rest, the bonds between them are deeply shaken.

“We are very excited to present The Weeping Walk to our international distributors,” says Atlas International’s Michel J. Vandewalle. “This surreal movie with dark humour comes from a production house that brings un-ordinary titles such as Koen Mortier’s Skunk. The film is filled with numerous discoveries that maintain the audience's curiosity right until the very end, amidst an atmosphere of disruption and disbelief.”

“We are delighted to announce the international premiere of The Weeping Walk at the First Feature Competition in Tallinn,” adds Czar’s Eurydice Gysel. ”This event marks the beginning of the film’s international sales campaign. We look forward to collaborating with Atlas International to bring the film to cinemas and festivals worldwide, allowing audiences everywhere to experience the magic of The Weeping Walk.”

“There has always been one story that I wanted to tell and just could not get into a novel. It was that of The Weeping Walk! A different language was needed, one that included silence in its vocabulary. Film language, in other words” Dimitri Verhulst

The Weeping Walk is Dimitri Verhulst’s feature debut, both as director and scriptwriter. Verhulst is best known for his literary work which is translated into 30 languages and three of his novels got already adapted for the big screen: The Misfortunates (De helaasheid der dingen by Felix van Groeningen which was selected for the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes, Problemski Hotel by Manu Riche and Angel by Koen Mortier which had its world premiere in Toronto. He also scripted the short La victime for Oscar nominated director Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead), with whom he also co-wrote the project Sylvia (currently in development).

Verhulst: “There has always been one story that I wanted to tell and just could not get into a novel. It was that of The Weeping Walk! A different language was needed, one that included silence in its vocabulary. Film language, in other words.”

Starring Peter Van den Begin (King of the Belgians), Tom Vermeir (Belgica), Dominique Van Malder, Marijke Pinoy (Cleo), Tine Roggeman and Cami Moonen, the film is produced by Eurydice Gysel and Koen Mortier for Czar Film & TV (Ex-Drummer, Skunk), in co-production with Graniet Film (NL). Van den Begin, Roggeman and Moonen are to join Verhulst and producer Koen Mortier for Tuesday’s premiere presentation in Tallinn.

The Weeping Walk received support from the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) of Flanders cultural affairs minister Caroline Gennez, Screen Flanders and the Belgian Tax Shelter. Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) and Kinepolis Film Distribution (KFD) are the distributors in Benelux.

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