Antwerpen Centraal)
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ANTW ERP CENTRAL (Antwerpen Centraal) PRESS-KIT Contact: Sophim ages - Jan Roekens T +32 2 2230479 - sophim [email protected] www.antwerpcentral.be Antwerp Central - PRESS-KIT (English) ANTW ERP CENTRAL (Antwerpen Centraal) A documentary by Peter Krüger 93’ - HD - Colour - 16/9 - stereo & 5.1 SYNOPSIS ANTW ERP CENTRAL takes the viewer on a journey through the physical and m ental space of Antwerp’s railway cathedral, from its construction to the present day. The film covers three centuries of Belgian railway history: from the m om ent that the national railway com pany laid its first tracks to the developm ent of the high-speed rail link in the 21st century. Echoes of Belgium ’s colonial past and the location of the station in the centre of the bustling diam ond district and next to the city zoo add a surreal touch as contrasting pairs, such as anim al and hum an, nature and industry, baroque and m odernity, dilapidation and renovation are com plexly juxtaposed. Drawing inspiration from the book “Austerlitz” by W .G . Sebald, screenwriter/director Peter Krüger approaches Antwerp Central Railway Station as a m agical realistic location where present and past, history and daily life, fiction and reality are in constant flux. Running as a thread through the film are the dream s and rem iniscences of a traveler, played by Johan Leysen, who arrives at Antwerp Central and through whose eyes we observe the station. He draws our attention not only to the striking architecture and historical context of the building, but also to its hidden and m ysterious aspects. A peacock spreads its wings; tim e stands still; a lion roam s the grand waiting hall; an old steam loc enters the station; a choir perform s on the m onum ental staircase leading to the platform s… Reality turns to dream and vice versa. But what is reality? And what is dream ? Is tim e not m ore than the transform ation of space? STATEM ENT The Central Station in Antwerp, by the city’s inhabitants often called “The Railway Cathedral”, is not just a railway station. It is the term inal station of Belgium ’s oldest railway and has an architectural grandeur that is unlike any other railway station in Belgium or Europe. The baroque entrance hall with its m onum ental staircase has both a theatrical and surrealistic quality as if it serves as the background of an opera. Striking, but by no m eans coincidental, is that the station is flanked on the left by the Zoo, and on the right by the Jewish quarter – the diam ond district, som ewhat ironically called “the Jerusalem of the North”. This conjures up sinister m em ories of the Second W orld W ar when countless Jews were deported from Antwerp… It seem s that the m onum ental station hides m ore dark sides of its own. Thinking of King Leopold II who is om nipresent in this railway cathedral, the spirits of the exploited Congolese loom from the past… Today, the station has been undergoing a true renaissance: it has been renovated, Antwerp Central - PRESS-KIT (English) connected with the European network of High Speed Trains, and adapted to the needs of the 21st century. It becam e a new public space where m ore is happening then taking a train. That is why I approach the station as a m agical-realistic place where opposite elem ents blend and confront each other, a world in which ghosts from the past appear, where anim als from the Zoo roam about at night and where visual and aural observation of the present sparks off historic, hum oristic and poetic contem plation, a cinem atographic evocation on the experience of tim e and the transform ation of space. Antwerp Central - PRESS-KIT (English) PRESENTATION BY THE AUTHOR ANTW ERP CENTRAL is a film in which visual observations occasion historical, hum oristic and poetic reflections on Antwerp’s railway cathedral. Out of the archives em erges a narrator. He takes us along particular places and characters at and around the station. His narration, full of associations and rem iniscences triggered by what he sees and thinks, will constitute a penetrating and stylish portrait that reveals som e of the absurd aspects of the nature of the country that is called Belgium . The film will unfold a kaleidoscopic im age of the station’s m ental and physical universe on three cinem atic levels connected through association: a historic level, a realistic level and a poetic-m ythic level. Throughout the narration, the film will continuously m ove back and forth between these three dim ensions. The historic dim ension It is obvious that the history of this railway station is interesting and revealing, not only because it was created by King Leopold II, but also because the building is located between the Zoo on one side, and the Jewish quarter on the other. The film will pass through three centuries of Belgian history, from the earliest days of railways in Belgium , when the station was yet to be built, until the recent creation and construction of the HST term inal in the sam e building. The realistic dim ension As the history unfolds, we m eet a series of colourful characters who work at the station and who run it every day. They will tell us about the station’s day-to-day functioning, including railway traffic supervision, the cleaners, security, the electricians and the restroom attendants. At the sam e tim e we will be allowed a glim pse into their hidden passions, dream s and perceptions. The poetic-m ythic dim ension The m ain character, perform ed by actor Johan Leysen, steps out of G erm an writer W .G . Sebald’s book Austerlitz and guides us into the film ’s poetic-m ythic dim ension. Johan is, in fact, the only fictional character in the film . In showing what is often invisible, he incarnates the film m aker’s view. In the film , Johan will be the stranger/observer who arrives at the station and who will assim ilate the room with his own em otions, perception and thoughts. His m em ories and thoughts will, as it were, colour his view on what we see in the present. This approach gives the film a surrealistic and poetic dim ension, as we will see the station’s history and characters through his “coloured” gaze. He is a narrator, but also a dream er who gives his im agination free rein on occasions, taking us into the station’s world of dream s and fantasy beyond reality. As a portrait of Antwerp’s central railway station, ANTW ERP CENTRAL is docum entary in its historic, and creative in its poetic and surrealistic approach. Peter Krüger Antwerp Central - PRESS-KIT (English) Antwerp Central - PRESS-KIT (English) W RITER / DIRECTOR PETER KRÜGER Peter Krüger (°1970, Ghent) is active as a writer, director and producer. He obtained an MA in Philosophy at the University of Leuven in 1993 and has com pleted courses of the MEDIA Program m e (such as script writing and producing) and m aster classes in actors’ direction, cinem atography and opera-direction. In 1993 Peter co-founded Inti Film s (www.intifilm s.com ), an independent production com pany which focuses on the production of creative docum entaries and director’s film s with a trans-national relevance and for an international m arket (cf. www.intifilm s.com ). One of his m ost rem arkable recent productions is ‘Episode 3: Enjoy Poverty’ by Renzo Martens. As a director Peter m akes docum entaries, theatre and fiction. Som e of his work includes a.o. ‘Nazareth’, ‘Poets of Mongolia’, ‘The Eclypse of Saint-Gillis’, ‘Roberte’s Dance’, the short film ‘The Strange Man’ and the theatre production ‘N’ (Toneelhuis). In all his film s Peter m ingles fiction and docum entary. His im ages and sounds m ake us wonder about the m ysteries of our existence. Currently Peter is realizing a feature docum entary called ‘N’, set in W est-Africa and preparing his first feature film , called ‘Continental Drift’. Peter has been teaching docum entary at the film school RITS (Brussels) and has conducted guest sem inars on film direction and production. He also works as a script consultant for feature film s, such as the award-winning film s ‘Khadak’ and ‘Altiplano’. Since 3 years Peter is also active as a m em ber of the selection com m ission & the general assem bly of the Flem ish Film Fund VAF. The working relationship between the DOP Rim vydas Leipus started with the production of Peter’s first short film ‘The Strange Man’ in 2004. Rim vydas has also been working with Peter during the shooting in Ivory Coast for the theatre production of ‘N’ (2006). The working relationship with the COMPO SER W alter Hus dated from the theatre production ‘N’ (2006). W alter com posed the m usic and played on stage together Dirk van Dijck and Angelique W ilkie. All info: www.intifilm s.com Antwerp Central - PRESS-KIT (English) KEY-CREW Johan Leysen, actor Johan Leysen began his career in the theatre in the Netherlands (De Appel, RO- Theater, Baal), and then soon started appearing in productions in a variety of European cities and in a variety of languages: Brussels (Rosas, Kaaitheater, Needcom pany, TNB, Kunstenfestival des Arts), Frankfurt (TAT), Berlin (Hebbel),Paris (Chaillot, Bouffes du Nord, La Tem pête), Avignon, Lissbon (Acarte festival), Modena, Luxem burg, Lyon (TNP) with directors such as Erik Vos, Franz Marijnen, Leonard Frank, Anne Teresa de Keersm aeker, Jan Lauwers, Jan Ritsem a, Hans Peter Cloos, Philippe Calvario, Frank Hoffm ann, Johan Sim ons, Christian Schiaretti , Isabelle Ronayette, Rom ain Bonnin, Guy Cassiers, Daniel Jeanneteau, a.o.