Do Elephants Pray - Raindance Film Festival

MARIEKE, MARIEKE
THURSDAY 7 OCTOBER AT 5PM
Twenty year old Marieke lives at home in Brussels with her
single mother. She spends her days gossiping with her
colleagues at the chocolate factory where she works. When
she finishes she heads to the local bar to dance and drink with
much older men, sometimes sleeping with them. She likes to
take intimate photographs of them, usually fragmented – bits of
ear, elbow, back – perhaps they remind her of the fragmented
memories of her writer father who died when she was very young.
One day when she leaves the factory floor to fill in for a colleague
in the shop, she meets an elderly man who asks her out for a
drink. She goes on to discover that he was her fathers’ editor and
he leads her to the apartment where the family used to live – that
her mother had told her had been demolished. Through her new
friend, she may finally be able to come to terms with her past.
In a film that is full of nuanced performances, the stunning
young Belgian actress Hande Kodje is particularly compelling in
the title role while the well known Belgian character actor Jan
Decleir is perfectly cast as her father’s old friend. The title of
the film comes from the famous song by Jacques Brel, the only
bilingual song he wrote. This sensuous, gorgeously photographed
film is a stunning debut from director Sophie Schoukens. SB
Country Belgium Running Time 85 mins Director Sophie Schoukens Producers
Sophie Schoukens, Jan Schoukens DoP Alain Marcoen Cast Hande Kodja Print
Source Jan Roekens Email sophimages@skynet.be W www.mariekemarieke.be
18TH RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
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