Flemish helmer Nic Balthazar is planning to remake his Oscar entry, Ben X, in the U.S. He will direct the film and is adapting the script to an American setting.
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Theatrical release poster
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MMG, which produced the original, is teaming up with Alain Chabats U.S. shingle Wamerica for the remake.
Ben X, Belgium’s candidate for the foreign-language Oscar, tells the story of a mildly autistic teen whose withdrawn school life contrasts sharply with his warrior persona in online fantasy games. Increasing pressure from two school bullies leads to a blurring of his two worlds.
Greg Timmermans plays a boy with Asperger syndrome, who retreats into the fantasy world of the MMORPG ArchLord to escape bullying. The film’s title is a reference to the leet version of the Dutch phrase “(ik) ben niks”, meaning “(I) am nothing.”
The novel was inspired by the true story of a boy with autism who committed suicide because of bullying.
Credits:
Directed, written by Nic Balthazar, based on his novel, “Nothing Was All He Said.”
Produced by Peter Bouckaert
