Four Roses, a film by Kris De Meester
'As if you could kill time without injuring eternity'. In the outskirts of an industrial city during a night in a hotel, twelve very different people in six rooms share hilarious, intimate and unforgettable moments. Shot in 4 days with a budget of 10.000 US Dollars, the feature film “Four Roses” is often described as ‘an early Jim Jarmusch’. The film was selected in numerous international and independent film festivals all over the world: Cannes, Atlanta, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto, Brussels, Memphis, etc.
Four Roses is a black and white feature film that tells the story of 12 characters who’re stuck in their hotel rooms with nothing but time to kill. A writer hires a hooker but doesn’t want s*x. A has been comedian talks to a reporter about his most intimate moments in life but the reporter hardly understands a word of English. Two Brazilian lovebirds are living day by day, from one dive to another. He wants to sleep. She wants to play. Two Johns wait for a third John, who’s late. Two lovers in the grips of a s*xual identity crisis. A couple who has been married for fifty years just had a fight.
Written/Directed/Produced by Kris De Meester (imdb.com/name/nm2146620/)
Starring: Brad Moore, Aldevina da Silva, John Flanders, Mieke Daneels, Felipe Mafasoli, John Samaha, Shai Shahar, Axel Devreese.
Awards and official selections:
- ‘Best Feature Film’ // Memphis International Film Festival (USA)
- 'Best no-budget film’ // Cannes Independent Film Festival
- 'Best Black & White 2011’ // Openfilm.org
- 'Best fiction feature" // Radar Hamburg Independent Film Festival
- 'Best foreign feature drama’ // Atlanta Underground Film Festival
- 'Film of the Month’ // New Filmmakers Online
- 'Indie award of merit’ // The Indie Fest (CA, USA)
- 'Award of merit’ // Los Angeles Cinema Festival (CA, USA)
- 'Best Comedy’ // Amsterdam Film Festival (NY, USA)
- 'Official selection’ // New Filmmakers New York
- 'Official selection’ // European Independent Film Festival (Paris, France)
- 'Official selection’ // Strasbourg International Film Festival (France)
- 'Official selection’ // XFEFV (Rijeka, Croatia)
- 'Official selection’ // Nomadic Tendencies Film Festival (Florida, USA)
- 'Official selection’ // BE Film Festival (Brussels, Belgium)
- 'Official selection’ // The Stepping Stones Film Festival (Chennai, India)
- 'Official selection’ // Ciné Privé Film Festival (Ghent, Belgium)
- 'Feature Film Finalist’ // Back in the Box competion (CA, USA)
- 'Screening’ // The Screening Room (Tucson, AZ, USA)
Quotes:
“Four Roses is a provocative, black and white drama exploring themes of isolation, love, and being.”
Anna J. Takayama from the European Independent Film Festival
“truly a gem”
Tom O'Malley from AceFest New York
“an engaging, poignant, and truly interesting piece”
Jeremy Jed Hammel from Filmshift
“truly unique and a step forward in the art form”
Eric Shlapack from Tucson Film Industry Examiner
“one of the most talked about underground films of the year”
Arizona Underground Film Festival
“an early Jim Jarmusch”
Anemoon Soete & Bart Bruneel from Schamper
“prikkelt de verbeelding”
“De landerigheid in de vroege films van Jim Jarmusch herleeft”
Jos van der Burg - Het Parool
“Jim Jarmusch in Vlaanderen. Dat is een terechte verwijzing, niet alleen omwille van de (in dit geval bijzonder mooie) zwart-witfotografie, maar ook door de tragikomische sfeer van vervreemding en verveling waarin de personages rondzweven en de veeleer sketchmatige vertelstructuur.”
Jan Temmerman from De Morgen
“Four Roses is een een regelrecht fenomeen”
Gorik De Henau from Filmmagie
“one of the most succesfull no-budget films ever”
Kevin Verhoeven from Supo
“Four Roses is a superb example of indie filmmaking. The characters are so engaging that you completely forget about the lack of budget. Then, when it’s over, and you reflect on the budgetary restrictions the director had to work with, your admiration for the film increases tenfold.”
Erich Schultz from the Cannes Independent Film Festival
“Een instant Vlaamse cultfilm”
ExploreZone
“Uitstekende auteursfilm”
Piet Sonck from Cutting Edge
“De beelden zijn intrigerend, bezwerend bijna, en de ongedwongen maar rake soundtrack pakt je helemaal in. De tijd tikt weg, komisch, tragisch, confronterend en openhartig.”
Tom De Vreese from MovieScan
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80 minutes - English (+ some Portuese) spoken
