• The Prime Minister

    Directed by Erik Van Looy
    Belgium | 115 minutes | US Premiere | World Cinema Now

  • The Prime Minister

    Directed by Erik Van Looy
    Belgium | 115 minutes | US Premiere | World Cinema Now

  • The Prime Minister

    Directed by Erik Van Looy
    Belgium | 115 minutes | US Premiere | World Cinema Now

  • The Prime Minister

    Directed by Erik Van Looy
    Belgium | 115 minutes | US Premiere | World Cinema Now

  • The Prime Minister

    Directed by Erik Van Looy
    Belgium | 115 minutes | US Premiere | World Cinema Now

In this tense, stylish new thriller, the Belgian prime minister is kidnapped while on his way to an international summit meeting and his wife and children are held hostage. He can save them… if he kills the president of the United States.

film synopsis

Director Erik Van Looy and actor Koen De Bouw, the talent behind film fest favorite The Alzheimer Case, collaborate again on a tense and stylish new thriller replete, with blackly humorous touches. De Bouw stars as the seemingly happily married Belgian prime minister, who lives in a suburban paradise with his wife and two young children. One day, as he makes his way to an international summit meeting in Brussels, his car is hijacked, his driver killed and he is kidnapped along with his closest aide. Soon, the PM learns that his wife and children are being held hostage. They will survive only if he kills the person he is due to meet at 3:00 pm: the president of the United States. The film intertwines love and professional life in a manner unusual for a thriller, an approach that raises the stakes for both the characters and the audience.

film details

Director: Erik Van Looy
Producers: Hilde De Laere, Rachel van Bommel
Screenwriter: Carl Joos, Erik Van Looy
Cinematographers: Danny Elsen
Editor: Philippe Ravoet
Music: Merlijn Snitker
Cast: Koen De Bouw, Saskia Reeves, Adam Godley, Charlotte Vandermeersch
Original Language Title: De Premier
Country: Belgium
Language: Dutch, Flemish and English
Year: 2016
Running Time: 115 minutes
Premiere Status: US Premiere

2018 Film Festival