The life and strange surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe who lived for twenty and eight years all alone on an inhabited island and said it was his

Fiction, 75 minutes

This film addresses the larger cultural myth that has grown out of the premise of Daniel Defoe’s propaganda piece Robinson Crusoe: a white man ‘civilising’ the indigenous inhabitants of an island, and claiming the territory as his own property. At a time when the call to decolonise the art world and its institutions has never been more urgent, Deboosere’s cinematic intervention resonates with a large body of work that seeks to destabilise and replace the ideology of imperialism. The result is a singular, subversive film, at once satirical and surprisingly charming, that pays as much attention to animals and the natural world as it does to the follies of human-made ‘anthropocene’ history. (adapted from Adrian Martin’s text for IFFR)

“A joyously idiosyncratic reinvention that stands out among IFFR’s less-established filmmakers.”
Beatrice Loayza – Artforum

“Good-natured energy, weird jokes and a brisk deprogramming of its source material.”
Vadim Rizov – Filmmaker Magazine

Written, directed & edited
Produced by Untitled Production & Hilife Cinematography
Supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF)
World premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2023
Sales agent Film Republic

Film

Das muss man erst mal aussprechen können

Fiction, 12 minutes
(International title: Some Things Are Hard to Say)

Basti searches for his lost friend (or lover?) Davide, caught between memory and present, navigating a world that is not set up for him to move freely in this melancholy yet hopeful short film. (synopsis by Anoushka Ratnarajah for VQFF)

The main character is played by Sebastian Hoffman who lives with a mental condition. The film doesn’t treat his schizophrenia as a problem. Rather, Hoffman’s way of seeing and communicating shapes the form of the film.

Written, directed & edited
Produced by Untitled Production, Hilife Cinematography & Modem Studio
Supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF)
World premiere at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival 2021

Film

Of Not Such Great Importance

Fiction, 19 minutes

Davide has come to Germany to escape the depressing situation in his native Italy. In Berlin, he takes a job putting up posters. But when the ill health of his mother confronts him with existential questions, he finds himself in a state of uncertainty and indecision. Should he continue to put up posters forever or should he change course? Stay or go back? Order a marinara or a capricciosa?

“A film that without many words, in a cinematic way of using sound and composition, sensitively reflects on the impact of globalization on our younger generations, our relationships, and family.”
Hannah Weissenborn and Sorayos Prapapan – WTFF Award 2020

Written & directed
Produced by Untitled Production, Hilife Cinematography and Colectivo Colmena
Winner of the Kryzstof Szot Award Lublin Film Festival 2019 (PL), Jury & Audience Award Ongezien Kort 2020 (BE), Best Short Film Award Working Title Film Festival 2020 (IT)
Trailer

Film

On Tempelhofer Feld

A photography/architecture publication – Two Volumes: 120 pp., text book + 320 pp. picture book

Tempelhofer Feld, the former inner-city airport of Berlin, has for several years been the stage for an ongoing contestation at all levels of society. The question of what to do with such an immense open space of four square kilometers in the middle of the city has unleashed an unprecedented chain of actions and reactions.
By going through the field’s recent history, situating it in the context of Berlin’s turbulent past, laying out the socio-demographic situation of the surrounding neighborhoods, focusing on urban development, and discussing master plans that “weren’t meant to be,” On Tempelhofer Feld reflects on the interaction between spatial practice and pressing societal concerns.

Photography concept and realisation
in cooperation with Wouter De Raeve
Published by Spector Books

Photography

Blue Birth

Documentary, 54 minutes

After the succes of his first feature film saluted at Cannes, Little Baby Jesus of Flandr, director Gust Van den Berghe travels to Africa to film a parable inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck’s hundred year old theatre play L’oiseau bleu. Bewildered by their way of living, he casts the people of a small village from the hinterland of Togo and confidently starts production of his film. But tragic events will turn the villagers against him and change the course of the project drastically. Until what point can one defy circumstances in name of an artistic vision? A story in the form of a thriller taking place in a remarkable African dreamscape.

“A captivating documentary that lets us experience the birth of art.”
Fred Arends – Cinergie

Written, directed and edited
World premiere at Tallin Black Nights Film Festival 2015

Film

Plot Pool

An experimental documentary for artist duo Sarah&Charles’ solo exhibition An Unbelievable Truth, 20 minutes (loop)

Plot Pool portrays the working process of Sarah&Charles previous film Plot Hole blending several locations, moments in time and rushes of their film into one chain of events. Fictious subtitles add suspense, further stimulating the imagination of the viewer.

Written, filmed & edited
in cooperation with Sarah&Charles
Images by Kristof Vrancken

Film

Strip it down – Bright Entity (BBrince)

Music Video by alter ego BBrince

BBrince is a descendant of the Youtube Age, using a variety of consumer cameras, found footage, glitches and artifacts, and a Do-It-Yourself attitude as tools for their creations.

This video for the Brussels based duo Bright Entity recycles images produced by the infomercial channel Juwelo, transferring their value from commercial to cultural.

Concept, directed and edited

Music Video

État des lieux

État des Lieux was a “reflective intervention” in various public spaces in Brussels, Belgium. It explored how philosophers, sociologists and other thinkers could enlighten our understanding of public space.

For every of the 6 events a specific scenography was created by BC-architects & studies which incorporated a video or photography concept, related to the location and the subject of the lecture.

Video/photography concept and realisation
(together with BC-architects and Wouter De Raeve)

Film Photography

Tempelhofer Feld I-V

Five books in an edition of three produced at the end of the research program AIR Berlin Alexanderplatz. They gather the considerable quantity of photographic material and interviews on Tempelhofer Feld, produced during the residency.

Photography concept and realisation
(in cooperation with Wouter De Raeve)
Presented at Galerie Valerie Traan Antwerp 2013-2014
Website

Photography

Hobo

In celebration of 20 years existence of Hobo, the Brussels day center for people without a home, five participants were photographically documented. The project included a video testimony of several participants.

Photography concept and realisation
Presented at Daarkom, Brussels 2012
Video work presented at Beurschouwburg, Brussels 2012

Film Photography

Painted Sky – Tape Tum (BBrince)

Music Video by alter ego BBrince

BBrince is a descendant of the Youtube Age, using a variety of consumer cameras, found footage, glitches and artifacts, and a Do-It-Yourself attitude as tools for their creations.

A music video for the single Painted Sky by Belgian band Tape Tum. The video is a montage of fictional fanvids by a queer community of people. The fanvid idea is reinforced by the launch of several commissioned fanvids for the song after the release of the music video.

Concept, directed and edited

Music Video

Circles – Different Fountains (BBrince)

Music Video by alter ego BBrince

BBrince is a descendant of the Youtube Age, using a variety of consumer cameras, found footage, glitches and artifacts, and a Do-It-Yourself attitude as tools for their creations.

Circles is a music video for the Austrian-Venezuelan Brussels based duo Different Fountains filmed in Brussels starring performer Madam May.

Concept, directed and edited
together with Siet Rae

Music Video

Incruste

Experimental Fiction/Hybrid, 12 minutes

For Jacoba, high school is a place of constant surveillance. Popularity is the way to survive and no friends are certain.

Directed, filmed & edited

With Jacoba Cuppens, Zoë Derks & Anna Franziska Jaeger

Master film at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema & Sound

Film