Bo

synopsis

Fifteen year old Deborah wants to escape her dull suburb life and enjoy the luring city of Antwerp. Her new eighteen year old friend Jennifer leads here into the sparkling downtown nightlife.

When Jennifer admits she’s an escort girl, Deborah is intrigued by what appears to be an easy way of getting cash. Under the alias Bo, she takes her first steps into a world she can’t handle yet. The downward spiral leads her to cheap thrills, drugs and into a juvenile institution. To escape this spiral, Deborah can only count on herself.

Crew

Being the director of multiple television series and film hits ‘Verlengd Weekend’ and ‘Gale Force 10’, Hans Herbots has demonstrated his ability to captivate his audience. With ‘Bo’ he wanted to shoot an intimate movie focused on young characters and their complex emotions. The movie promises to conquer the hearts of both young and old. His next project is the ‘Monstertrilogy’, an adaptation of the novels by Tom Lanoye.

Dirk Bracke

“I always thought I would write only one book, just to be able to see my name in the libraries. It turned out another way. The success grew with every book. All of a sudden young adolescents were lining up in front of my desk at book fairs.

. I used to think they were standing at the wrong desk, but it has stimulated me to keep on writing. I want to write books that read easily, but are built on strong foundations. I do a lot of research by talking to people that stand in the middle of my subjects. Those experiences lead to my books.”

Het Engelenhuis

Dirk Bracke wrote his novel ‘Het Engelenhuis’, on which ‘Bo’ is based, after spending several months with the young women in the juvenile institution of Beernem.

His experiences along with their testimonials are the foundation of the touching story of Deborah. As a fifteen-year-old girl she’s no longer a child, but not yet a woman. Nonetheless she steps into a world that’s too mature for her. Seduced by luxurious products, glamorous parties and fake promises she’s confronted with a relentless environment that could mean her downfall.

The recognisable feelings of the main characters and the sometimes-harsh reality of the novel made ‘Het Engelenhuis’ a success among adolescent readers. Director Hans Herbots wants to translate this authenticity to the silver screen with his film ‘Bo’.