“Arcadia” will soon premiere, one of the most expensive series ever made in Flanders.The first episodes of “Arcadia” will be shown tonight at the Ostend Film Festival, a new series that will be shown on Eén from March 19. VRT NWS was able to peek into the set earlier: in Vilvoorde, a decor was built that must compete with the sets of international streaming platforms. How does an independent Flemish production house manage to raise a budget of more than 1 million euros per episode?
We fast forward to the near future: Arcadia is a place where Flemish and Dutch live together after a major disaster. Where exactly, the screenwriters leave that in the middle. There is no crime in Arcadia anymore. Everyone can grow up in a safe way, because everyone is continuously monitored via an implanted chip. Those who are docile can save points and thus build a better life. When it turns out that fraud is being committed with those points, it turns everything in utopian Arcadia upside down.
It sounds ambitious to make this kind of near-future series (series set in the near future, ed.) in Flanders, when the viewer has become accustomed to international series, often with much larger budgets. “You don’t want to be the poor little brother,” says producer Helen Perquy. “You cannot see that it comes from Flanders. We must be able to stand next to those other international series.”
A series in which a completely new world is being developed: money is needed for that, money that was found in the Netherlands, among other places. “Arcadia” is the first full-fledged co-production between VRT and the Dutch public broadcaster NPO – with the support of the German broadcaster ARD and the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF). In total, they bring together a budget of more than 1 million euros per episode. The VRT guarantees about a third of that budget.
“We’ve never done this before,” says Helen Perquy proudly. “The idea originated in Flanders, but because of this full-fledged co-production we have the luxury of expanding the Flemish cast with Dutch top actors, which is refreshing. We have the studios and the know-how here, but we are not America or England. We have a more limited choice of actors and now you can extend that. That gives a different world.” The crew behind the scenes is also Flemish-Dutch, the director Tim Oliehoek is from the Netherlands.You may not see that it comes from Flanders.Helen Perquy, production house Jonnydepony.
These kind of future series are rare with us, many other series stay closer to reality. According to Zita Theunynck, one of the screenwriters next to Philippe De Schepper, this created enormous freedom in writing, little seemed unattainable. You can also feel that in the effect.
Outdoor shots took place in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Vilvoorde, an impressive set of the headquarters of the Shield, the security apparatus of Arcadia, was built. The result will be presented tonight in Ostend and can be seen on Eén from Sunday 19 March.
So… they ripped off the “Divergent” washed out style of dystopian fiction, sprinkled with a little bit of Hunger Games and a little Game of Thrones in there. It’s got that Dune set design, where instead of very detailed places, we have flat walls and empty spaces.
And in typical Belgian fashion, way too late with following the trends.
What is going to make it hold up will have to be an interesting story. Let’s see if they can pull it off, but from the trailer, I can’t make out what it is about except: “doesn’t it look cool, doesn’t the dialog sound serious?”
> “No alcohol, no sugar, no crime”
That doesn’t seem flemish at all.
They announce it, yet they don’t have a trailer? Call me old fashioned, but I will see before I believe, and I’m not seeing much
Of course a dystopian series is filmed in Vilvoorde.
The trailer looks horrible.
The acting looks average and the story isn’t anything new.
How expensive would it be to colorize Keromar?
it tries to look like a foreign big budget show, but it sorta looks bland and average
“”Het idee is ontstaan in Vlaanderen, maar door die volwaardige coproductie hebben we de luxe de Vlaamse cast uit te breiden met Nederlandse topacteurs, dat is verfrissend”
ah ja, een verrijking voor die poel van honderd acteurs die je in elke serie/film opnieuw terug ziet
Will it also have some new talent or will it be the same pool of 20 actors that have been in every single piece of Flemish television for the last 20 years?
Literally the ‘nosedive’ episode from black mirror
10 comments
Trailer is in the article.
Machine translation:
“Arcadia” will soon premiere, one of the most expensive series ever made in Flanders.The first episodes of “Arcadia” will be shown tonight at the Ostend Film Festival, a new series that will be shown on Eén from March 19. VRT NWS was able to peek into the set earlier: in Vilvoorde, a decor was built that must compete with the sets of international streaming platforms. How does an independent Flemish production house manage to raise a budget of more than 1 million euros per episode?
We fast forward to the near future: Arcadia is a place where Flemish and Dutch live together after a major disaster. Where exactly, the screenwriters leave that in the middle. There is no crime in Arcadia anymore. Everyone can grow up in a safe way, because everyone is continuously monitored via an implanted chip. Those who are docile can save points and thus build a better life. When it turns out that fraud is being committed with those points, it turns everything in utopian Arcadia upside down.
It sounds ambitious to make this kind of near-future series (series set in the near future, ed.) in Flanders, when the viewer has become accustomed to international series, often with much larger budgets. “You don’t want to be the poor little brother,” says producer Helen Perquy. “You cannot see that it comes from Flanders. We must be able to stand next to those other international series.”
A series in which a completely new world is being developed: money is needed for that, money that was found in the Netherlands, among other places. “Arcadia” is the first full-fledged co-production between VRT and the Dutch public broadcaster NPO – with the support of the German broadcaster ARD and the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF). In total, they bring together a budget of more than 1 million euros per episode. The VRT guarantees about a third of that budget.
“We’ve never done this before,” says Helen Perquy proudly. “The idea originated in Flanders, but because of this full-fledged co-production we have the luxury of expanding the Flemish cast with Dutch top actors, which is refreshing. We have the studios and the know-how here, but we are not America or England. We have a more limited choice of actors and now you can extend that. That gives a different world.” The crew behind the scenes is also Flemish-Dutch, the director Tim Oliehoek is from the Netherlands.You may not see that it comes from Flanders.Helen Perquy, production house Jonnydepony.
These kind of future series are rare with us, many other series stay closer to reality. According to Zita Theunynck, one of the screenwriters next to Philippe De Schepper, this created enormous freedom in writing, little seemed unattainable. You can also feel that in the effect.
Outdoor shots took place in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Vilvoorde, an impressive set of the headquarters of the Shield, the security apparatus of Arcadia, was built. The result will be presented tonight in Ostend and can be seen on Eén from Sunday 19 March.
So… they ripped off the “Divergent” washed out style of dystopian fiction, sprinkled with a little bit of Hunger Games and a little Game of Thrones in there. It’s got that Dune set design, where instead of very detailed places, we have flat walls and empty spaces.
And in typical Belgian fashion, way too late with following the trends.
What is going to make it hold up will have to be an interesting story. Let’s see if they can pull it off, but from the trailer, I can’t make out what it is about except: “doesn’t it look cool, doesn’t the dialog sound serious?”
> “No alcohol, no sugar, no crime”
That doesn’t seem flemish at all.
They announce it, yet they don’t have a trailer? Call me old fashioned, but I will see before I believe, and I’m not seeing much
Of course a dystopian series is filmed in Vilvoorde.
The trailer looks horrible.
The acting looks average and the story isn’t anything new.
How expensive would it be to colorize Keromar?
it tries to look like a foreign big budget show, but it sorta looks bland and average
“”Het idee is ontstaan in Vlaanderen, maar door die volwaardige coproductie hebben we de luxe de Vlaamse cast uit te breiden met Nederlandse topacteurs, dat is verfrissend”
ah ja, een verrijking voor die poel van honderd acteurs die je in elke serie/film opnieuw terug ziet
Will it also have some new talent or will it be the same pool of 20 actors that have been in every single piece of Flemish television for the last 20 years?
Literally the ‘nosedive’ episode from black mirror