Holly (2023 film)

Holly is a 2023 Dutch-language drama film written and directed by Fien Troch.^[1] It is an international co-production between Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.^[2]

Holly
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Fien Troch
Written by	Fien Troch
Produced by	Antonino Lombardo^[1] Elisa Heene^[1]
Starring	Cathalina Geraerts Felix Heremans Greet Verstraete
Cinematography	Frank van den Eeden
Edited by	Nico Leunen
Music by	Johnny Jewel
Production companies	Prime Time Mirage Tarantula Les Films du Fleuve Topkapi Films Tabiki Film Agat Films
Distributed by	Cinéart
Release dates	7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) (Venice) 22 November 2023 (2023-11-22) (Belgium) 7 March 2024 (2024-03-07) (Netherlands)
Running time	103 minutes^[2]
Countries	Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg France
Language	Dutch^[1]

The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on 7 September 2023.

Synopsis

One morning, 15-year-old Holly calls in absent to her school. Shortly thereafter, a serious fire breaks out, which destroys part of the school building and takes the lives of several students. Months later, the accident has still not been fully processed by the traumatized city population. Teacher Anna has created a volunteer group for the grieving community to give comfort to one another. Intrigued by Holly's strange premonition, she invites her to join her group. The girl's presence seems to bring unexpected peace of mind, warmth and hope to the group members. Without Anna's help, people soon begin to seek out Holly and her cathartic energy and demand more and more of her. The gifted girl unwittingly becomes the town's savior. The line between support and abuse is beginning to blur.^[1]

Cast

• Cathalina Geraerts as Holly
• Felix Heremans as Bart
• Greet Verstraete as Anna
• Serdi Faki Alici as Anna's husband
• Els Deceukelier as Holly's mother
• Maya Louisa Sterkendries as Dawn
• Robby Cleiren^[2]
• Sara De Bosschere^[2]

Production

For the film, Troch again teamed with Frank van den Eeden as director of photography, and her husband Nico Leunen as editor, the latter of whom has been involved in all of Troch's works. For the film's score, she enlisted the American musician Johnny Jewel, former member of the band Chromatics, who she already worked with on her previous feature film Home (2016).^[3]

As of September 2021, the film was budgeted at €2.5 million.^[3] It was produced by Antonino Lombardo for his company Prime Time (Belgium) and Elisa Heene for Mirage (Belgium),^[3][4] in co-production with Tarantula (Luxembourg), Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium), Topkapi (Netherlands), Tabiki (Netherlands) and Agat Films (France). Production support was provided by Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), Casa Kafka, Cinéart, Netherlands Film Fund, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Film Fund Luxembourg.^[1]

Release

Holly was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival,^[5] where it had its world premiere on 7 September 2023.^[2] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'World Cinema' section and was screened on 6 October 2023.^[6]

The film is scheduled to be released in Belgium on 22 November 2023 by Cinéart,^[7] who is also set to distribute the film in the Netherlands on 7 March 2024.^[8]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 56% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10.^[9]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Holly

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Venice Film Festival	9 September 2023	Golden Lion	Fien Troch	Nominated	^[10]
Chicago International Film Festival	22 October 2023	Gold Hugo	Holly	Pending	^[11]

References

1. "Holly". Flanders Image. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
2. "Holly". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
3. Pedersen, Lise (12 September 2021). "Dardenne Brothers Back 'Holly' From Venice Horizons Best Director Winner Fien Troch". Variety. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
4. "Holly". www.miragefilms.be. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
5. Tartaglione, Nancy (25 July 2023). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Mann, Lanthimos, Fincher, DuVernay, Cooper, Besson, Coppola, Hamaguchi In Competition; Polanski, Allen, Anderson, Linklater Out Of Competition – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
6. "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
7. "Holly" (in Dutch). Cinéart. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
8. "Holly" (in Dutch). Cinéart. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
9. "Holly". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
10. "Venezia 80 Competition". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
11. Kay, Jeremy (14 September 2023). "'Fallen Leaves', 'About Dry Grasses', 'La Chimera' among Chicago fest international line-up (exclusive)". Screendaily. Retrieved 23 September 2023.

External links

• Holly at IMDb