Gijs Scholten van Aschat, Jacob Derwig and Rifka Lodeizen will play the three main characters in the new feature film PUBLIC WORKS of director Joram Lürsen and screenwriter Frank Ketelaar, based on the novel by Thomas Rosenboom. Principal photography will start this september in the Netherlands and Hungary.
A wish to do something good, a desire to be recognized and improve one’s standing in society, or simple vanity and greed; these are the components of this epic historical drama set in The Netherlands and New York at the end of the 19th century.
PUBLIC WORKS is based on Thomas Rosenboom’s best-selling and award winning novel ‘PUBLIEKE WERKEN’, and tells the story of two cousins who wish to rise above their current station in life and see a massive construction project adjacent to Vedder’s small house in Central Amsterdam as an opportunity to make an inordinate amount of money for them– but to do so, they will have to outsmart a ruthless property tycoon.
PUBLIC WORKS will be produced by Topkapi Films in co-production with distributor Wild Bunch, broadcaster VPRO and publisher Querido. International co-producers of the film are Menuet (Belgium), I’M FILM and Mythberg Films(Hongary).
The film is made as part of the “Telescoop”, a collaboration project by the Netherlands Film Fund, CoBO, NPO and Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Besides that, the film will be supported by the Suppletie Fonds, the Netherlands Film Production Incentive, the Abraham Tuschinski Fund, Flemish Audiovisual Fund, Favourite (Belgium tax shelter) and the Hungarian tax rebate. The film was developed with support of the MEDIA programma of the Euopean Union.
Distributor Wildbunch will release the film in the Netherlands in fall of 2015.