Deal Productions, Phanta Film and The Studio Hamburg UK have wrapped production on Désirée Nosbusch’s feature directorial debut POISON, starring Tim Roth (Bergman Island, The Hateful Eight, Sundown, Rob Roy – for which Tim was Oscar nominated – and the upcoming She-Hulk Marvel series) and Trine Dyrholm (Queen of Hearts, The Commune, Love is All You Need). The drama is an adaptation of the internationally acclaimed play by Lot Vekemans which was translated into more than 15 languages. Principal photography took place between the 31st January and 4th March 2022 in Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The film is produced with the support of the Luxembourg Film Fund and The Netherlands Film Fund.
In a sparsely furnished waiting room, resembling a particularly austere chapel, a middleaged man is joined by his former wife. They are reuniting after many years apart – the body of their son Jacob needs to be exhumed, because toxins have seeped into the ground where he’s buried. Is it ever possible to move on?
Désirée Nosbusch is an internationally acclaimed actress and television host for over thirty years, she started her career at the age of twelve hosting a youth show for Radio Luxembourg and at fourteen became the youngest television host in Europe. In 1984, she hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg and emerged overnight as a pan-European television star. The show counted over 500 million viewers worldwide. She received the best supporting actress award from the German Television Academy for her latest work in the international success series Bad Banks, which premiered at the Berlinale 2018 and has been awarded the Audience Award in New York. She has recently starred in the sci-fi series Spides as well as the success series and Cannes Series 2021 nominations Sisi and Glauben-The Allegation, where the latter received the best series award. Désirée holds a Masters Degree in directing and film production from UCLA in Los Angeles.
Her short film Ice Cream Sundae (starring Tippi Hedren), received the “Gold Award” for “Best Short Direction” at the World Festival Houston and the “Gold Award” for “Best Short Drama” at the Fargo Film Festival. Her debut feature-documentary Succès Fox, premiered at the Luxembourg City Film Festival (Discovery Zone) and the Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken, 2014. She directed multiple episodes of the successful RTL Sitcoms Weemseesdet and the 2018 Room for Rent. POISON is her feature directorial debut.
Désirée Nosbusch: “POISON is a meditation on the complex circumstances that determine and guide our lives: loss, grief, addiction, loneliness, love, guilt, chance, revenge, commitment, faith, hope and redemption. I am fascinated by multi-dimensional and contradictory characters, in which I may recognize myself and I think most people can. I want to show the characters moving through the complicated circumstances of survival when their lives have suddenly come to a halt through incredible loss and pain.”
The Director of Photography is Judith Kaufmann (Corsage, The Divine Order, When We Leave) and the play was adapted for the big screen by Lot Vekemans.
Produced by Alexandra Hoesdorff for Luxembourg based Deal Productions (Souvenir, Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake) and creative producer Katharina Haase (Bad Banks), in co-production with Phanta Film (Mi Vida), Petra Goedings and The Studio Hamburg UK (The Cleaner), Vivien Muller-Rommel and Michael Lehmann for a budget of 3.9 million euros. Delivery is expected in Q4, 2022 with Paradiso Filmed Entertainment on board to release the film in the Benelux.