After a string of evocative, sensual shorts, Belgian filmmaker Bavo Defurne has made his first feature, North Sea Texas, closing film at the recent London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and on selected release now. It’s a potent story of first love, as shy 14-year-old Pim (Jelle Floorizoone) discovers romance with sexy 18-year-old neighbour Gino (Mathias Vergels), who then runs off with a girl. Go see it – it’s essential viewing! Jack Leger chatted with Bavo on a sunny afternoon on the Southbank…
How did you approach such a sensitive story?
It’s really about an impossible love and how you can make it more possible. And it’s quite an optimistic film, not like Brokeback Mountain in which people are struggling against the impossible and in the end it’s proven that it is impossible. That is sometimes sadly true, but we wanted to tell a hopeful, positive story. I think people need that.
Was it a challenge to make a gay film in which the lead character, and the actor playing him, was only 14?
During casting we saw boys from 14 to around 24, and it turned out that the only boy who was Pim, and who was really believable, was only 14! But Jelle [who’s now 16] is more mature than some 24-year-olds. He still knew the world of being 14, and his body was 14, but in a way he knows much more. And I don’t know where that comes from.
And he’s also convincing at 18.
Yes, that’s true. We had this simple code: Pim goes from princess to prince to king. So if Jelle was doubting where he was in his arc, I would say, “You’re in the king phase.” And he would know that he was at his strongest now. The king pops up when he has the scenes with Gino at the end, and he refuses to be the prince anymore. He becomes a stronger man. And Jelle was ready for it!
How did he cope with the nude scene on the beach?
He didn’t like being naked, but said, “It’s part of my job as an actor.” Of course, we had security on the beach! It’s not an erotic scene, but for him it was the hardest thing to shoot, because he was totally alone. He had built up confidence with the other actors for the love scenes, so they felt quite safe in each others’ arms. Interestingly, Mathias is a punk rocker, and Jelle is a trained ballet dancer. So at the first rehearsals, they were quite reserved but very curious – who is this other human being? And they were both ready to take the risk and trust someone they really didn’t know and who was really different. So it was a real discovery for both actors. And they are now very proud that they did it.
There’s a note at the end thanking children whose parents prohibited them from appearing in the film.
Yes, I found that heartbreaking. Maybe if they go to the cinema they will see that there’s a world out there where they can be themselves and make their own choices in life. I don’t know if Jelle is gay, it’s not any of my business. He simply played a role. Mathias is older and he’s a rebel, so he’d say, “We have to make this film to show the Pope that he’s not right!” It’s nice to see these young kids who are so positive, whether they’re gay or not. It doesn’t really matter. For them, it’s about telling a story about love that’s important and beautiful.
• North Sea Texas is in cinemas now. Campfire, a DVD of Bavo’s short films, is available from BFI.
