Café Derby, Lenny Van Wesemael's feature movie debut, was awarded four prizes during the closing ceremony of the 'Vancouver International Women in Film' Festival (8-13 March).
For her first feature movie, Van Wesemael was inspired by the life story of her own father and the visit of Pope John Paul II to Belgium in 1985. The leading role is played by Wim Opbrouck, a market vendor and entrepreneur. Other roles are played by Ben Segers, Monic Hendrickx and Chloë Daxhelet.
And there' s a nice supporting role for Fja-Oeyen. For the set, the filmmakers were looking for a steady value at the trade fairs of the 80s. They had their eye on the stand of Fja-Oeyen. The stand was taken from beneath the dust and the film briefly features our then famous 'gaper', the typical Fja-Oeyen box and down blower. And so we too get a bit of eternal fame on the silver screen.