After many months of preparations, principal photography of PURGATORY finally started on Saturday the 19 of September at a famous school in Kortrijk, known by the locals as "Het Fort".
All beginnings are hard and so was this first day. After some electrical problems, the first shot was canned after a two hour delay. However, that delay was caught up in the afternoon because the actors and actresses knew their lines perfectly well and the crew worked very hard to obtain a perfectly lit set.
The scene to be shot was Kristen appearing in front of a parole commission. A part of this scene was already shot for the trailer six months earlier. However, the director preferred not to use any scenes from the trailer and to start from scratch. Eventually a good decision because light on the location was very different (read better).
All the shots were canned around 18h25 in the evening, where it was scheduled to end at 18h00 ... not so bad for a first day !
The second day of the shoot was in the same location and again the director preferred to reshoot all scenes. The scene where Kristen and Robert heads for the room where the parole commission is gathering, was changed from a fix shot to a travelling shot. Travelling-shots and moving cameras will play an important part in the realization of the film. However, a moving camera cannot be compared to a handheld camera where the image shakes constantly from left to right and where the audience gets seasick watching the film.
The second day ended with all the shots canned around 17h00, where it was scheduled to end around 18h00 ...

September 26th en 27th : the third and fourth day of shooting.
This was the weekend with the exterior shots, and yes ... once again somebody up there likes us. We had sunny weather the entire weekend.
All shots were canned on schedule and the Kortrijk Police Force played a leading role in these scenes. Once again they were terrific. For the rest, it were mainly shots of Kristen entering and leaving the house. One scene however was quite particular. It was the one where the undertakers had to leave the house with a stretcher with a dead body on top. Of course once again, it was the question "who would play the extremely difficult part of the corpse on the stretcher covered with a blanket, being pushed into the hearse?". In the beginning we taught of Stijn, son of the catering lady. However once Stijn knew it was a real hearse used to transport real corpses he vanished into thin air ... Good old Erwin took his place. One funny problem, Freddy and his son Xavier knew Erwin quite well ... You can believe how tightly they pulled up the straps so he wouldn’t fall off the stretcher ... So on this set there’s some time for fun as well ...

October 3th and 4th : the next days of shooting.
Serious stuff is beginning. These were the first shots in studio. Our art director Tom Wyseur did a great job creating a very creepy bedroom. The bed and the closets came from the attic of Liesbeth Bouttens, the 94 year old grandma (who still reads books such as 'The Da Vinci Code' without glasses !!!) of Katia, our catering lady. So we could use furniture of almost 300 years old.
Also this were the first scenes were the main characters are all together. Richard Smolenaers however had to wait for almost a whole day before his scene was shot. On Saturday everything ended as planned around 18h25. However Sunday was a different piece of cake. Scene 73 of the script was a tremendous long one. Also light needed to change from a daylight scene into night scene. Rigging everything took a lot of time. Eventually shooting started and this day ended at 20h15, almost two hours later as planned. Scene 73 however needed to be shot entirely since Tom had to breakdown this set and start building the new one which we will need on October the 31th, yes on the day of Halloween ...
Sunday was also the day were Marc Lensly had to show up in his creepy costume designed by fashion designer Griet Vandewiele. On Friday October 2nd, Marc came to Kortrijk to see if the costumed fitted. For us it was the first time to see what Griet created and if this was what we had in mind. And indeed it was. For Marc who had to wear it, he sweated his guts out.

Next week the shoot is on the surrounded courtyard. For weeks we looked to find the right courtyard. However the day we went to see Griet to talk about the costume we were sitting on her courtyard and suddenly we noticed that this was exactly what we were looking for. So, if the weather gods are once again with us, the exterior scene will be at the house of our costume designer.
 

The court yard scene.
Last Sunday we shot the scenes on the court yard of the house. Once again we were completely depending on the weather. It remained dry for the most part of the day. However round 16h30 it started to rain. For approximately 45 minutes we had to postpone the shoot. However less than an hour later we were able to proceed the shoot. For the court yard scene we had to welcome actors Rudy Dermaux who plays the judge and Hugo Vanden Bremt who plays Richard. Hugo however did not had any lines that day. He needed to play a dead guy and had be on the very chilly court yard soil for quite some time. Incredible how he could resist the cold. For his scene it wasn't raining but for the first time this season we all could feel that the autumn had arrived. Also that day we shot the first confrontation of Kristen and Angelo. On the dailies, as always, photography looked great. Director and director of photography Reginald made every single shot look like a postcard. In the meantime, further up art director Tom Wyseur was (and is) preparing the studio for the second set. The scenes of Limbus' room are finished so the studio needs to be changed into the second set. And all this needs to be ready for October 31st.
 

Saturday 17th and Sunday the 18th : the shooting continues.
For the confrontation scene between Imma and Kristen, we moved to the head office of HOWEST (The Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen). Initially we had planned to film at the Ondernemerscentrum in Kortrijk. However, we did not receive clearance to shoot there. Strangely enough, thanks to this refusal we discovered the brand new building of Central Services of Howest. This location had a much better photographical look with a superbly accommodation.
On Saturday two new actresses had to show up, Michelle Van Gelder and Martine Konings. Both had a small, but important part in the story. Because of the facilities the location had to offer, we were able to finish an hour earlier than planned. This was the guarantee that the Sunday shoot would go smoothly as well.
On Sunday it was the first confrontation between Kristen (Ruth Verhelst) and Imma (Jorka Decroubele). Reginald decided to shoot that scene with two cameras. Once lighting was done, the scene could be shot quite rapidly and also the day ended round 17h00.
In the meantime back in the studio, art director Tom Wyseur was sweating his guts out to get everything ready for October 31th. Last Friday we went to the Kringloopwinkel, one of our partners in the film, to choose the furniture the room of Kristen needs. But before we end up back in the studio there are some scenes to be shot in Kristen's house.

October 24th and 25th : shooting again.
This was the week-end where we switched over from summertime to wintertime and indeed Saturday was a very wet and chilly day. Fortunately all exteriors shots were canned. The last ones were done the day before. We still had to shoot Kristen's walk between St. Carroll's Psychiatric Institution and her arrival at her former house. For two weeks we waited for sunny weather and although forecasts announced daily a clear blue sky, instead we got clouds, many clouds. Last friday however it was now or never and we were able to shoot the remaining shots. It was also the opportunity to show the audience some city views of Kortrijk (and not just the back of a law firm as it is currently the case in a TV-show on one of the commercial channels in Flanders).
Nevertheless, Saturday was another piece of cake. It was the scene where the police bursts into Kristen's house. As always the policemen (real policemen and no actors at all) did extremely well. We even were able to shoot a few scenes that were scheduled on a later date. In the afternoon we did the entrance scene of Kristen arriving at her former house. The main thing was that Reginald wanted to create different atmospheres by lighting. So in one part of the house the sun was shining and in another part of the house when you looked through the window it was raining cats and dogs.
On Sunday we did the scenes with Rudy Dermaux who plays the judge. Rudy is a busy man because when his scenes ended at 14.00 hours he immediately went to the theatre in Kortrijk where he directs the musical comedy "Suzanne". In the afternoon we shot a scene with Saskia Van Gelder and Hugo Vanden Bremt. Lighting the scene took a lot of time, but we were able to finish the day around 17.30 hours.

Shooting from October 31st till november 8th.
It was the week from hell and it started on the day of Halloween. For the first time since "Engine Trouble" we would shoot longer than one week in a row.
The 31st we were at the villa to shoot the continuation of the scene when Kristen returns from the courtyard. A day Reginald taught to be easy, but it was a lot harder than expected. Lighting the set took quite some time. Dialogue scenes were difficult since there were a lot of windows in the entrance hall that created reflections all around. Reginald also being the DoP hates that, so everything needed to be cleaned. Meanwhile, the Parkhotel in charge of the catering had prepared a delicious Salade Nicoise and that made live a lot easier to bear. Around 18.00 hours the day ended.
On November the 1st the crew had a day off. Kim (our make up and hairstyling girl) stayed at the Parkhotel and watched television the whole day long. She had nothing better to do since outside it was raining cats and dogs.
And then it was the day of November 2nd, one long week started. Art director Tom Wyseur had created a terrific set with vintage furniture provided by the "Kringloopwinkel" (a Flemish chain of second hand shops). The decoration of the walls came from the weaving department of the P.T.I. ( Provinciaal Technisch Instituut) which is a technical school related to the Province of West-Flanders. Also that day we welcomed Alexander Beyne, a young graduate from the Narafi Film school in Brussels. His help was very appreciated. As it was the first day in the studio, rigging and lighting took quite some time once again, which caused that we were not able to finish all the scenes that were scheduled. Nevertheless the day wasn't at its end yet. At 19.30 hours we had to be present at the opening of the second edition of the Razor Reel Filmfestival in Bruges. Erwin decided to drive and we arrived there right on time. The openingsfilm was "The Children" and afterwards there was a terrific party with lots of food and drinks. This meant that it would be a short night. And short it was ...
At 08.00 hours everyone was present at the studio. Tuesday announced to be a difficult day full of effects. Kurt Verhelst who plays Peter Delens, the boyfriend of Imma Delmar was present, as well as Jorka Decroubele and Ruth Verhelst. Funny thing was that Jorka and Ruth are best friends in real life and now Jorka had to kiss Kurt who is Ruth's brother. Jorka said that kissing someone never bothered her before, but this time it felt a lot different. The shoot went fine and we were almost able to finish all the scenes on time. Nevertheless I began to worry that presumably the planning would be one day short. It was also on Tuesday that for the first time Hanna, Kristen's alter ego would show up. The last scene of the day, where Hanna had a lot of lines started round 17.00 hours and at 19.30 hours we still hadn't canned a good take. Therefore the director decided to postpone it to the day after.
On Wednesday we welcomed a second Narafi graduate Bart De Duytsche. Ruth had to be in make up for at least one hour to obtain the Hanna look. Now however the shot that didn't work out the day before was canned in no time. That Wednesday my worries became stronger. For the first time since the shoot started we were really behind schedule. Re-scheduling scenes was almost at the issue.
The next day, Thursday the 5th of November, Rudy Dermaux was on the set. It was the scene were the judge commits suicide. Rudy really looked great in his outfit as a judge and being an experienced actor, he knew exactly what we expected from him. And indeed before lunch all his scenes were shot. The afternoon was used to catch up with scenes that hadn't been shot the previous days.
The next day our delay was nearly caught up. The afternoon of Friday the 6th we expected the police for the scenes where they burst into Kristen's room. Not only the four policemen had to show up, also Charley Pasteleurs who plays the part of Adam (and gets killed). This scene was one of the three highlights of the week, together with the Peter Delens/Imma Delmar-scene and the scene with the judge. And yes once again, it was one of these scenes where things had to succeed from the first take. I hate that, because that's the reason why I don't want to do slashers anymore. It never works from the first time and re-preparing for a second take, takes a lot of time. But this time luck was on our side and everything worked out as planned. We were able to do a second and a third take without having to clean up things or worry about continuity. The flashlights of the policemen shining at Ruth really gave this terrific CSI-look. At the end of the day we had caught the delay. A big relief !
On Saturday we had one little scene with Kristen. Reginald insisted to shoot the scene on Sunday as a night scene. Therefore we were able to finish everything on Saturday just after lunch.
The next call was Sunday at 13.30 hours. First there was a daylight scene with Richard and then we took the time to install the lights for the night scene. In that scene Mike Tattoo had a small part of a "John" paying Kristen for "her services". The continuation of the scene was with Hanna and Kristen. The day ended round 22.00 hours. Despite of what I taught on Wednesday, we were back on schedule. But for the first time I realized that I was no longer in my twenties ...

November the 14th and 15th : next shooting-days.
Now that we are over half way through in a very far distance the end is lurking but there's still a lot of work ahead.
Last Saturday we shot the last scene of many in Kristen's room. For Ruth Verhelst it was the day that frightened her the most. Indeed the only scene, scheduled that day, was the masturbation scene. For months prior to the shoot she was extremely nervous about that one. Nevertheless during the shoot she gave a performance as if she had never done anything else before. I know I'm exaggerating but convincing, it sure was.
On Sunday we returned to the villa where we shot the arrival of Adam (Charley Pasteleurs) at the house, moments before he would get killed ... in the film of course ... The rest of the day where kind of boring scenes, entering and leaving the rooms, walking up and down the stairs with Ruth, Richard and Marc. At the end of the day, around 18.00 hours all shots were canned and we even shot one scene sheduled for next week. By this, Richard does not have to come from Amsterdam to Kortrijk for one single scene.
During the Sunday shoot we had the visit of Wout Maddens, Alderman of the City of Kortrijk. And what do we do with politicians who visit the set . Yes, we give them a job ! So Wout was clapper/loader for one scene ...

The shooting continued on November 21st and 22nd.
With three days ahead at the villa, no tough scenes needed to be shot as we were running a little ahead of schedule. The Saturday shoot went so fine that we were able to complete the three remaining scenes of the next day as well. This made that everyone got the day off on Sunday. So nothing much new under the sun this weekend. Next week we shoot the final scenes at the villa and then we move to the clinic to do the hospital scenes. Two tough days ahead but the countdown has began ...

November 28th and 29th : still shooting ...
The last day at the villa. In the morning we shot some minor scenes on the first floor, however in the afternoon we had to create a morgue. A room adjacent to the entrance hall was perfect for it. And indeed, lighting created a very eerie and creepy atmosphere. Once again it was a highlight of the film. Round 18.00 hours we canned the last shot at the villa and wrapped things up for a tough day at the clinic.
We hereby use the opportunity to thank the PZ VLAS (politiezone Vlas) for their kind assistance in the film. Not only for having to deal with us for so many days while shooting at the villa, but also for their logistical help as well as for the manpower. Without them "Purgatory" would not have been possible ... For the City Council of Kortrijk, we have a tip of advice. Please take care of that building and restore it where necessary because this is an estate that needs our full attention. (And you also never know if there comes a sequel ...)
The next day was the one that had caused me worries for quite some time. It were the hospital scenes. We had to shoot in a working area of the clinic, knowing that a TV-serie now showing on one of the commercials channels on Flemish TV, had been there before us. We had to use the same corridor, but a room a little bit further down the hall. So it was clear that we could become the victim of their heritage. On the other hand, for us, it was a challenge to show that we could do our scenes without having to block the entire wing of the hospital. Therefore we decided to show up with a limited crew and only with the equipment we would really need. Eventually, and if I can speak frankly, I don't think we bothered the medical staff, nor the patients or visitors in any way whatsoever. Again around 18.00 hours we were able to wrap things up. With still eight days to go, next week we'll be back at the location of our first shooting days.

We also received some very good news last weekend : Tom Wyseur, our art director, became dad of a healthy son last weekend !!! Congratulations !!!

December 5th and 6th : next days of shooting.
With eight shooting days to go, the crew went back to the place where we began shooting on September the 19th. A dream sequence was scheduled on saturday and on sunday it would be the beginning of the ending scenes.
On Saturday, we welcomed quite some people on the set. It was a difficult effect scene where a certain choreography was required. The sequence needed to have a night look. For the location we picked a corridor in an ancient wing of the school 't Fort in Kortrijk. In the film it's the St. Carroll's Psychiatric Institution.
On Sunday we headed for the basements of that same school. We'll be there for the next four shooting days and it looks as if these last days will be quite tough. Next week is the last one where we'll need principal make up. So the end of a very hard period is coming to an end.

December 12th and 13th : the end of the shooting is nearby.
The week before, we ran a little behind on schedule, so Reginald decided to finish those scenes first. Around midday, we could start at the confrontation scene between Limbus and Kristen. For Marc Lensly it was his "moment de gloire" since he had a lot of lines. Initially Reginald looked up shooting down at the basement of the school. He feared lighting problems. However it all worked out differently. The basement was magnificently lit and that created a very special look for the confrontation scene. By the evening of the 12th we were back on schedule and preparations for the ending scene could start. This Saturday we were able to stop round 18.15 hours. The next day announced to be tough once again.
On Sunday it was the start of the ending scene. The confrontation between Kristen, Angelo and Limbus was shot using a very complex camera movement combined with a travel. My guess is that it became one of the most visual scenes of the film. Round 17.00 hours we stopped since we arrived at the point where I had hoped to be. The continuation of that scene will be next Saturday, the first day of the last weekend of the shoot. Then two days remain that will be shot on week days.

December 19th, 20st, 23th and 30st : the last days of shooting.
It were the final four and yet everything had gone as planned. However everyone knew that Murphy was constantly lurking behind the corner. And indeed, nobody from the cast or crew had suffered from the Mexican flu or anything else. Maybe some ego's got hurt but nevertheless things could have been worse. However there was one thing that began to haunt us a few days before shoot of the 19th of December : the weather. Indeed, a snow storm on thursday made it questionable if the guys from Holland would get on the set. Richard who lived in New York for 12 years said that he had seen bigger quantities of snow while living there and yes everyone got on the set on time.
Since we were shooting in a school and the heating was out for the holidays we had to bring along extra heaters. Since everyone arrived on the set in one piece, we believed that the shoot for the next few days would not create any problems ... Until the next morning ! Ruth got sick overnight. Not the Mexican flu, but probably because of something she ate the previous day. She really looked like hell, but brave as she was, Ruth said that the show must go on. And indeed it had to go on, because since we were four days before the end of the shoot, we couldn't afford any delay ... also because Marc Lensly had booked a vacation starting on the 23th and Ruth was planning to leave on the 2nd of January for the Dominican Republic. So everything needed to be canned on time. Although she felt really ill, she remained extremely professional, and we were able to shoot one of the finest shots of the film. During that weekend we also got the visit from the people of the Razor Reel Filmfestival in Bruges (a great young festival that needs all our attention and support) ! It was around 19.20 hours sunday evening when the Dutch crew left. It had stopped snowing but it took Paul more than 5 hours to get home.
Three days later we would shoot the bathroom scene with Saskia Van Gelder. Saskia, naked in the bathroom was covered in blood and created a great performance. The 30th of December was the last shooting day. Actually it was a scene that had been postponed from October 10 th till now. It was dialogue scene between Ruth (Kristen) and Richard (Angelo). Therefore we needed to go back to the studio at Nedervijver where Tom had re-created the empty room of Limbus. That room needed to be changed into Kristen's room during the shoot in November 2nd till the 8th. Now we had to have Limbus room back in the studio. Everything went good and the atmosphere was relaxed knowing that some bottles of champagne were waiting for us. At 16.38 hours, the long shooting of 33 days (spread over 3 and a half months) came to an end. The end of a shoot always creates a double feeling. One feeling of relief that it has come to and end without accidents and another feeling, that people you worked with for such a long time will not be there the next days or weekends.
On september the 19th we started the shoot. Outside it was 28 degrees Celcius bright weather, when we ended it was 2 degrees Celcius, the snow from the previous days had melted and now it was raining cats and dogs.
The cast and crew hereby likes to thank everyone that supported the project in anyway whatsoever. In this text we will not name them all, you will see it on the end credits of the film.
Now another huge job starts, post production ... and we'll keep you posted ... Come back regularly !!!

"Regrets I had a few, but then again ... too few to mention ..." (Frank Sinatra)

May 10th : postproduction in progress.
Three weeks after the shooting of "Purgatory" ended, preps for editing began. Today we are working on the ending sequence. Now we're that far, we can easily say that the film will have a running time of 95 to100 minutes.
We estimate that this last sequence will be ready before the end of May. Indeed a half year ago, we said that the film would be ready for Cannes. However at the end of the day this was a bit to optimistic. Reginald and I decided to spend as much time as needed to post production including CGI and sound. And since we do not have five editing assistants, all things take a bit more time. However we believe (and also are convinced) that this decision will benefit to the final product. Nobody will be able to say that anything was done in a rush. Therefor the releasedate is set for October of this year.

Next to this, I also would like to say the following. Currently companies such as Kodak are saying that shooting on HD isn't cheaper than shooting on film. Of course they say that, because selling film is their core business. But I take the liberty to give my personal point of view on this matter (for what it's worth) ... I agree for 100 % that film has this little thing extra, either if you shoot on 16 or 35 mm. However in the past I shot all my films (such as "Rabid Grannies", "State Of Mind", "Engine Trouble", ...) on negative stock (super 16 or 35 mm). These were all low budget films. "Purgatory" is the first one we shot on HD. And the financial result is simple. Because we did not had to worry about the costs of raw stock nor the cost of labs, we were able to do much more with less. It is normal that companies such as Kodak defend their own products, but I am convinced that today HD gives filmmakers the opportunity and possibilities to make films that otherwise would never be produced. Obtaining that last 25 % of a budget is always the hardest part, and I'm talking about indie films, not big Hollywood potential blockbusters. As a producer you can say "Let shoot on negative film and OK, we'll see where it leads us". Or you can play it much safer and shoot it on HD. And if it was only for the raw stock itself you could take that financial risk. But it isn't the raw stock only. The 'f_ck_g' reels need to be developed as well as all the rest labs account you for. And certainly not only in the Benelux, but in Europe all over, labs don't make any difference between low budget indie films or big budget ones. If it comes to sending you the invoices it's all equal to them. And no payment means no film ! So to conclude, the matter is simple. If you don't have to worry about money (but really don't have to worry about money and you're in the year 2010 a bit of a sado-masochist) shoot on film, whether it is Kodak or Fuji. If you do have to worry about money, and you have a good story that risks to end on the shelf of a closet because you can't obtain the last 25 % of your budget and you don't want to pre-sell it below the average price, shoot on HD !
And one last remark. The average movie viewer doesn't care a bit if the movie that he or she is watching, is shot on film or on tape. It's a good story that counts !