Versus Production saw the light of day in 1999, the result of the desire of two brothers, Jacques-Henri and Olivier Bronckart, to found a professional audio-visual production company for the young talents of their generation. They have since accompanied a large number of directors on their first steps in fiction features, giving themselves time to experiment with them, notably by initially producing their short films. Since its beginnings, Versus has aimed to work with the respect and interest of filmmakers at heart, offering them a solid framework for the creative process, an efficient tool to allow them to bring their artistic vision to life. The company aims to produce films in an atmosphere of trust, collaboration and mutual assistance.
Versus Production is also fuelled by the desire to make the films that its founders wish to see as film buffs themselves. The Versus filmography is the result of encounters and choices, elective affinities and long-term mentoring. Each film is a new adventure and the company works to identify and then accompany talented directors. Since its foundation, Versus has brought more than fifteen Belgian features to fruition and now boasts some of the key films of contemporary Belgian cinema in its filmography: ELDORADO and LES GEANTS by Bouli Lanners, ELEVE LIBRE and A PERDRE LA RAISON by Joachim Lafosse, ILLEGAL by Olivier Masset-Depasse, HENRI by Yolande Moreau, TOKYO FIANCEE by Stefan Liberski, JE SUIS MORT MAIS J'AI DES AMIS by the Malandrin brothers and, most recently, LES CHEVALIERS BLANCS by Joachim Lafosse or LES PREMIERS LES DERNIERS by Bouli Lanners.
Another of Versus Production’s strengths is its wide-ranging experience of coproduction. Since the company’s foundation, Jacques-Henri and Olivier Bronckart have been involved in ambitious projects that have offered them genuine stature on a production level. They have imposed themselves as the ideal partners for their international co-producers. Over the last 15 years, Versus has co-produced such diverse and prestigious films as DANS LES CHAMPS DE BATAILLE by Danielle Arbid, LE DERNIER DES FOUS by Laurent Achard, INDIGENES by Rachid Bouchareb, LA FAMILLE WOLBERG by Axelle Ropert, LA RELIGIEUSE by Guillaume Nicloux or REALITE by Quentin Dupieux, while at the same time developing a clear taste for Flemish filmmakers with singular worlds such as Fien Troch (UNSPOKEN, KID, HOME), Nicolas Provost (L’ENVAHISSEUR) or Patrice Toye (LITTLE BLACK SPIDERS). Just like the Belgian films produced by Versus, a number of these co-productions have marked major international festivals from Cannes to Toronto via Berlin.
Today, Versus Production draws its strength from three main axes:
- its loyalty towards a number of filmmakers who compose the new guard of Belgian cinema: Joachim Lafosse, Bouli Lanners or Olivier Masset-Depasse to name just three;
- a confirmed capacity for coproduction that has led to strong and regular partnerships;
- a diversification of its activities allowing it to have a much richer overview of the whole film industry: Jacques-Henri and Olivier Bronckart have founded two sister companies alongside Versus, Inver Invest, working in the Tax Shelter and financing field, and O’Brother, a distribution company based in Brussels.
In the future, Versus plans to increase its potential by addressing new audiences, notably by developing projects of greater stature on an international level.
