THE OBSERVERS

Kid is a 7-year-old boy living on a farm in the Belgian countryside with his mother and older brother, Billy. Their father has abandoned them, and a man keeps calling the house demanding that a debt be paid in full. Amid day-to-day school antics, candy and TV binges, Kid begins to notice his mother’s depressive descent as she navigates an increasingly dire situation he can’t quite comprehend. 

In her third feature, director Fien Troch vividly drops us into the idiosyncratic world of children, where adults step around you, trying to keep things hidden, and isolated observations are like puzzle pieces. With stark composition and static framing, Troch explores the shifting perspectives of the young brothers, played with impressive command by Bent Simons (as the titular Kid) and Maarten Meeusen (as Billy). "The amazing thing about working with these kids,” Troch reflects, “is that they were as professional as the grown-ups, but at the same time hadn’t yet been (mal)formed by filmic conditions and know-how, which resulted in something pure, real and magical.” 

In this discussion, Troch will join us to reflect on the production of her singular drama and the approach and process she followed in directing her young leads.