A Troubled Boy Draws Attention to Youth Care in Powerful Film

Production company CZAR and creative agency mortierbrigade are launching a campaign to draw attention to youth care and its young people. In the video, neglected teenager Liam, the main character of the film 'Skunk', calls on Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to watch the film together. To see how things really are in closed youth facilities in Flanders. This urgent film is an ardent plea for more appreciation and support for youth care, and at the same time tries to give a voice to these vulnerable young people. 

2024 is in an election year where all sorts of pressure groups are pulling out the big bucks to pull politicians to their tune. But the most vulnerable group is left out in the cold: young people left to their own devices, institutionalised. They are not an economic force that can weigh on policy; they are not important to anyone. That is why Skunk is so important. This film gives these young people a voice that would otherwise not be heard. It is up to Prime Minister De Croo and the other responsible politicians to listen to it and do something with it. 

'Skunk' is director Koen Mortier's latest film, based on Geert Taghon's book of the same name about his years of experience in forensic youth psychiatry. Both are thus based on true stories of several young people, families and social workers. The film follows Liam (played by revelation Thibaud Dooms), a neglected teenager growing up  in a family where drugs and violence play the main role. His destructive home is soon exchanged for a closed juvenile facility that also has its own rules and abuses. Even though he finds solace with his supervisors, the past continues to haunt him... 

"Young people can never personally ask for help from politicians, it is always done through the official route and the result is never successful. But what if the responsible leaders did spend a week in a care facility for needy young people? Would this, in the future, affect their policies towards young people?" wonders director Koen Mortier. 

Besides Thibaud Dooms, the film also features Natali Broods, Dirk Roofthooft, Boris Van Severen, Colin Van Eeckhout (who also provided the music with his band Amenra) and Sarah Vandeursen. Producer of 'Skunk' is Eurydice Gysel for Czar Film & TV, the production company she runs with director Koen Mortier. Dutch BALDR Film is involved as co-producer. As for Koen's previous film Engel, Nicolas Karakatsanis was DOP.