HOP, is almost a form of personal vindication for Dominique Standeart : the 45 year old director nearly abandoned the making of the film halfway through the shoot after the 11 september terrorist attacks. HOP revolves around Justine, a bright, 13 year old illegal immigrant hailing from Burundi who has lived in Brussels most of his life with his father Dieudonné. When dieudonné is arrested and deported after a dispute with a neighbour, Justine finds refuge with a former anarchist with a terrorist past. Together, they hatch a plan to stage a fake terrorisme campaign in a bid to convince the authorities to allow the father back. Starting whit a fake bomb tied to the stomach of the enormous elephant statue in front of the African Museum in Brussels, the campaign is set to culminate in an attack on the breathtaking Gileppe dam. "the film was shot in two periods June and July, and then September. We were due to shoot the Gileppe dam scene just a few days after 11th September. I saw the images from New York and I asked myself whether there was any sense in continuing with the film", say Standeart. But finaly he decided to press on. "it was an extremely stressful period. I had booked 30 crew as well as hotels and equipment. Ialso had to plead with the various public bodies that had put money into the film as well as the dam authorities", he recalls. Much of the film's strength rests on the performances of the young Keita (Justine), spotted by one of Standaert's friends on the Brussels Metro.

After opening last year's Flanders International Film Festival, the film kicked off a season of Belgian cinema in New York and Cannes film Festival of 2003.

HOP 
Dir : Dominique Standaert 
Cast : Keita Kalomba, Jan Decleir
Prod co : Executive Productions, Signature Films