New Roskam film is Belgian entry for the Oscars

The new film, The Racer and the Jailbird (Le Fidèle) by Belgian director Michaël R. Roskam, will represent Belgium in the race for the foreign-language Oscar nomination in March 2018, reports De Standaard. It is not the first time the filmmaker enters the prestigious Academy Awards; Roskam won a nomination in 2011 with his debut movie Bullhead (Rundskop).

In The Racer and the Jailbird – Roskam's third feature film – Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts stars alongside French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos. The film is a dark romantic drama set against the backdrop of a brutal crime gang in Brussels.

The film will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in early September, in Official Selection, Out of Competition.

"Fantastic news, and that makes me very happy, I feel like a giddy little child," says Schoenaerts. “Good vibes ahead.”