The film maker Bert Hamelinck (photo above) has told VRT News that the crew that shot the 2022 film ‘Rebel’ that was directed by Adil el Arbi and Bilall Fallah was forced to pay protection money to ensure their safety while they were filming in the Brussels municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. Speaking in our topical debate programme ‘De afspraak’ on Thursday evening, Bert Hamelinck said that “We had only just started filming and they were there with Molotov Cocktails”. The police were unable to guarantee the crew’s safety 24/7 and as result the security budget for the film was increased from 30,000 to 80,000 euro. The film maker made his comments during a discussion about the disturbances in Brussels on New Year’s Eve.
Crew had to pay protection money while shooting the film ‘Rebel’ in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek
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Bert Hamelinck’s production company Caviar worked on the 2022 film 'Rebel' that tells the story of a young man from Brussels that joins the terror group IS in Syria. He told ‘De afspraak’ that “We filmed part of Rebel near to the canal in Molenbeek. There we were told in a friendly but forceful fashion that we would have to pay in order to guarantee our safety”.
The extra “security” paid off and there were no incidents during the 2 to 3 weeks that filming took place in Molenbeek. However, Bert Hamelinck describes the atmosphere in the area where filming took place as remaining “shady”. “You often saw young many hanging around the set that weren’t happy with our presence”.
Older generation tried to mediate
Bert Hamelinck described how older locals in Molenbeek tried several times to mediate between the youths and the film crew. "They tried to convince the younger generation to let us do our job in peace. Film makers aren’t softies, but the whole crew was deeply impacted by the working conditions in Molenbeek”.
This happened despite some of the crew being from Molenbeek. The film’s two directors also have a good relationship with numerous people in the Brussels municipality. Could the subject of the film have played a role in the level of hostility that the crew encountered?
"You can’t say that with any certainty, but I think that it was the case. Although it was above all clear that someone wanted to profit from the presence of a crew involved in the filming of such a major production”.
What about the police?
Molotov cocktails, threats and even extortion, surly this was a matter for the police? “It is not that the police didn’t want to do anything, but of course they can’t guarantee of security 24/7”.
“This is why production companies that film in Belgium invest heavily in security measures to prevent the theft of equipment for example”.
"In cities such as London and Paris things are different. There the police have units that are specialised in protecting big productions such as film sets”.
"Brussels is a fantastic city and we felt that it is important to tell this story, that is also about the issue of youth unemployment in big cities, in Molenbeek.
VRT News contacted the Brussels-West Local Police service (whose area includes Sint-Jans-Molenbeek), but no one there wished to comment for time being.