Lightbulb Film Distribution will release Belgian cycling drama THE RACER on all major Digital from 4th November 2019.
Following THE RACER's UK Premiere at the Raindance Film Festival earlier this month, Lightbulb Film Distribution have announced they will release Kenneth Mercken's cycling drama on all major Digital Platforms from 4th November 2019.
THE RACER follows Felix, a pro cyclist, who dreams of becoming world champion. But when he joins an Italian team, headed by Bruno Leone (Fortunato Cerlino – Sky Atlantic’s Gomorrah), he is dragged into a dark world of performance-enhancing drugs and corruption.
Commenting on the release, Matthew Kreuzer, Commercial Director at Lightbulb Film Distribution, said:
"Off the back of a Premiere at the prestigious Raindance Film Festival, THE RACER heads to Sky Store and major digital platforms on November 4. The film has been incredibly well-received, not just by cyclists, but by fans of world cinema. It’s a remarkable debut feature from filmmaker Kenneth Mercken, who was fearless in his approach to storytelling. THE RACER is based on the true story of the director’s experiences, as part of an Italian team, in the hard and fast world of professional cycling."
Director Kenneth Mercken gives the real life background to THE RACER.
The story of Felix Vereecke, the story about a young Flemish cyclist who puts his life in the balance to become a champion, is my story. Behind Felix his determination to win whatever the cost, is his hidden desire to earn the respect of his father, Mathieu, who sees his son as a way of fulfilling his own failed dreams of becoming a cyclist. This is what I went through.
1998 was the year of the most scandalous Tour de France in the history of cycling. It came to light that various top teams were massively using performance enhancing drugs such as Epo, growth hormones, testosterone, corticosteroids, and even Prozac. Barely a month later, I was sitting in the back seat of a car, packed with young cyclists on their way to an Italian stage race. In that moment those same forbidden substances were flowing through my veins. And I was not even close to my first Tour de France.
At that time practically no-one had heard of me. One year later, I was crowned national champion and took my place among the elite without a contract. A year after that, I had a choice to make: taking a shot at a great career with the risk of cancer, or quitting. For good. I made what I considered to be the only right decision.
A good ten years later, a journalist asked my father if he understood the choice I had made, and whether, if he had been in my shoes, he would have done the same thing. “Never”, answered my father. “I would rather have dropped dead... Anyone can end up with cancer. What’s the risk of cancer compared to the chance of becoming a great racer?” I got the feeling that he blamed me for throwing away his dream.
In this movie I tried to tell my story, through the eyes of Felix Vereecke.
In this movie I tried to tell my story, through the eyes of Felix Vereecke. I focused hereby on the subjective point of view and pushed the sensational aspects of racing into the background. Because of this, the film becomes a universal story about the rivalry between father and son.
I didn’t want to portray cycling the way the average sports lover experiences it. Rather, I wanted to show it from the inside out, from the perspective of the cyclist: the way he sees, feels and lives a race. A cyclist’s view is very narrow, and not only during the race itself. Cycling is a very addictive sport. The many hours spent in the saddle each day induce an overload of endorphins, which leads to tunnel vision. I, myself, have travelled all over Europe, through some of the most beautiful landscapes, and I cannot remember a thing about them. In the end, a cyclist thinks only of eating, sleeping, training and winning. The photography in the movie conveys this oppressive feeling.
The use of naturalistic, raw documentary style gives the viewer a privileged, voyeuristic view of the hidden underbelly of the sport. There are also moments when we go beyond this realism and find ourselves inside Felix’s subjective experience. The camera shows this bizarre world through Felix’s eyes, tentative, trying to focus, framing in an unconventional manner.
Throughout its history, cycling has repeatedly proven that it deserves its status as a heroic sport, a sport for champions. But behind every champion, there are hundreds of losers. Coureur focusses on that loss, which sometimes turns out to be tragically beautiful.
Lightbulb Film Distribution will release Belgian cycling drama THE RACER on all major Digital from 4th November 2019.
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