''Seagulls Die in the Harbour'' ( nl, Meeuwen sterven in de haven) is a 1955 Belgian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Rik Kuypers Rik Kuypers (11 April 1925 – 21 May 2019) was a Belgian film director. He directed 29 films between 1947 and 1981. He co-directed the film ''Seagulls Die in the Harbour'', which was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmogr ...

Ivo Michiels Henri Paul René Ceuppens (8 January 1923 – 7 October 2012), who wrote under the pseudonym Ivo Michiels, was a Belgian writer. Biography Michiels was born in Mortsel. During World War II he was employed as a nurse in a hospital in Lübeck ...

and

Roland Verhavert Roland Verhavert (1 May 1927 – 26 July 2014) was a Belgian film director. He directed 44 films between 1955 and 1993. He co-directed the 1955 film ''Seagulls Die in the Harbour'', which was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. His ...

, for which

Jack Sels Jean-Jacques (Jack) Sels (29 January 1922 – 21 March 1970) was a Belgian jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer. Biography Jack Sels grew up in Antwerp, as a teenager he started collecting jazz records. Due to a substantial inheritance fro ...

wrote the soundtrack. The film was entered into the

1956 Cannes Film Festival The 9th Cannes Film Festival was held from 23 April to 10 May 1956. The Palme d'Or went to ''The Silent World'' by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle. The festival opened with ''Marie-Antoinette reine de France'', directed by Jean Delannoy and ...

Plot

A man ( Julien Schoenaerts,

Matthias Schoenaerts Matthias Schoenaerts (; ; born 8 December 1977) is a Belgian actor. He made his film debut at the age of 13 in '' Daens'' (1992), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He is best known for his roles as Filip in ...

’s father) is seen wandering around in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, avoiding all contact with other people. He is penniless and desperately wants to leave the country, but can't pay for his enshipment. The only people who like him are the boatman's wife (Tine Balder), a prostitute (

Dora van der Groen Dora van der Groen (10 March 1927 – 8 November 2015) was a Belgian actress and theatre director. She appeared in more than 120 films and television shows between 1945 and 2003. She played Vrouw Coene in ''Wij, Heren van Zichem'' and st ...

) and a little orphan girl called Gigi (Gisèle Peeters). Gradually but surely it becomes clear why he is hiding and why he needs to flee.

Cast

* Tine Balder as the boatman's wife *

Tone Brulin Tone Brulin (born 11 May 1926 as Antoon Maria Albert van den Eynde – 15 March 2019) was a Belgian playwright and stage director; drama teacher from Belgium. Career Brulin studied scenography at La Cambre (1943–1946) in Brussels. Its direc ...

as the pimp * Alice De Graef * Jenny Deheyder * Piet Frison as the boatman * Désiré Kaesen * Robert Kaesen (as Bob Kaesen) * Gisèle Peeters as the orphan girl (as Gigi) * Eric Peter * Marcel Philippe * Julien Schoenaerts as the stranger * Paul S'Jongers * Panchita Van de Perre *

as the prostitute * Albert Van der Sanden * Miriam Verbeeck * Geneviève Wayenbergh

References

External links

* 1955 films Belgian drama films 1950s Dutch-language films 1955 drama films Belgian black-and-white films Films set in Antwerp Films shot in Antwerp Films directed by Roland Verhavert Dutch-language Belgian films {{Belgium-film-stub