Mr. K: building a world in the studio

In this second feature from Norwegian-Dutch director Tallulah Schwab, travelling magician Mr. K (Crispin Glover) checks into a hotel for the night. When he tries to leave the next morning, he cannot find the exit. His attempts to get out only pull him deeper, entangling him further in the Kafkaesque world of the hotel and its curious inhabitants.

At the same time, they knew they didn’t want to do everything with computers. “Tallulah is a director who wants to work with her actors in a place that feels real, so we chose to do as much as we could in camera, and then extended that with visual effects,” Glijnis says.

The solution, devised with Flemish co-producer Dries Phlypo of A Private View, was to create a double studio. “We split up the script into different phases of the hotel, each with a different look,” Glijnis explains. “Then we shot in one studio, while the art team prepared the next phase of the hotel in the other.”

These two studios were created at Villywood, a facility at Vilvoorde in Flanders, supported by a production office just across the road. “That meant we could shoot and prep continuously, so the workflow was incredible.”

While most of the hotel was built in these studios, one or two real locations were also used. The hotel kitchen, which features in a number of important scenes, was filmed at the Loodswezen, a grand 19th century building close to the river in Antwerp. And scenes in the hotel reception were shot at the Aegedium, an old assembly hall in Brussels.

Mr. K is a coproduction between Lemming Film and Film Kitchen in the Netherlands, A Private View in Belgium, and Take 1 in Norway. Finance came from selective funds in Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium, including the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) and Screen Flanders. European support came from Eurimages, with investment from sales and distribution and the Belgian tax shelter completing the picture.

This kind of international co-production demands an international crew. Director of photography Frank Griebe, noted for his long collaboration with Tom Tykwer on films like Run Lola Run and Perfume, came from Germany. The sound crew came from Norway while the production design mixed Dutch and Flemish talent, with a further important contribution coming from Flemish costume designer Charlotte Willems and her team.

“The first and biggest challenge for Charlotte was creating costumes for a wide variety of totally different characters, creating an absurd world that blends together,” says Glijnis. “The work she did together with the production designer, so that the texture and colour of each costume work in relation to the sets, is amazing.”

Willems has a lot of experience creating costumes for both Flemish films, such as the high-profile wartime drama Will, and international productions such as I Kill Giants, The Albanian Virgin and 55 Steps.

Mr. K was instantly attractive because of the freedom to be creative that it offered. “For each time period there are fashion rules, but for Mr. K there are no rules, so I could create whatever I wanted, whatever Tallulah wanted, and whatever the actors wanted. That made this project unique.”

After discussing mood boards with the director and other key collaborators, Willems went in search of her costumes. She visited Prague and Berlin for outfits with a feel of the 1930s and 1940s, then went to Paris to source brass band uniforms.

“We also made a lot of costumes, and I have a great team in Antwerp that I’ve worked with for a long time,” she says. “We have a really good sewing team, a good tailor and good cutters, and a team on set for managing extras. They know what I want, but they also put their hearts and souls into each project, so it’s a group effort.”

Having the two studios working in parallel meant Willems could stay close to the action. “I like to be really involved, and to hear what’s going on and see what they are building. That way I can adapt the costumes to the set design, so that it all becomes one,” she says.

The international cast of Mr. K, performing in English, includes veteran Flemish actors Sam Louwyck (The Wonders, Luka, Belgica) and Barbara Sarafian (Bullhead, Everybody Happy, Clan). As inhabitants of the hotel, they are also a part of the world-building.

“Barbara is one of the first actors we see in the film, and she plays a striking character who helps set the tone,” says Glijnis. “The same goes for Sam Louwyck. He brings something very special to the screen in all his performances.”

Flanders also claimed two key post-production roles for the film, with editing entrusted to Maarten Janssens and the music composed by Stijn Cole, aka Stan Lee Cole. “Those elements are important Flemish contributions that set the quality level and tone of the film,” says Glijnis.

Mr. K will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Level K is handling world sales.