Steve + Sky

• Titus De Voogdt as Steve • Delfine Bafort as Sky • Johan Heldenbergh as Jean-Claude • Romy Bollion as Charlotte • Wine Dierickx as Nikita == Plot ==

Steve is a small-time drug runner, sentenced to time in prison when he is caught after his girlfriend accidentally rear-ends a police van. While in prison he meets Jean-Claude, a wheelchair user, and together they agree to start stealing motorcycles after they are both released. Sky is a drifter, employed in a series of part-time jobs including prostitute and factory worker. There are two encounters between the two, both while at a bowling alley, before they first meet formally, at a brothel that Jean-Claude has opened, as Sky is a friend of Jean-Claude's daughter Charlotte. The two start a casual relationship, but Sky seems to be genuinely in love whereas Steve if less committed. Steve plans to move to Slovenia with Jean-Claude to start a business, but it is ambiguous as to whether they actually make it. The film ends with Steve almost running over Sky while she is dancing across a pedestrian crossing and he is speeding in a stolen motorbike. == Release ==

The film was released on February 18, 2004 in Belgium by Kinepolis Film Distribution. It also received a limited release by Lifesize Entertainment on July 8, 2005 in the United States. == Critical reception ==

Dana Stevens of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, writing: "With its deliberately washed-out color palette, affectless dialogue and nearly event-free story line, "Steve + Sky" is a mere slip of a movie, a wan character study of people who add up to little more than a series of studied quirks" but praised the performances of the two lead actors. Eddie Cockrell of Variety wrote: "Promising frosh helmer Felix van Groeningen exhibits a fresh eye, though his script is full of too many self-consciously Tarantino-ish verbal digressions that serve to distract from the story". The film won Best Film and Best Composer at the 2004 Joseph Plateau Awards. == References ==