Lina's Friends

Teenager Lina unwittingly conjures a knight and a magician from an ancient past back to life and, with the help of her friends, manages to finally reunite a city divided by centuries of conflict.

Lina’s Friends is an exciting, adventurous children's series with a magical touch. The story begins when Lina moves to Middle-Valley together with her mum, Suzanne. Lina doesn't want to move. Moreover, Middle-Valley turns out to have been hopelessly divided for centuries into two parts, East and West, controlled by two families, the Oosterlinck and Westerman families. In 1226, Cassio Westerman allegedly murdered his fiancée Anthea Oosterlinck. In punishment, Mayor Vilas handed over Cassio to the Oosterlincks, who sealed Cassio alive inside a stone dungeon. To this day, the two districts hate each other. Lina thinks it’s all nonsense. Until she accidentally awakens Cassio and Vilas from a centuries-long enchanted sleep. Lina discovers that Vilas kidnapped Anthea, and framed Cassio for the crime so that he could retain all his power as mayor over a divided city. This conflict has been perpetuated for centuries by Vilas' descendants. Now the conflict appears to be based on deceit. To prove this, Lina decides to help Cassio search for Anthea. What has happened to her? And will they stay out of the clutches of Vilas who wants to silence them? In her search, Lina brings together a girl from the West and a boy from the East. She also learns that she is more than the girl scarred by the loss of her father. She has the power to resolve an injustice, and bring together a hopelessly divided city. Thanks to Lina and her friends, East and West Middle-Valley finally become one city again.

Directors statement

Lina’s Friends is a project after my own heart: a gripping adventure in an arena that will appeal to the imaginations of the most wonderful target audience there is: children. From the very first concept development by the scriptwriters, I was completely sold, especially with a production company like Eyeworks at the helm, a rock-solid house that stands only for the highest quality.

Lina’s Friends will be a contemporary coming-of-age story with an intriguing magical element. In battling against the age-old adversaries, Lina will also confront the darker forces within herself.

The clash of the historical and contemporary worlds is a rewarding element both in terms of storytelling and visually. It’s an opportunity to create a setting full of fantasy that is, on the one hand, contemporary and straightforward, but is also steeped in a historical and fairytale-like magical realism. The blending of worlds manifests itself in the visual style, camerawork and use of colour. In all humility, my references are a dynamic, contemporary, straightforward visual style like in The White Lotus, BEEF and The Bear mixed with magical elements like in Harry Potter.

A visual style that I will further develop and flesh out in the next phase, in order to create a unique arena and a captivating story with Lina’s Friends that has the potential to make a mark internationally.

FREDERIK SONCK graduated as a director in 2007 and immediately dived into the profession directing commercials (Magnum, Electrabel, Coca Cola, Maes..) , documentaries, music videos (Das Pop, The Ditch…), TV serials ( De Hoppers, Ghostrockers, Flin & Flo, Skilz….), a feature film (K3 Love Cruise) and TV shows (Hunted, The Traitors, Through The Keyhole, The Three Wise Men…). His goal was to gain as diverse directing experience as possible, working with a wide range of actors and in diverse genres, from character driven niche fiction to plot-driven mass scenes. After almost 15 years in the profession, Frederik has evolved into a sought-after and enthusiastic director of youth fiction, where he combines his love for large arenas with his ambition to bring out the best potential in every actor. In youth fiction, he can direct spectacular chase scenes with planes, SWAT teams and boats one day, and the next day, a three-minute one-shot in a musical film with dozens of dancers. At the same time he seeks out the best drama and comedy in intimate scenes where novice actors face off against seasoned professionals. At this stage in his career, he focusses at creating and directing high-end compelling fiction, set in grand arenas that appeal to the imagination. Stories that are relevant, innovative, with a unique and dynamic visual flair and that can captivate a large commercial audience.

DirectorFrederik Sonck
ScreenwritersLaurens Vanlandschoote, Zita Theunynck, Leonard Muylle
Production countryBelgium
Production companyEyeworks Film & TV Drama BV
Age9+
Duration325 min
GenresAdventure, Coming-of-Age, Family
TypeLive-action
Year2025
Spoken languageDutch
Total budget€3,415,000
Financing in place€1,715,000

Contact persons

Annabel Kemel

Eyeworks Film & TV Drama BV

annabel.kemel@eyeworks.be

Nele De Decker

Company profile

Eyeworks Film & TV Drama (before MMG) was founded in 1981. Over the years, Eyeworks has become one of the leading independent producers of film and television fiction in Belgium.

With successful films such as The Alzheimer Case, Ben X, The Verdict, Bullhead, Marina, Don't Schoot, Save Sandra, The Mercator Trail, Ritual, … and series like Chantal, Ruby Rules, Styx, Juliet, The Twelve, 1985, The Hoppers, Red Light, Love U Too, Homegrown, Cordon, De Ridder, Missing Persons Unit, Cops Ghent, Double Life and Please, Love Me,… the production company has established an unparalleled reputation in the Benelux.

Since 2014, Eyeworks is part of Warner Bros International Television Production, one of the youngest divisions of Time Warner, which operates under a European direction from London and focuses on local productions in all territories outside the USA. Eyeworks continues to do what it has been doing for 40 years: making strong productions from its own soil, with Belgian creative talent and Belgian resources.