Everyone's Sorry Nowadays
Due to an extreme heat wave, there's a crack in the asphalt of a quiet street in a city suburb. Bianca (13), an opinionated teenager, lies sweating on her bed watching an interview with her favourite actress Billie King (39). Meanwhile, Bianca's mom calls from the kitchen. She passes along a message from Bianca's father, saying he and his new girlfriend Cruz think Bianca is 'unruly', and would prefer to have her around less often. Bianca feels rejected. And as if that is not enough, all her mother's love goes to her little brother Alan (9), who has a heart condition.
Driven by feelings of rejection, Bianca flees to her secret hiding place. Here she makes collages. But when she hears voices coming from the garden, she heads back. Bianca is in shock when she finds Billie King sitting in their living room. Apparently, Billie's son Jazz (9) has become friends with Alan. Longing to be seen, Bianca imagines Billie understands her like no one else. She tries to impress her, but fails. Until Billie suddenly calls Bianca 'curious', making Bianca finally feel seen.
However, the tide turns again when Alan passes out. Disappointed and alone, Bianca again flees to her secret hideout. There, she reflects on her pain and returns home with an idea. Back home, her mother surprises her with a hug. At that moment, Bianca breaks. She wants to go back to her father. Mother nods and Bianca then goes to her room. Here she makes a collage for her mother, built around the word 'sorry'.
Directors statement
Sorry is a coming-of-age story about labels, identity, and communication. Bianca is called “unmanageable,” “complicated,” and even “peculiar”. But who is she really? Like many of us, and like myself at that age, she’s searching for her voice in a complex family dynamic. Her inner world, full of storms and daydreams, feels immediately familiar. Just like her frustration, her tenderness, her longing to be seen.
And though the story unfolds during one hot afternoon in a single house, it carries the emotional weight of a much larger journey. It reflects how overwhelming growing up can feel, especially in a world that doesn’t always leave space for emotions. The film explores emotional growth, misunderstandings between generations, and the pressure cooker of today’s world, where emotions are often pushed aside.
With a mix of seriousness and playful humour, I hope Sorry can offer recognition, comfort, and connection to both young and adult audiences. A warm, layered family film that invites us all to feel and to talk.
Frederike Migom (39) is a Belgian director and writer, based in Antwerp, best known for her award-winning films Binti, Nkosi Coiffure and Malakim. Her work is defined by emotional depth, social relevance, and a strong focus on youth and identity.
She studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and filmmaking at the Ecole superieure d'etudes cinematographiques in Paris. Upon her return to Belgium, she worked as an assistant producer at Caviar Film before transitioning into directing.
Works from Migom include the short films Malakim (2013), Adam and Everything (2014), and Nkosi Coiffure (2015), the latter of which was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. Her debut feature film, Binti (2019), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has been showcased at over 60 international festivals, winning more than 14 awards, including the Golden Lion at Cinekid.
A series Migom worked on, is the mini-series Lockdown (2020). Migom co-wrote and directed an episode, which was later selected for Cannesseries '21. She also directed the short documentary Angry (2021), and in 2023 she co-directed four episodes of the series Alter Ego with Mathieu Mortelmans.
- DirectorFrederike Migom
- ProducerIvy Vanhaecke
- ScreenwriterFrederike Migom
- Production countriesBelgium, Germany, Netherlands, The
- Production companyDe Mensen
- Age9+
- Duration90 min
- GenreFamily
- TypeWorks in Progress
- Year2025
- Spoken languageDutch
Company profile
As one of Belgium's leading producers, De Mensen has been developing and producing high-quality and highly-rated scripted and unscripted television shows and feature films since 2001. The production company is active in almost all tv-genres. Since 2012, De Mensen has expanded its activities into feature film production and fiction for television, with productions as Brothers United, Hotel Beau Sejour, Highway of Love, Generation B, Team Chocolate, Undercover, The Bank Hacker, Professor T., Salamander, Fiskepark, 3Hz, Facades, F.C. The Champions. The productions made by De Mensen have won several awards at national and international television festivals and are broadcasted and adapted in dozens of other countries. International partners of De Mensen include: ZDF, Netflix, NPO, Arte, Canal+, RAI, Beta Film, Lagardere, Federation Entertainment.
De Mensen has several other projects in development and in production.
All tax shelter activities of De Mensen are being carried out by a venture established within the company group: Gardner and Domm (est. 2015). Since March 2019, Newen, France's leading producer and distributor of audiovisual content both in France and abroad, took an interest in De Mensen.
The aim of submitting our project for the Junior Co-production Market is to increase its visibility and to connect with international partners, having international distribution in mind. We believe the market offers a strong platform to spark that international interest.
Representatives at JCM and contact details
Ivy Vanhaecke
ivy.vanhaecke@demensen.be
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