INTRODUCTION

It tells the story of an improperly closed cupboard from which, after 80 years of oblivion, half completed dreams escape. It is a true story of passion, love, friendship and death. Paris in 1930, the industrialist Ettore Bugatti and Louis de Monge, an engineer of Belgian origin, worked together to design a racing plane, the Bugatti 100P, in order to beat the speed record. But in 1939, World War II broke out, the plane was dismantled and hidden without ever flying.

In 2009, Ladislas de Monge, Louis de Monge’s grand nephew, heard that in Oklahoma, a US Air Force retired pilot, Scotty Wilson, was building a replica of the Bugatti 100P. A few weeks later, Ladislas left to meet Scotty.

On 19th August 2015, Scotty Wilson flew successfully the replica for the first time.

SYNOPSIS

2009 – In a barn in Oklahoma, wing commander Wilson starts building the replica of a racing plane, worked out and designed in the 1930s. He wants to be the one to fly with what he considers as the most elegant plane ever imagined. Ladislas de Monge goes to meet him and embarks upon the adventure… for seven years. The past crops up bit by bit, mixes up with the present in the meeting with the actors of the time or those still alive, involved in the E. Bugatti and L. de Monge project. The strain increases with the imminence of the first flyint test, but flying doesn’t mean playing… The third flight takes place on August 6, 2016. Fifty two seconds after taking off, the plane crashes. The pilot is killed instantly and the plane is totally destroyed.

CONTEXT

“Beyond the Blue” tells a unique story, a modern though anachronistic adventure which shakes the dust of family and museum archives. This is what we want to share. This adventure allowed us to rebuild a chronology and discover the crossed paths of flying passion between two charismatic people, Louis de Monge (1885-1977) and Scotty Wilson (1944-2016). We followed the footsteps of a descendent of L. de Monge, “on the unlikely road” between Tusla (Oklahoma), Engelwood (New-Jersey) and Ohey (Belgium). The film unfolds in the form of a “road movie”, between investigation, tragedy and memory. Our original intention was to follow the building of the plane but turned into a meditation on destiny and the faltering beginnings of History between two people who never met. The point is to pay tribute to Scotty Wilson and to the pioneer engineer that Louis de Monge was.

Further information about Scotty Wilson's "Bugatti 100P Project" (or "The Blue Dream") on the facebook page:

https://fr-fr.facebook.com/TheBugatti100pProject

SOME PARTICIPANTS IN DOCUMENTARY PROJECT

Directors : Ladislas de Monge & Pierre de Bellefroid - Images & Sounds : Pierre de Bellefroid, John Lawson, Scotty Wilson, Aldert van Nieuwkoop, Ladislas & Mira de Monge, Jérôme Dessy - Editing : Pierre de Bellefroid - Graphic Design : Etienne Pelissier.

Thanks : (Belgium) Pierre Cryns et les bénévoles du musée de l’aviation (Cinquantenaire), Bernadette de Monge (†), Paul-Benoît de Monge, Le Syndicat d’Initiative de Ohey, Isabelle de Vinck, Monsieur Roland D’Ieteren, Dominique Materne. (Nederlands) Jaap Horst. (USA) Leslia Wilson, Wes Wilson, Robert et Sean Wilson, Gregg Carlsson, Jim O’Brien, Everett Kendrick, Vince Thomas, Don Lefferts (†), Doug Blake, Sue Upchurch, Aldert Van Nieuwkoop, Stan Shumway. (England) John Lawson, Simon Birney. (France) Pierre-Michel Decombeix, Fredéric Gasson, Jean Sibille (†). And others probably...

With the help of Atelier Graphoui (Production Studio, Brussels).

IN A WORD, BRIEFLY, WHO ARE WE?

Ladislas : Designer and visual artist

Pierre : Videographer