‘How to Kill Your Sister’ Takes on ‘The Big C’

Canneseries entry “How to Kill Your Sister” takes on “The Big C.”

In the Belgian-German series, one of three Banijay Entertainment titles at Canneseries, terminally ill Anna (Emma Rotsaert) shows up at her sister’s doorstep after eight years of silence following their parents’ passing (Sofie Decleir, Nico Sturm). With a coffin on the roof of her car, she wants Kat (Marjan De Schutter) to join her on a trip to Spain and help her die on her own terms.

“We knew we were on tricky terrain. You can’t be abusing this terrible illness just for laughs,” admits director Jonas Geirnaert, who co-wrote the show with Evelien Broekaert and Pedro Elias.

Produced by FBO (“Maxiima”) and MadeFor Film, Banijay’s German scripted arm, it’s broadcasted by Belgium’s Play and Streamz and ZDFneo, the German public broadcaster’s younger skewing channel. 

“Unfortunately, almost everyone – and that includes our writers – knows someone who’s had cancer or had to cope with it themselves. It used to be a taboo. My mom’s father died of it in the 1970s and people would call it a ‘disease’. Cancer was this holy curse. It’s good that now we can talk and maybe even laugh about it – in a respectful way. If someone has cancer, that doesn’t mean they can’t have fun anymore, joke around or do silly stuff. Don’t avoid the subject – just talk about it.”

Luckily, on a road trip all you can do is listen to old mixtapes and talk. 

“We didn’t want it to be a show about death or being ill. It’s an important part of it, but because it’s a road trip, there’s room for adventure. That’s what I love about road trips: they’re so unpredictable. But as long as you’re traveling together in the same car, you’re going to have conversations.”

Or, as the sisters are about to find out, you’re also going to meet many odd characters on the way. From a wannabe robber to a nightmarish Dutch couple – “They’re a huge annoyance the sisters don’t need at that time” – and a suicidal Frenchman.  

“The theme of that episode is about wanting to die and not wanting to die. It’s a very strong storyline, even though it lasts just one episode. As soon as I was involved in the project, I said: ‘I don’t want to approach this as purely a comedy series.’ If we would aim just for comedy, it’d harm the beauty of the story between the sisters and the tragedy that’s there,” notes Geirnaert.

“I wanted extreme comedy and extreme drama, all in one show. Maybe I’m a bit naïve, but I do believe in the goodness of people. When they make bad decisions, most of the time, it’s not because they are pure evil. It’s because of their background, because of the flaws in their upbringing. It’s more interesting to show good people with big flaws instead of some extremes. It makes you want to cheer for them.” 

Their trip brings memories of the last time they hit the road with their parents, who dreamed about opening a bed & breakfast in Spain. 

“They’re a very beautiful and slightly crazy, dysfunctional family. Sometimes, I think it can be refreshing to show a family that’s just good to each other and not having a lot of drama in every scene,” he says.

But many things are still left unsaid. What happened to their parents? Why did Kat disappear?

“Mystery is one of the main things that keeps viewers attached to a story. We are very slowly placing some elements in the first few episodes, and they’ll come to a climax. But I liked the idea that viewers can do some of their own thinking before,” admits Geirnaert.

“We had a lot of freedom making this show and it paid off. I really do hope that in the future, in Belgium but also internationally, there will be space for unique series that don’t try to copy something else. In Belgium, we’ve had a good era. We were able to find our own tone of voice.”