Film Countries Archives: Belgium

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Shorts 2: Animation – Desires

  Various

  Argentina, Belgium, France, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, The Netherlands, United States     76 minutes

Synopsis

These animated shorts create an idiosyncratic mosaic of the difficulties, joys, enigmas, and triumphs of the human experience. Featuring works by Nienke Deutz, Osman Cerfon, Patricio Plaza, Flóra Anna Buda, Tzor Edery, Tom Prezman, Vishavjit Singh, and Ryan Westra.

The Miracle (Belgium, The Netherlands, France) is a hotel where Irma, a 40-year-old woman surrounded by families, tries to find comfort in her solitary life. Children display varied emotions with a singular expression in Aaaah! (France). An ailing priest in the Mexican colonial era is given a medicine that confronts him with his spiritual ailments in Carne de Dios (Argentina, Mexico). On the day that Alice turns 27 (France, Hungary), a drunken accident makes her question the choices she has made in her life thus far. Remembrances of a former drag queen’s experience in one of the first queer bars in Paris are imaginatively told in Maurice’s Bar (France, Israel). Based on true events, American Sikh (U.S.) tells the story of a courageous man in post-9/11 New York City who faced prejudice and racism with humor and heroism.

 Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Hungarian, Spanish with subtitles 

Content Considerations
Violence, gendered violence, and racial violence
Learn about Festival content considerations...

Screenings & Events

Virtual Screening

This program will be available to stream from October 16 at 12:00pm CT to October 22 at 11:59pm CDT.

Sponsors

Accessibility Partner

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A woman with short hair works at a desk, behind her the sky is painted orange from the setting sun.

Through the Night Quitter la nuit

  Delphine Girard

  Belgium, Canada, France     108 minutes

Synopsis

Late one night, Aly calls the police from the passenger seat of a car racing along a deserted road. She feels she is in danger from Dary, the man in the driver’s seat whose behavior is becoming increasingly explosive. Anna fields the call, deftly decrypting Aly’s conversation with her “sister” and talking her through the unfolding nightmare. Dary is arrested, and an investigation is underway. Weeks go by, and tensions mount. Aly must figure out what it means to carry on. Anna becomes obsessed with Aly’s future. Dary must account for his actions.

An intelligent and provocative expansion of director Delphine Girard’s Oscar-nominated short of the same title, Through the Night turns the traditional thriller on its head, intertwining the paths and points of view of these three characters in the aftermath of a sexual assault. The film deftly navigates between the shifting perspectives and story lines to create a tense, 360-degree view that never loses sight of the trauma’s impact rippling out over time and across communities.

 French with subtitles 

Content Considerations
Sexual violence
Learn about Festival content considerations...

Screenings & Events

Film Credits

  •   Versus production (BE) – Haut et court (FR) – Colonelle Films (CA) – The Reunion (BE)
  •   Delphine Girard
  •   Damien Keyeux
  •   Juliette Van Dormael
  •   Selma Alaoui, Veerle Baetens, Guillaume Duhesme, Anne Dorval
  •   Ben Shemie
  •   Gwennaëlle Libert
  •   Versus Production, Haut et Court, Colonelle Films, The Reunion
  •   https://playtime.group/film/626b30db8d97dd0004c5bb1a

Sponsors

New Directors Program Sponsors

Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation

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A man kneels next to a little girl while a soldier holds out his hands.

Green Border Zielona Granica

  Agnieszka Holland

  Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium     152 minutes

Synopsis

Urgent, clear-eyed, and helmed with incredible conviction, Green Border finds master filmmaker Agnieszka Holland training her camera on a real-life geopolitical crisis. Set on the border of Poland and Belarus, the film offers a glimpse into the lives of refugees fleeing to the European Union and the humanitarian activists working to help them reach safety.

When a family of Syrian asylum seekers is left stranded in the forest, a group of Belarusian border guards shepherds them into Poland. When they encounter the Polish military, they’re forced back over into Belarus. Julia, a psychologist who lives alone near the border, witnesses this cyclical, inhumane back-and-forth and joins up with a group of activists working to rectify the situation.

 Arabic, English, French, Polish with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Marcin Wierzchoslawski, Fred Bernstein, Agnieszka Holland
  •   Jalal Altawil, Maja Ostaszewska, Behi Djanati Atai. Mohamad Al Rashi, Dalia Naous, Tomasz Włosok
  •   Metro Films, Blick Productions, Marlene Film Production, Beluga Tree, Astute Films

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A man and woman crouch in a green forrest, a book lays open between them.

Here

  Bas Devos

  Belgium     82 minutes

Synopsis

Stefan, a construction worker living in Brussels, is ready to leave town. As a farewell gesture, he boils up a large pot of vegetable soup and crosses the city sharing farewell meals with friends. Then, during his final days in the city, he meets Shuxiu, a woman working in a small family restaurant who is preparing her doctorate in microbiology. The two share a walk together in a local park, and a connection blossoms amidst the mosses.

An enchanting, lyrical ode to sharing space in an urban center, Here observes the minute, multitudinous plant life that surrounds us all. Lush 16mm cinematography lends the film a beautiful earth-toned hue, as it ruminates on yearning for companionship in a world teeming with invisible life.

  

 Dutch, French, Mandarin, Romanian with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Marc Goyens
  •   Bas Devos
  •   Dieter Diependaele
  •   Grimm Vandekerckhove
  •   Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong
  •   Brecht Ameel
  •   Quetzalcoatl
  •   http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/here.html

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A young woman with blue eyes, wrapped in an embrace, looks over a woman's shoulder.

Holly

  Fien Troch

  Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France     104 minutes

Synopsis

Sensing that something isn’t right, 15-year-old Holly calls in sick one morning. Later that day, a fire breaks out at her school, killing several students. The tragedy deeply impacts the community, which is thrown into a state of collective mourning. Intrigued by the teen’s uncanny premonition, high school teacher Anna invites her to join a volunteer group dedicated to comforting the grieving. Holly’s presence has a calming effect on those she encounters, bringing them a sense of peace, warmth, and even hope. Soon, people begin to seek out Holly and her cathartic energy, demanding more and more from the young woman.

Modulating between darkness and light, stillness and motion, cinematographer Frank van den Eeden (Close) beautifully translates the sense of unease that pervades the film, the characters, and the community. Award-winning director Fien Troch’s fantastical and provocative drama  explores the power and limits of faith.

 Flemish with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Antonino Lombardo, Elisa Heene
  •   Catalina Geerarts, Greet Verstraete, Felix Heremans
  •   Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
  •   Prime Time, Mirage

Sponsors

International Competition Program Sponsor

John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation