10/12/2010

2010 is drawing to a close and it’s a chance for Belgian cinema to take a last look back in order to celebrate a past year rich in film productions. Since 2005, this is exactly what the organisers of the Be Film Festival have been offering.

The event, a Mecca of the best of Belgian films from the south and north of the country, will take place from December 16-19 in three locations in Brussels (Jacques Franck Cultural Centre, Rits Cinema and Riches-Claires Cultural Centre).

The line-up includes no fewer than 20 different screenings and a final chance to see or re-see on the big screen films like Illegal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olivier Masset-Depasse
film profile] (European Parliament's LUX Prize 2010 competition), Oscar and the Lady in Pink [+see also:
trailer
interview: Amir “Oscar” and Eric-Emman…
film profile], Kill Me Please [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Mr. Nobody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco Van Dormael
interview: Jaco Van Dormael
film profile], The Day God Went Away [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], The Misfortunates [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Felix van Groeningen
film profile] and many other features and short films, for the organisers are also behind the now famous Brussels Short Film Festival (next edition in April 2011).

As every year, the Be festival is teaming up with the deputy burgomaster in charge of Culture in the City of Brussels to support Belgian film creation by awarding a location research grant worth €2,500 to a short film project that is set, even just partly, in Brussels.

Other events are also planned with the aim of bringing together films from the north and south of Belgium. The School Shorts day will thus show short films from Francophone schools in a Dutch-speaking film school. This is a fine initiative which takes on its full meaning in Belgium’s current political climate and it is a philosophy that distributors would do well to implement in a country where 90% of film production from one linguistic region remains completely unknown to viewers in its neighbouring region.

(Translated from French)