11/03/2024 - Unspooling 8 – 16 March, the festival is shining a light on films about love in all its many forms and colours

The 39th edition of the Mons Love International Film Festival kicked off on 8 March with the Belgian premiere of Edouard Bergeon’s new movie, La Promesse verte, starring Felix Moati and Alexandra Lamy. 39 editions equates to 40 years of this festival welcoming films and industry talent to the Belgian town, and, in this year’s event, close to one hundred short films and feature films are set to be presented to audiences.

Ten titles are taking part in the International Competition, assessed by a jury led by Belgian director Frédéric Fonteyne. A Cineuropa jury composed of Valerio Caruso, Pilar Campos and Deny Grillo is also scheduled to single out a champion. Most noteworthy among the selection are the Hungarian movie Without Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katalin Moldovai
film profile], which is Katalin Moldovai’s first feature film, discovered in Toronto; Jean-Bernard Marlin’s new work Salem [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which was unveiled last year in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section; German filmmaker Kilian Riedhof’s latest offering, the historical drama Stella. A Life [+see also:
film review
interview: Kilian Riedhof
film profile], starring Paula Beer; Italian opus Mia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ivano de Matteo; and two French films: Marguerite’s Theorem [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anna Novion
film profile] by Anna Novion, which was also discovered in Cannes, and the first live action feature film by Jérémy Clapin (who caused a sensation with his animated movie I Lost My Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jérémy Clapin
film profile]) in the form of the science-fiction story Meanwhile on Earth [+see also:
film review
film profile]. The other films battling it out for top spot are If Only I Could Hibernate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zoljargal Purevdash
film profile] by Mongolian director Zoljargal Purevdash, Sira [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Apolline Traoré
film profile] by Burkinabe director Apolline Traoré, A Normal Family by Korea’s Jin-Ho Hur, and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by American helmer Aitch Alberto.

The festival is also presenting an array of films screening in Belgian premieres. In addition to the afore-mentioned opening movie, it’s also well worth highlighting the festival’s closing film, Abderrahmane Sissako’s highly anticipated title Black Tea [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which was recently seen in the Berlinale. The event also has a strong tradition of Italian films given the history of the region, meaning that viewers will get to see premieres of Fireworks [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Giuseppe Fiorello, Orlando [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Daniele Vicari and Il piu bel secolo della mia vita [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Alessandro Bardano, with filmmaker Michele Placido selected as this year’s guest of honour.

Other long-awaited premieres include that of French films Rosalie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Stéphanie Di Giusto - starring Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Benoît Magimel, which was also presented in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section - and Out of Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] by Stéphane Brizé, starring Guillaume Canet and Alba Rohrwacher, which was also selected to compete in Venice. Last but not least, the festival is hosting the first ever screening of Belgian director David Lambert’s latest opus, Turtles [+see also:
film review
film profile], which is an homage to comedies about second marriages, revolving around a couple on the verge of a breakdown taking the unprecedented form of Olivier Gourmet (the Dardenne brothers’ hero) and Dave Johns (Ken Loach’s hero in I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), and that of another Belgian movie, Katika Bluu [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Stéphane Vuillet and Stéphane Xhroüet. The festival winners will be announced on 16 March.

(Translated from French)