16/11/2010

The reputation of Belgian Francophone films has for the past few months been one of the priorities of the government and different agencies who work towards the support and promotion of these films.

Wallonie Bruxelles Images, the international promotion agency for Belgian Francophone films, thus presented the book 10/10 by Cineuropa journalist Boyd Van Hoeij before the Belgian press. It puts the spotlight on twelve young directors associated with Belgian cinema over the last ten years: Joachim Lafosse, Sam Garbarski, Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, Bouli Lanners, Micha Wald, Fabrice du Welz, Olivier Masset-Depasse, Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, Ursula Meier and Nabil Ben Yadir. They all reveal their filmmaking secrets, as well as what unites and differentiates them.

What emerges from reading this book is the incredible diversity of Belgian Francophone film production over the last ten years, which has developed in the shadow of and thanks to supportive forerunners like Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Jaco Van Dormael.

Despite these rich offerings, Francophone films are still undervalued at home. While last year’s smash hit Barons [+see also:
film review
trailer
Interview with director and actress of…
interview: Nabil Ben Yadir
film profile] gave the industry a healthy boost, we’re still a long way from the spectacular starts achieved by Flemish box office champions.

However, the situation is much rosier abroad. We know about Belgian films doing well at festivals (for example Kill Me Please [+see also:
trailer
film profile]’s recent success at Rome). This “film lover-focused” exhibition strategy seems to be paying off commercially.

Over the past five years, the 50 or so features produced have enjoyed excellent scores in “natural” Francophone partner countries: almost 90% sold to France, 50% to Switzerland, 40% to Canada and 30% to Luxembourg. Some surprising scores show the vitality of exports in more unexpected territories: Germany (33%), Australia (30%), USA (28%), Greece and Poland (26%).

While these results are encouraging, it appears there are still some nearby territories where the presence of Belgian Francophone films could be increased, including the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and neighbouring Mediterranean countries like Spain and Italy.

(Translated from French)