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AWARDS Belgium

The Brand New Testament and Alleluia win big at the Magritte Awards

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- On Saturday night, the Magritte Awards for Belgian (or rather French-language) Cinema took place, where the films by Jaco Van Dormael and Fabrice du Welz shared an impressive number of the prizes

The Brand New Testament and Alleluia win big at the Magritte Awards
Jaco Van Dormael with his Magritte Awards on Saturday night (© MdC2016)

Handed out by the members of the André Delvaux Academy, the Magrittes serve to reward the best Belgian films of the year. While they are not specifically focused on French-language works, it is indeed this side of the industry that is their main concern. Only the categories of Best Actor and Best Actress are open to performers hailing from the two linguistic spheres, without exception. And incidentally, this year, to everyone’s surprise, it was two Flemish actors who pocketed the statuettes: Wim Willaert for Je suis mort mais j’ai des amis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume and Stéphane Mala…
film profile
]
and Veerle Baetens for Un début prometteur [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. While they both put on fine performances, some were surprised not to find French-speaking actors on the winners’ list, such as Bouli Lanners or Jérémie Rénier, who were nevertheless excellent in All Cats Are Grey [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
and The Wakhan Front [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, or even the all-too-scarce Annie Cordy, who bowled us over with her role in Memories [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
.

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Aside from this surprise, the rest of the winners’ list was more predictable. "Doyen" Jaco Van Dormael saw his success with the public borne out by the professionals, as he took home the Awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay (he also snagged Best Original Score) for The Brand New Testament [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco van Dormael
film profile
]
, while Alleluia [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Fabrice Du Welz
film profile
]
, the bloody ballad by Fabrice du Welz, bagged the main technical prizes, underlining its strong aesthetic impact (Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design).

And let’s go back to the actors for a second: Laurent Capelluto came out on top in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance in The Clearstream Affair [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, and Anne Coesens did likewise for her role in All Cats Are Grey. As for the Best Newcomer Awards, these were won by two experienced actors: Lucie Debay for Melody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bernard Bellefroid
film profile
]
and Benjamin Ramon for Etre [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
.

Lastly, we should point out that the Magritte for Best Debut Film went to All Cats Are Grey by Savina Dellicour, the Magritte for Best Flemish Film to The Ardennes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robin Pront
film profile
]
by Robin Pront, produced by Savage Film, and the Magritte for Best Co-production to The Bélier Family [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
by Eric Lartigau, co-produced by Nexus Factory

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Film
The Brand New Testament [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco van Dormael
film profile
]
- Jaco Van Dormael

Best Director
Jaco Van Dormael - The Brand New Testament

Best Debut Film
All Cats Are Grey [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Savina Dellicour 

Best Flemish Film
The Ardennes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robin Pront
film profile
]
 - Robin Pront

Best Co-produced Foreign Film
The Bélier Family [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
 - Eric Lartigau

Best Original or Adapted Screenplay
The Brand New Testament - Thomas Gunzig, Jaco Van Dormael 

Best Actress
Veerle Baetens - Un début prometteur [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]

Best Actor
Wim Willaert - Je suis mort mais j’ai des amis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume and Stéphane Mala…
film profile
]


Best Supporting Actress
Anne Coesens - All Cats Are Grey

Best Supporting Actor
Laurent Capelluto - The Clearstream Affair [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]

Best Female Newcomer
Lucie Debay – Melody [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bernard Bellefroid
film profile
]

Best Male Newcomer
Benjamin Ramon – Etre [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]

Best Cinematography
Manu Dacosse – Alleluia [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Fabrice Du Welz
film profile
]

Best Sound
Emmanuel de Boissieu, Frédéric Meert, Ludovic Van Pachterbeke – Alleluia

Best Production Design
Emmanuel de Meulemeester – Alleluia

Best Costumes
Pascaline Chavanne - The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]

Best Original Score
An Pierlé - The Brand New Testament

Best Editing
Anne-Laure Guégan – Alleluia

Best Short Fiction
The Black Bear - Méryl Fortunat-Rossi and Xavier Seron

Best Animated Short
Last Door South - Sacha Feiner

Best Documentary
The Man Who Mends Women [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Thierry Michel

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(Translated from French)

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