07/06/2023 - The festival’s latest edition will unspool 27 June – 6 July in the Belgian capital, with over fifty films featuring on the agenda

Unspooling 27 June – 6 July, the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) is a wholly summery occasion for celebrating the 7th art in the heart of Europe. The event will open with a Belgian premiere of Alex Lutz’s new movie, Strangers By Night [+see also:
film review
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film profile], recently unveiled in the Cannes Film Festival.

The selection mainly revolves around three competitions. The International Competition consists of seven feature films which have turned heads in major international festivals, including Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
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interview: Justine Triet
film profile] (France) by Justine Triet, presented in a premiere ahead of its Belgian release on 30 August. Another movie which stole focus on the Croisette is Four Daughters [+see also:
film review
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interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] by Kaouther Ben Hania, a captivating documentary borrowing from the field of fiction - and notably from dramatic interpretation - to narrate the turbulent fate of a mother and her four daughters. There’s also Pilar Palomero’s new film La maternal [+see also:
film review
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interview: Pilar Palomero
film profile] (Spain), which takes place in a facility for teenage mothers and which was discovered in San Sebastian, as was Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi’s debut feature film A Tale of Shemroon [+see also:
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film profile], which has previously spent time in Angers and Marrakech where it scooped the Golden Star. The selection is rounded off by The Castle [+see also:
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interview: Martín Benchimol
film profile] by Argentine director Martín Benchimol, which was discovered in the Berlinale, as was Limbo by Australia’s Ivan Sen and Absence by China’s Wu Lang.

Six European works are set to be presented in the Directors’ Week line-up, which, according to the festival’s programmers, offer up an original view of modern-day society and cast a critical eye over the changes which are upending the lifestyle habits of their heroes and heroines. The selected movies are 21 Paraíso [+see also:
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film profile] (Spain) by Nestor Ruiz Medina, Christina [+see also:
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interview: Nikola Spasic
film profile] (Serbia) by Nikola Spasic, Family Time [+see also:
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interview: Tia Kouvo
film profile] (Finland/Sweden) by Tia Kouvo, 100 Seasons [+see also:
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interview: Giovanni Bucchieri
film profile] (Sweden) by Giovanni Bucchieri, Woman on the Roof [+see also:
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interview: Anna Jadowska
film profile] (Poland/Sweden/France) by Anna Jadowska and Paradise [+see also:
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film profile] by Alexander Abarutov (France).

BRIFF also provides an opportunity to shine a light on Belgian films and their wonderous diversity. In this respect, ten movies – four documentaries and six fiction films – will be offered up to audiences, including two world premières: The Wall [+see also:
film review
interview: Philippe Van Leeuw
film profile] by Philippe Van Leeuw, which sees unmissable Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps stepping into the shoes of Border Patrol agent Jessica Comley, on the frontier between Mexico and Arizona, in a desert crossed by migrants despite the dangers involved; a border which she’s proud to defend, in spite of it all; Se crasher pour exister by Julien Henry, meanwhile, is a documentary following the disenchantment of three young fans of extreme banger racing, at a time when their raceway is about to close. The festival will also treat audiences to two films earning standing ovations in Cannes: The (Ex)perience of Love [+see also:
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interview: Ann Sirot & Raphael Balboni
film profile] by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni, and The Other Laurens [+see also:
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interview: Claude Schmitz
film profile] by Claude Schmitz, alongside three documentaries which have also made their mark in festivals: Adieu Sauvage [+see also:
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interview: Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento
film profile] by Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento, discovered in the Cinéma du Réel Festival, Hawar, Our Banished Children [+see also:
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interview: Pascale Bourgaux
film profile] by Pascale Bourgaux seen in Visions du Réel, and An Italian Youth [+see also:
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interview: Mathieu Volpe
film profile] by Mathieu Volpe, unveiled at the Festival dei Popoli. The three remaining fiction films gracing the agenda are Luka [+see also:
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interview: Jessica Woodworth
film profile] by Jessica Woodworth, The Happiest Man in the World [+see also:
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interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] by Teona Strugar Mitevska, and Nightman [+see also:
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interview: Mélanie Delloye
film profile] by Mélanie Delloye.

(Translated from French)