24/01/2024 - The Brussels-based documentary film gathering is taking place from 29 January-4 February

The En ville ! Festival is all set to take place from 29 January-4 February in Brussels. The programme is focused essentially on documentaries that talk about different territories, their collective imagination and the ways in which we inhabit them.

The festival highlights the past year's crop of Belgian and international non-fiction cinema, at the same time taking the opportunity to address issues related to society and cinema, with the idea being that the world is a place where multiple discoveries can be made by those who take the time to watch it.

With 30 films, including ten Belgian premieres, and many filmmakers invited along, this year’s edition includes international film competitions, parallel programmes, industry days and complementary activities (podcasts, conferences and more).

The International Competition includes Lina Soualem’s Palestinian Oscar submission Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile], Dominique Marchais’ Jean Vigo Award winner La rivière, Renée Nader Messora and João Salaviza’s Cannes Un Certain Regard Ensemble Prize winner The Buriti Flower [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Salaviza and Renée Nad…
film profile], and Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse and Quentin L'Helgouac'h’s Visions du Réel Burning Lights Award and FIPRESCI Award winner Knit's Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], as well as the Belgian titles Eléonore Saintagnan’s Locarno Cineasti del Presente Special Jury Prize and Young Audience Award winner Camping du lac [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Éléonore Saintagnan
film profile], Paragate by Jialai Wang and Mea Culpa by Patrick Tass, and the latest outing by Brazil’s Kleber Mendonça Filho, Pictures of Ghosts.

On the other hand, the Echappées Competition includes the short films Pechar caixas abrir caixas (Belgium/Spain) by Hugo Amoedo, Hit Him on the Head with a Hard, Heavy Hammer (Belgium) by Rebecca Jane Arthur, Les heures creuses (Belgium) by Judith Longuet-Marx, Ôte-toi de mon soleil (Belgium) by Messaline Raverdy, Loveboard (Switzerland/Belgium) by Felipe Casanova, Thun-le-paradis ou la balade d'Eloïse (France) by Eléonor Gilbert, Lèv la tèt dann fénwar (France) by Erika Etangsalé and Ever Since, I've Been Flying (Switzerland) by Aylin Gökmen, plus the feature R21 aka Restoring Solidarity (Palestine/Qatar/Belgium) by Mohanad Yaqubi.

You can read more about the festival and its programme here.