12/06/2025 - The gathering will unfold between 20 and 28 June, after being opened by the world premiere of Lucas Belvaux’s new film Les Tourmentés

Now firmly established in the European capital and beyond, the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) is returning between 20 and 28 June for another edition bursting with films unearthed in the biggest international festivals and casting a keen eye on the modern world. And to kick things off with style, the event will be hosting the world premiere of the new movie by Lucas Belvaux (Home Front [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucas Belvaux
film profile], This Is Our Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lucas Belvaux
film profile], Not My Type [+see also:
trailer
interview: Lucas Belvaux
film profile]) entitled Les Tourmentés, which has been adapted from the director’s own novel published in 2022 and which stars Niels Schneider, Ramzy Bedia, Linh-Dan Pham and Déborah François in its cast. Les Tourmentés thrusts the quartet into an unexpected relationships, which gets them thinking about the worth of a human life. The audience will also get to discover new films by Jean-Pascal Zadi (Le Grand Déplacement) and Quentin Dupieux (L’Accident de Piano) in exceptional previews.

The BRIFF will likewise offer up three competitions revealing a selection of previously unreleased films. The International Competition will showcase five titles discovered several weeks ago in Cannes: Enzo [+see also:
film review
interview: Robin Campillo
film profile], Laurent Cantet’s wonderful film, directed by Robin Campillo who will be presenting the film which previously opened the Directors’ Fortnight a few days ahead of its release in Belgium; Sentimental Value [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile], which won the Grand Prize and which heralds a reunion between Norwegian director Joachim Trier and his favourite actress Renate Reinsve; The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo by Diego Céspedes, which won him the Un Certain Regard Prize; Once Upon a Time in Gaza [+see also:
film review
interview: Tarzan Nasser
film profile] by brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which scooped the Best Director trophy in the Un Certain Regard section; and Sleepless City [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillermo Galoe
film profile] by Guillermo Galoe which was presented in Critics’ Week. They’ll be battling it out against Polish movie Under the Volcano [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damian Kocur
film profile] by Damian Kocur (presented in Toronto) and Deaf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eva Libertad
film profile] by Eva Libertad (awarded the Panorama section’s Audience Award in the Berlinale).

The BRIFF will also be placing Belgian cinema centre stage by way of its National Competition, gathering together ten titles which are a blend of fiction and documentary films. Audiences will discover films which have already premiered in international festivals ( Jahia’s Summer [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Olivier Meys, On the Edge [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Guérin van der Vorst & Sophie Muselle, Vitrival – The Most Beautiful Village in the Worldl [+see also:
film review
interview: Noëlle Bastin, Baptiste Bog…
film profile] by Noëlle Bastin & Baptiste Bogaert, Petit Rempart [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Eve Duchemin, and Kika [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexe Poukine
film profile] by Alexe Poukine, discovered in May in Cannes’ Critics Week), as well as unreleased movies such as Rano, which is a fiction film by Valéry Rosier & Farellia Tahina Venance.

The third and final competition, Directors’ Week, will offer up a field of exploration for young European cinema, showcasing seven films hailing from Lithuania, Spain, Hungary, France, Italy, Serbia and Ukraine: Drowning Dry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurynas Bareiša
film profile] by Laurynas Bareiša (awarded the Best Director and best acting prizes in Locarno), Salve Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mar Coll
film profile] by Mar Coll (given a Special Mention in Locarno)  Lesson Learned [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Bálint Szimler
film profile] by Bálint Szimler (scooping a Special Mention in Locarno’s Cineasti del Presente section), That Summer in Paris [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valentine Cadic
film profile] by Valentine Cadic (screened in Berlin’s Perspectives line-up), Nineteen [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Giovanni Tortorici (screened in Venice’s Orizzonti section), Cat’s Cry [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Sanja Živković and Cuba & Alaska by Yegor Troyanovsky.

In addition to these three sections, the festival will also host two focus sessions on Polish and Ukrainian cinema, as well as a selection of films for younger audiences.

(Translated from French)