The Fifth Season

Kid, Fien Troch’s third feature, has been selected for official competition at Paris Cinéma (28 June- 9 July). This year the Parisian summer festival puts the spotlight on Belgian cinema with numerous selections and retrospectives of its films and filmmakers.

Fien Troch’s Kid is running in official competition at Paris Cinéma. The film, produced by Antonino Lombardo for Prime Time, already screened at festivals in Rome, Palm Springs and Aubagne earlier this year.

Gerard-Jan Claes and Olivia Rochette’s documentary Rain will have its US premiere in the documentary competition of LA Film Fest (13 – 23 June 2013). Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth’s feature film The Fifth Season has been selected for the International Showcase in LA while the award-winning animated short film Oh Willy… by Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels was confirmed for the short film program.

On 25 May 2011 the world renowned Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris presented 'Rain', its first ever performance of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Directors Olivia Rochette and Gerard-Jan Claes followed the rehearsal process from the auditions to the opening performance.

Felix van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Breakdown and Janet van den Brand’s short Rosa, Anna’s Lil’ Sis have been selected for the Berlin international Film Festival (7-17 February). Both films will premiere internationally in the fest’s Panorama Specials strand and Generation Kplus shorts competition respectively. Two co-productions were also confirmed: Flemish director Vincent Bal’s Nono, the Zigzag Kid, which will open the Generation programme, and Willemiek Kluijfhout’s Mussels in Love. Recent features such as Peter Monsaert's Offline and Gert Embrechts' Allez, Eddy! make their market debuts at the Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM). Other EFM entries are The Fifth Season by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, as well as co-productionsTenderness by Marion Hänsel, Kinshasa Kids by Marc-Henri Wajnberg, Pinocchio by Enzo d'Alo and Tango Libre by Frédéric Fonteyne.

The Broken Circle Breakdown is represented internationally by The Match Factory. The film is already a box office hit in its home territory with over 320,000 admissions (and still going strong).The Broken Circle Breakdown is produced by Dirk Impens for Menuet (Turquaze, The Misfortunates) and stars Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh. In honour of the Panorama Specials selection, Flanders Image is also publishing a special 'Talent Matters' section entirely dedicated to van Groeningen's work.

The Fifth Season, Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth’s third feature, won three Awards at the European Film Festival in Les Arcs, France (15 – 22 December 2012). The film received the Award for Best Actress (Aurélia Poirier), the Prize for the Best Photography (Hans Bruch Jr.) and the Cineuropa Prize. The fourth edition of the festival was all about Belgian cinema with screenings of amongst others Moscow, Belgium, Ben X, Blue Bird, Ex Drummer, Lost Persons Area, Pulsar and Memory of a Killer.

The Fifth Season premiered internationally at the Venice International Film Festival last year. Afterwards, the film went to festivals such as Toronto, Busan and Valladolid. This January, The Fifth Season is set for its national première via distributor Imagine and its US première at Palm Springs.

This January four Flemish films will have their American premieres at the Palm Springs International Film Festival (3-14 January 2013). The four are Gert Embrecht’s Allez, Eddy!, Fien Troch’s Kid, Nic Balthazar’s Time of My Life and Peter Brosens & Jessica Woodworth’s The Fifth Season. Joachim Lafosse’s Our Children, a co-production with Flanders, is also screening at Palm Springs.

With 130,000 visitors Palm Springs International Film Festival is one of the biggest in North America. The fest has developed quite an appetite for Flemish cinema. Ever since Memory of a Killer, Palm Springs has invited one or two Flemish films each year.