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Subscribe to the RSS feedCargo invited to San Sebastian International Film Festival
Gilles Coulier’s debut feature will compete in the New Directors programme, an international competition for first and second feature films, at the 65th San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Cargo is a story about how desperation can bring a family to the edge of destruction. The film marks the debut feature of VAF Wildcard winner Coulier, who previously directed shorts such as Iceland (2009), Paroles (2010) and Mont Blanc (2013).
Erwin Provoost named next CEO of Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF)
Erwin Provoost is to become the next CEO of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), it was announced by the organisation's Board. Provoost will succeed Pierre Drouot, who was appointed CEO in 2005.
In the early 1980s he created his own company, Multimedia (later MMG), which shook up the dormant Flemish film scene with movies such as Brussels by Night (1983), Istanbul (1985) and Crazy Love (1987). Besides winning artistic acclaim, Provoost was also responsible for some of the highest grossing domestic hits in Belgium.
King of the Belgians nominated for Lux Film Prize
Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth's fourth feature King of the Belgians, is nominated for the LUX Film Prize Competition, a yearly initiative organised by the European Parliament. All 10 films in the Official Selection have been carefully selected to provide a comprehensive panorama of the best current European cinema.
A panel of 21 European film professionals will further select three finalists among the 10 nominees, which will be announced on July 25th. During the LUX Film Days, the three remaining features will be screened in over 40 cities in the 28 member states of the European Union. Mid-November, members of Parliament will vote for the winner of the LUX Prize 2017.
Pieter Van Hees to direct season finale of Canal+ series Versailles
Belgian director Pieter Van Hees (Waste Land) is to direct the final three episodes of the third season of Versailles, a Canal+ period drama depicting the turbulent early reign of the Sun King.
Versailles tells the story of the all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, who decides to build the greatest palace in the world at Versailles. But the presence of a mysterious prisoner whose face is hidden behind an iron mask looms in the background and threatens to destroy everything Louis has been trying to achieve.
CONNeXT confirms the first 15
The initial 15 titles are confirmed for the second outing of Flemish invitation-only networking event CONNeXT (formerly NeXT). The event, whose slogan is ‘Connect to what’s new and who’s next’, will run over an intense and hospitable three-and-a-half days of networking, pitching, screenings and keynote talks due to be held in Ghent from 8-11 October.
The latest completed Flemish films - plus (new in 2017) a selection of TV series - will be screened, while a selection of projects at various stages from development to post-production will be pitched to top professionals, including sales agents from Europe and North America and programmers from festivals such as Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Tribeca, Toronto and SXSW.
Bülent Öztürk’s debut feature Blue Silence premiers in Istanbul
Blue Silence, Bülent Öztürk’s debut feature, is to have its world premiere at the Istanbul Film Festival (5-15 April), where it has been invited for both the National Competition and the Human Rights in Cinema Competition. Stephan Streker’s Noces, a co-production with Flanders, has also been selected.
Belgian-Kurdish director Bülent Öztürk is one of 12 filmmakers invited for the festival’s National ‘Golden Tulip’ Competition. In addition, his debut feature has also been selected for the Human Rights in Cinema Competition, a selection of international features and documentaries promoting human rights and the principles of individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law.
International take-off for Cloudboy at TIFF Kids
Cloudboy, Meikeminne Clinckspoor’s feature debut, is to receive its international première at this year’s TIFF Kids (7-23 April). The programme also contains Emiel Sandtke’s short Flying Rats, as well as two co-productions: The Day My Father Became a Bush and the animated feature Richard the Stork.
In Cloudboy, 12-year-old city boy Niilas has to travel - much against his will - to Lapland where his mother and her new family live amongst the Sami, an indigenous reindeer-herding people. A Belgian-Swedish-Norwegian-Dutch co-production, Cloudboy won last year’s Work-in-Progress Award at the inaugural edition of NeXT in Ghent.
Flanders Image gears up for second year of its industry platform
Talk will be top of the menu at October’s invitation-only Flemish event, but otherwise it will be business as usual - with one small exception. It’s no longer just NeXT: in 2017, it’s time to CONNeXT.
Following last autumn’s highly successful pilot held just before Film Fest Gent in the picturesque Flemish city, the platform bringing together international distributors, sales agents and festival directors with the cream of Flemish filmmaking talent will be back in October with a larger line-up but the same friendly focus.
The event, whose slogan is ‘Connect to what’s new and who’s next’, will run over an intense and hospitable three days of networking, screenings and keynote talks running from October 8-11.
Variety marks Robin Pront as European to Watch
Variety has named Belgian director Robin Pront as one of its 10 ‘Europeans to Watch’. As in previous years, the trade magazine has highlighted 10 talents from across the continent who are poised for a breakthrough in 2017. The group will be feted at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival.
The director attracted critical attention with his short film Plan B about the drug scene in Antwerp, as well as the well-received crime drama The Ardennes, his debut feature which premiered at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival and represented Belgium at the Oscars.
Home, Le Ciel Flamand and King of the Belgians to Göteborg
Fien Troch’s Home, Peter Monsaert’s Le Ciel Flamand and King of the Belgians by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth have been invited to the Göteborg International Film Festival (27 January – 6 February). The line-up also includes three co-productions with Flanders and a retrospective of the work of the Dardenne brothers.
New Voices, a section showcasing films by upcoming directors in search of new trends, welcomes Monsaert’s Le Ciel Flamand. Home and Brosens and Woodworth’s royal odyssey King of the Belgians are to screen in the Five Continents programme, a collection of films from around the world.
