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Subscribe to the RSS feedHome grabs six at Ensors Gala
Fien Troch’s Home was a clear winner at the eighth Gala of the Ensors, the local Academy Award equivalent. The film won Ensors for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Editing.
Other awards went to Le Ciel Flamand, King of the Belgians, Past Imperfect, My First Highway, Storm, Souvenir, The Prime Minister, Speechless, Shadow World, On attend, Kastaars, Ghost Rockers: For Ever, A Wedding and Brimstone.
Flanders Image unveils CONNeXT’s full film line-up
At CONNeXT, festival curators, sales agents and buyers are offered a chance to get a glimpse of what is coming up in 2018 and beyond.
Gilles Coulier’s Cargo in Competition at the London Film Festival
Gilles Coulier’s debut feature Cargo has been selected for the First Features Competition at the London Film Festival (4–15 October). Two further features and three shorts from Flanders have also been invited.
Cargo tells the raw story of how an Ostend fishing family is brought to the edge of destruction by a series of dramatic events. The lead roles are played by Sam Louwyck, Wim Willaert and Sebastien Dewaele. In London, Cargo is competing for the Sutherland Trophy, the main prize in the First Features Competition.
Belgium sends Roskam's Racer and the Jailbird to Oscars
Michaël R Roskam's third feature Racer and the Jailbird, starring Matthias Schoenaerts and Adèle Exarchopoulos, is this year's official Foreign Language Academy Award entry for Belgium, it was decided today by the country's Oscar® committee. Racer and the Jailbird is to get its world première in Venice and Toronto. Back in 2012, Roskam's feature debut Bullhead also got nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar.
In Racer and the Jailbird, it’s love at first sight at a racing circuit when gangster Gino (‘Gigi’) meets Benedicte (‘Bibi'), a wealthy and fearless racing driver. Fierce and loyal, Gigi and Bibi fight for their love against fate, but also against reason and their own weaknesses. But how far can endurance be stretched? How far can they go to try and save what may already be lost?
Fien Troch’s Home shortlisted for the European Film Awards
Fien Troch’s fourth feature Home is on the shortlist for the European Film Awards in the category Feature Film. The nominees will be announced on 4 November in Seville and the winners revealed at the awards ceremony in Berlin on 9 December.
Home is Fien Troch’s fourth feature, after Kid, Unspoken, and Someone Else’s Happiness. Home had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2016, where it won the Orrizonti Award for Best Director. Home was selected for festivals in Toronto, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Bogotá and Lisbon.
Racer and the Jailbird in Toronto
After its world premiere in Venice, Michaël R. Roskam’s Racer and the Jailbird has been invited to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, 7-17 September). Roskam’s third feature will be part of the Special Presentations programme at TIFF.
Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts and French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is the Warmest Colour) play the lead roles in this dark romantic tragedy set against the backdrop of Belgium’s crime underworld. Racer and the Jailbird will be in Belgian cinemas from 4 October.
Racer and the Jailbird invited to the Venice Film Festival
Michaël R. Roskam’s third feature Racer and the Jailbird is part of the Official Selection at the Venice Film Festival (Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, 30 August–9 September). After premiering in Venice, the film will be in Belgian cinemas in October.
Racer and the Jailbird is Roskam’s third feature, after the internationally acclaimed Oscar-nominated Bullhead (2011) and his American debut The Drop (2014).
Cargo 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.
