Empire

Robin Pront's feature debut The Ardennes is the opening attraction at the 42nd Film Fest Ghent (13-24 October). The film, receiving its European première, is just one of the many indigenous titles Belgium's oldest and largest festival has in its programme this year. There are in total five Flemish features, one TV series, a dozen shorts, and two co-productions with Flanders.

Opening the Fest is The Ardennes starring Veerle Baetens (The Broken Circle Breakdown), Kevin Janssens and Jeroen Perceval, with the latter also co-writing the script with director Robin Pront. The film has already attracted attention at this year's Toronto International Film Festival where it had its world premiere and was picked up by distributors in such key territories as France (Diaphana) and Italy (Satine). Producer is Bart van Langendonck for Savage Film, the company behind Oscar-nominated Bullhead. International sales are handled by Montreal-based Attraction Distribution.

Gust Van den Berghe's Lucifer and Kristof Hoornaert's short Empire are both invites to the 59th edition of the BFI London Film Festival (7 – 18 October). Four co-productions with Flanders - Couple in a Hole, Les cowboys, Schneider vs. Bax and The Brand New Testament (Le tout nouveau testament) - also made it to the final selection.

Lucifer is Gust Van den Berghe's third feature and the final installment to his tryptic  to which Little Baby Jesus of Flandr and Blue bird also belong. On his downfall from Heaven to Hell, Lucifer passes through the earthly paradise, a village in Mexico, where elderly Lupita and her granddaughter Maria live. Lupita's brother Emanuel pretends he's paralyzed so he can drink and gamble while the two women tend to the sheep. Lucifer senses an opportunity and plays the miraculous healer. He forces Emanuel to walk again, seduces Maria and makes Lupita doubt about her faith. He didn't bring bad luck, he only illuminated the line between good and evil, where it didn't exist before.

Sum of Histories, Lukas Bossuyt’s feature debut, is to have its world premiere in the First Films Competition at the Montreal World Film Festival, which takes place from August 27 till September 7. Empire and Nkosi Coiffure, two shorts from Flanders, also premiere in the World Competition section, while the programme contains five further films from Flanders: Belgian Rhapsody, Marry Me and the shorts Olav, The Soul Is Wandering and Dissonant.

A love story with a touch of sci-fi, Sum of Histories tells the story of Viktor, a brilliant young professor who discovers a way to manipulate time. Now he can finally change the past and help his beloved Lena, but not without risk…