Discoveries from Belgium World Cinema

In Left Behind, Patrick Sloane thinks he can outrun anything. Guilt, consequences, even the dark road ahead. But when a chilling phone call reminds him of the past, Patrick must face what waits in the shadows.

In the splendidly decorated barbaric world of Antwerp, an ordinary lonely Lucien has an inhuman capability to stick metal objects to his body. An introverted Buster Keaton-like man of a few words is a hapless artist, clown, freak, and musician with a wounded heart and a quiet violin. His vocation is to entertain the common people despite his burning pain and guilt for the inevitable loss of an estranged father.

In Italy, in the mid-seventies, Adriana, Barbara, Nadia and Susanna were 20 years old when they decided to join the armed struggle and leave behind their social life and their families in order to make the revolution the center and the aim of their existence. Today they have returned after many years in prison, and they try, each one of them, to recount their own experiences. They speak about the political reasons which initially sustained them, the conflicts, the doubts, and the moments of being torn apart which market out their lives as women caught up in the vortex of war. A course of events which ended in the condemnation of the armed struggle and the pain of the lives that were destroyed – their victims’ lives and their own.

Violeta and Vyollca Dukay live in the south of Kosovo, close to the border with Albania. Faced with a very high unemployment in their country since the end of the war, they became deminers. They’ve been going to the minefields every day for six years now. The unique and very strong relationship that exists between the two sisters helps them to overcome their fear and to keep hoping in spite of the precariousness of their situation and the risks they run each day to earn their living.

When terrorists from space kidnap Belgian weatherwoman Sabine Hagedoren because they want eternal rain, Jean-Claude Van Damme comes to the rescue.

An exposition of friendship and a feeling of belonging to a different place, yet you are in a common one. This film is about a day in the life of 3 friends.

Lucien - 11 - lives retired with his mother Cécile and his older brother in a village in the Ardennes. He is a secretive boy who avoids contact as much as questions. When his grandmother dies, a prison release is granted to his father to attend the funeral. Seeing his father grieve, handcuffed and protected from the popular fury by an impressive police deployment hurts Lucien. Against the advice of his family, Lucien decides to see his father again. At the risk of losing everything...

The Herts Camera Sutra or The Palefaces (1973) is a militant and visually fragmented critique of Belgian bourgeois society, blending documentary collage with semi-autobiographical fiction. De Hert attacks the distractions of nationalism, religion, and popular culture while exposing capitalism, social injustice, and postcolonial exploitation. The film’s second half shifts to a disillusioned group of rebellious youths, revealing the uncertainty and emotional paralysis behind revolutionary ideals. Both politically fierce and deeply self-questioning, the film captures the tension between radical ambition and powerlessness.

Helena is a talented singer in Buenos Aires. Just as she and her band get a residency at a prestigious theater in the city, the boyfriend she's mad about coldly announces that he doesn't love her any more. The film is punctuated by intense bursts of tango. Every song moves the story along, providing an insight into the characters and access to the protagonist's feelings: nostalgia, passion, sadness, and joy in turn. The lyrical and musical wealth of tango, brilliantly performed by Eugenia Ramírez Miori, unites the two stories, past and present. 'La cantante de tango' is a poignant auteur film about a woman trying to get back on her feet after a devastating break-up.

The Antwerp-based artist Dennis Tyfus is using oil paint for the first time for an exhibition in Rome. Is this a risk, or just the fresh perspective he needs?

When Yaki becomes aware of Bella’s true identity — a curly plumed, extremely valuable dove and his sole inheritance — it’s already too late. Yaki embarks with Bilal, his childhood friend, and their wives on a road trip across Israel and Palestine to bring Bella back. Along the way, they navigate through checkpoints, ruin a wedding, steal the newlyweds’ car, participate in a family reconciliation ceremony, and revive the unconscious dove.... All in order to make it on time to a dove beauty pageant in Jerusalem.

After a flat tire leaves her stranded in the woods, a woman revisits haunting memories of her self-destructive tendencies on the finger nails. As she peels the skin from her fingers, each strip draws her deeper into the past. With every layer, she steps closer to the hidden child within herself.

A group of five veteran hunters tries to mold two young boys into one of their own, but this takes a wrong turn.

A continuous shot tracks a family during their traditional New Year’s Eve throughout the years, when on one night a winning scratch card lands on the table.

Sister Jeanne longs for unity, for something that no longer exists. Her desire reveals the struggle of love against the soul’s doubt, where silence itself is treated as the enemy.

100 years ago, evil Captain Snorrebaard was cursed by putting an enchanted crown on his head. He turned into a painting and his ship sank, along with the crown, to the bottom of the sea. Piet Piraat and his crew find the floating painting and think that it could help them find a hidden treasure, but Captain Snorrebaard has something more sinister in mind...

The only thing Pol Rubens has in common with the Great Paul is his place of residence, Antwerp. Pol's problems begin when he loses his wallet and tries to get by with his broken German. His blunders land him and his friend on a ship full of criminals.

Moscow, 17th Century. As Russia is beset by internal strife and power struggles, Grigori the bear, chief of the army of the young Tsar Peter I, travels to France with his daughter Dashen'ka, a young apprentice magician to perform a twofold mission: - to meet with Louis XIV and seal an alliance with France, bringing back reinforcements and his niece Princess Agnes from Versailles, who is to be married to Peter. - to bring back a mysterious relic from the Mont Saint Michel, the broken spear that once belonged to the archangel Michael and that will be used to fight the terrible dragon of evil that was stirring in the North of Russia. Through fast-moving chases, collisions, on-ship action, magic, humour and emotion, will the Musketeers of the Tsar be able to rescue young Peter from the plot hatched by his sister the Grand Duchess Sophia, Tchernogor, her counsellor with a passion for dark magic and the ruthless wolverine Streltsys?

Mega Mindy and Team Rox travel to Malta where they get tricked by an evil Aquaman. He wants to have the golden helmet that can cause apocalyptic storms in the wrong hands. They have to work together to stop his plan!

Grandpa loves order and rules. When his daily routine starts falling apart with every mistake he makes, his trusted house turns into a chaotic swirl of shapes and colors which he frantically tries to keep under control, until he can't anymore.

Tom, a former decorated Royal Navy sailor, is now a broken man, consumed by alcohol. What first seems like an ordinary day slowly descends into darkness. Trapped within his own thoughts, he must confront the unseen part of himself.

In this film version of the Dutch-language classic ('heimat'-)novel by Flemish author Felix Timmermans, the title character is a city-boy from Lier who after recovering from a life-threatening disease changes his life completely and his name to the self-invented Pallieter. He moves in with Charlote, a naive, caring relative in the country, where he starts frolicking, no longer caring for image, career or possessions, but concentrates on enjoying life -such as a draftee relative's Brueghelian wedding- and finds love with Marieke. A dark story-line however is when projected work on the river in the name of economical progress threatens the rural landscape they have fallen in love with...

The love story between a songwriter and an ice-cream seller intertwines with the fate of a future tramway line.

Ludovic is the son of Nicole, a single mother who married Micho, a man older than her. He agreed to adopt her son. Ludo is the scapegoat of Tatave, first son of Micho and the favoured victim of his teacher. Communication between Ludo and his mother is non-existent. While her own health is deteriorating, she eventually entrusts him to an asylum.

This is a film which was made in Belgium in the early '60s and was never released. However, it somehow got included in the American Oscar category for "Best Foreign Film," and was finally released in its home country in 1971. It explores the issues of prejudice and superstition in the Belgian countryside through the troubles of a middle-aged farmer whose mother has been accused of being a witch. In French, this picture is based on a true story which took place in the late 1920s and early '30s.

Romy and her grandmother live in a small apartment like two friends. One works in a snack and the other runs an improvised beauty salon in the living room. The day her grandmother has a stroke, Romy has to take over the beauty salon.

When a young introvert skater falls in love with the girlfriend of one of his best friends, he's pushed to his limits by the people who are most close to him.

Marco & Polo Go Round is a comedic love story with a very surreal twist. A couple confronts the difficulties in their relationship as gravity turns on its head and their world literally falls apart around them.

A woman takes revenge on her cheating husband by inviting his mistresses on their anniversary party. She thanks all of them and announces she's going to divorce him.

Dave, a divorced father, begins to lose himself in a secret and destructive ritual. To protect his daughter, he tries to cut ties with her.

The routines of two women fuse together as their similar gestures get repeated over time. Their hands intersect through their shared memory one movement at a time. The daily routine of Hayat in her absolute loneliness builds as she tries to recollect memories of her grandmother. We observe both their lives separately, the gestures of both women seem to be in an ongoing, subtle dialogue. The rhythm of the events slowly forms itself as their days go by. Eventually, the bond between them unravels the motherly love that unites them.

Three...Two...One...Go! End of the countdown, it’s time to plant Underwood Springs’ flag on the Moon! In a cloud of smoke and sparks, Bigtooth’s rocket leaves the Earth’s orbit. Floating in space, No-No, Magaïveur and their friends barely have time to admire the landscapes before a meteor shower veers them off their initial course and sends them directly… to an unknown planet! Their meeting with Ribbit, a little green creature, will transform this space adventure into an interplanetary story of friendship.

Abel doesn't accept his step-father's presence and tries to persuade his mother to leave him, only she doesn't hear what he is trying to say. Abel gets caught up by his imagination to avoid having to deal a reality he will have to face.

When friends Sandra and Rebecca become stranded in the middle of nowhere, they have no choice but to split up. Sandra heads back to the rural gas station and Rebecca stays with the car. When Sandra doesn't return, Rebecca becomes worried. It soon becomes clear the gas station is really a trap, and the women are now the playthings of JUNIOR!

The Bee Gees preform in this special created for German TV. Also featured are Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger, and the Trinity, and Lil Lindfors.

Adaptation of the novel of the same name by Raphaël Jerusalmy.

After a break of more than five years, Bart Cannaerts is finally back where he loves to be: on stage. With his fourth full-length show. And in it, he'll be doing what he does best: telling stories about everything and singing songs about nothing. Trust us: you'll want to be there.

Three climbers are stranded on mountain as darkness sets in.

The four pirates want to celebrate Halloween and decide to get some fresh pumpkins from Pumpkin Island. Steven is too scared and shows his friends the legend of the great pumpkin king...

Cameraman Claude Gabriëls, well known for his work with Henri Storck and Paul Meyer, has made this beautiful evocation of a snowy day in Brussels.

The film's author recounts his memories of a rebellious childhood friend.

A blood infection has decimated the world population, every blood type is affected except the rarest one.

The award-winning filmmaker Peter Lilienthal is dedicated to this extremely poignant documentary of U.S. military policy and the living conditions of former resistance fighters in Latin America.

A film crew crisscrosses England trying to unravel the mystery surrounding a record released 30 years earlier, 'Spirit of Eden', that defined the passage from light to shadow of its makers, the band Talk Talk and its lead singer Mark Hollis. From overwhelming obstacles to unpredictable encounters, their journey soon turns into an organic quest. With silence as a horizon line. And punk as a philosophy, thinking that music is accessible to all and that the human spirit is above the technique.

Karel is in love with Liza, the only daughter of Baas Ganzendonck. Ganzendonck is a snob who dreams of luxury and nobility. Although he is a farmer himself, he wants to separate himself from the simple country folk, unless they show him the admiration he believes he deserves. He sent Liza to a French boarding school, but she has always remained humble. Ganzendonck blunders again and again, and although he does not understand a word of French, he can listen for hours to the French-speaking son of the baron. The baron’s son finds Liza’s presence an amusing distraction. The jealous Karel gets into a fight with the baron’s son and injures him severely. The police throw Karel into prison, and Liza, whose health was not very strong, dies of grief shortly thereafter

A group of four go camping on private property, but may not be alone.

When Sarah follows a mysterious sound deep into the forest, she enters the world of The Wild Woman.

In 1833, when the fledgling Belgian kingdom still fears a Dutch invasion, recruits were selected annually from an age cohort by a draw of lots in each locality. In this grim, then contemporary drama by the 'father of Flemish literature', Hendrik Conscience, Jan Braems, a poor and naive farmers-boy, accepts the not uncommon offer by a rich family to sell his lucky ticket (out) to their son for a hefty sum compared to the miserable labor wages at the time. Army life is even harsher then a farmhand's, especially for a Dutch-speaking an-alphabet who simply can't understand his francophone superiors, and Jan's nature is not complacent enough for military discipline even by todays standards, so he soon gets into all kinds of trouble, including gambling his capital away and a venereal disease. When his girlfriend back home goes looking for him, her life is doomed as well.

One day, the tree is considered mature. In any case, it is exploitable for the industry. So, we mark it and then cut it down. With the chainsaw or the harvester, it depends. And then it becomes biomass, pallets, panels, pellets, crates, paper pulp for printing promotions. But what profit does man get from the pains he takes under the sun?

Jérémy meets Baptiste. Their shared baldness takes them to Istanbul, where clinics claim to reverse the course of time. Amid shifting winds and silent unrest, they search for meaning in a city not their own. Day by day, a fragile bond forms, in the hope of change.

A young woman, Léa, cultivates the land and faces the sun's constant glare. She tries to silently combat the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, three motocross riders roar through the arid landscape, like riders of the apocalypse. The film brings together actors and non-actors in a landscape that suffers in silence.