Discoveries from Belgium World Cinema

The contest is called “Payday,” and Chantal is in a rush because she has a lot to say on the subject. For once, she ticks all the boxes: director, woman… She’s ready to start taking notes, drawing… But all too soon, her everyday reality comes rushing back.

Sinterklaasshow with performances from your favorite Studio 100 characters such as: Plop, Piet Piraat, Mega Mindy en K3

An Al cannot play ping pong. Nor is it possible with a former friend who now votes for Trump. A conversation about physical absence and political alienation.

Obsolete household appliances and waste of all kinds are sent to the planet Prout, Earth's dumping ground. Bean and Spaghet, two little emergency workers from this strange planet, go on an emergency mission to save one of their friends who has been crushed by debris falling from the sky.

The tender tale of a hardworking ant and her little red egg. A story about motherly love and having to make an impossible decision.

The film travels from a classroom in Uganda to a Belgian train station, showing how education, culture, and institutions shape our way of thinking and acting. At the center of the story are the students in history teacher Godfrey's classroom. Their questions and research serve as the driving force as they unravel, challenge, and try to overcome colonial mindsets and racist systems.

An impromptu performance about longing. Longing for contact, longing for larger bubbles, and longing to see each other's faces again on public transport. At a distance, but very close to current events. We can do it again, we have to do it again. Skin hunger.

The story of an exceptional painter talent, the Belgian-Hungarian Kim Corbisier who left a brilliantly powerful oeuvre behind after her tragically short and intense life. And a camera at her filmmaker friend. The mesmerising and often shocking footage of the camera bear witness to Kim's struggles with methadone addiction and, above all, her identity crisis caused by a series of unfortunate and criminal accidents in her family. After the unfinished attempts, with this film, the filmmaker is realising a project they had planned together 10 years ago.

Aiko, a 10-year old girl, is heading into town after the lockdown, in search of new stories for her vlog. Amidst the sounds of the city, she hears music. Her curiosity leads to encounters all over the city with children expressing their feelings through music and rhythm. Together with her new friends, Aiko celebrates childhood on the rooftops of Brussels through music, singing, dancing and beatboxing.

In hell, the dead work in call centers under the illusion of earning a place in heaven by satisfying the living. This is not worth the money for some, except when their loved ones suddenly disappear for heaven.

Iluminada has visions. She tries to understand them by writing in private journals. Her writings are poetry that no one else hears. Her life in the peripheral neighbourhoods of Bogotá, riddled with hardships, leaves her with no time or space. Until she meets Juan, a young man who seems to open up another world for her. But her relationship with a stranger is not welcomed by those who control the neighborhood.

At the end of 2020, an investigation gathers the testimonies of 17 trans* people who offer sexual services in the Yser district of Brussels. One of them agrees to testify on camera in order to shed light on the violence they suffer.

Pentangle are the five points of light being Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox. This Belgian TV special from 1972 captures the band in all its glory as they work their way through six songs from the albums Solomon's Seal, and Reflection.

A Christmas Eve gathering among old friends turns tragic. Under the tree lies a poisoned gift – Tintin in the Congo – picked at random by a guest of African descent. Between buried secrets, forced soul-searching, generational clashes and political-family squabbles Brussels-style, things heat up faster than a turkey left too long in the oven.

‘If a sense of reality exists, a sense of possibility must also exist’ is an adaptation of the theatrical play ‘The Enthusiasts’ by Robert Musil. Franciska Lambrechts has managed to turn this ‘unstageable’ piece into an intriguing film by radicalizing Musil’s work. In close consultation with the actors (from theatre companies including tg. Stan and Dito’Dito), she reduced the text to its core: the quest of a small group of people for truth and reality at a time when major ideologies fail. It has become a refined film with strictly framed black-and-white images and passionate acting.

Ice cream in the rain might seem like an oxymoron at first. However the phenomenon in the film is portrayed as a symbol of personal freedom in an otherwise overwhelming wold.

Two Hungarian children, Ylonka and Ferenc, are taken in as foster children by a Flemish family during World War II. During the war, they are pursued by the occupiers because their foster parents joined the resistance and were arrested. At first, they try to earn money together and end up with the traveling painter Fedor, but various hardships separate them. Ylonka is sent to a reform institution, while Ferenc is taken in by kindly priests at their monastery. When, after the war, they finally have a father and mother who treat them as their own, a legal decree forces them back to Hungary.

Hovering between the real and the imagined, a filmmaker traces their fragmented sense of place. Moving through maps, projections, digital simulations, they explore how ways of seeing shape how we belong. A search for position that is never fixed, but always felt in relation. A journey and meditation on placelessness, image-making, perspective and the quiet politics of how we relate to our surroundings.

An immigrant saying "Hello" to unknown lands. A recreation of old fantasy video games through irony, in which the protagonist and his Wizard guide companion, face strange situations that allude to the absurd nature of the immigrant's journey.

In a Marrakech call centre, sales calls to France become a profound meditation on voice, distance, and who gets to be heard.

Hector's mind is filled with box shaped memories. Some stacked upon shelves, others forgotten. But when an unwanted memory keeps popping up, Hector must finally deal with it.

Travels in Colombia. Pieces of dialogue misunderstood, mistranslated. Erratic characters. A loss in search of healing. Every egg has a corner is a sensory tale of wandering to embrace the darkness, rediscover speech and perhaps memory.

French native, Xavier, is working for an Australian production company as a location scout for their upcoming film in the alps. On his search to find authentic décor, Xavier meets Zoé, a local girl, who is persuaded that the two have met somewhere before…

Super-8 images of the 89-year old Carlo Verano alternate with energetic dance sequences, shot in the rough desert landscapes of Southern Spain, in deSingel theatre in Antwerp & the Movyclub in Brussels.

Nola, an intrusive Galician grandmother, and her young neighbor Emile have been at odds ever since the latter’s grandfather was placed in a nursing home. When Nola receives a music speaker she doesn’t understand, her quiet routine is disrupted. Will she agree to call on the infrequent Emile?

A young woman tries to recover from a profound traumatic experience by retreating into a self-created internal world, far away from the harsh medieval reality in which she finds herself day by day. But as a forgotten secret emerges, she is drawn to confront the truth of who she truly is.

In the streets of Matongé in Brussels, residents participate in the collective poetry of living together. Guided by Maéva, the neighborhood unfolds between everyday life and colonial memory. Individual experiences interact with history, blending reality and fantasy. Gestures, voices, and rhythms bring to life the masks that parade in the footsteps of colonization. Images, sounds, and percussion animate a call for the decolonization of public spaces.

As a speaker in a supermarket, Walter lands a spot on France Television's springboard show “La Chanson-Chanson”.

Noah is walking along a pond and discovers a lost little duckling. Following the teacher's advice, the class decides to return it to its mother.

Poetic pamphlet where brazen sirens whisper raw words to each other; a proud provocation that doesn't care about anything.

Pierre has been raising his daughter Macha alone since the death of his wife Elena. Pierre’s life revolves around two activities: overprotecting his daughter and devoting himself entirely to his work at an animal incineration center. The unexpected adoption of Lundi, a depressed llama, is about to turn their lives upside down.

A romantic meeting on a balloon flight. Meanwhile, we see an interview about a mysterious happening on that flight. The film is a search for subtle emotions and inconveniences.

Alain, a nutcase like the rest of us, takes the final assessment that might allow him to leave the asylum.

A woman tries to recreate her life with her younger self.

At night, Dimitri suffers a disturbing sleep paralysis. What seems like a nightmare becomes an endless loop confronting him with am unknown part of himself.

The 13th short film as part of the Magica series dealing with pre-cinema. The Pathé-Baby, or ‘cinema at home’, the precursor to home cinema, was launched in 1922 and made it possible to watch comedy stars such as Max Linder, Laurel and Hardy, and Felix the Cat, as well as ‘big films’ such as Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Abel Gance's Napoléon, at home.

For 26 years, Ben Abderrahman has been the charming owner of the Mozart Hotel in the heart of Brussels. Each evening, Ben takes to the streets of Brussels to distribute bread to the most disadvantaged and offer his empty hotel rooms to the homeless, undocumented migrants, (trans)migrants, etc. who need a place to stay and relax. Working entirely as a volunteer and motivated by the Koran, he refuses to keep his luxury for himself and shares it with all those who need it. Paradisiac is a kaleidoscopic portrait that gives a glimpse into this fragile and extraordinary ‘Mozart universe’.

tears of desire explores the intensity of love and shared vulnerability through an experimental first-time practice. In this intimate short film, one partner installs a venous catheter in the other's arm, navigating the delicate balance between desire and care. When the blood is finally drawn, the act becomes a visceral expression of passion and connection.

Some say Jeanne is mad because she doesn’t let boys push her around, consider yourself warned, don’t touch Jeanne, she stings.

Are Uruguay and Belgium children of the same unrecognized father? What was the role of Irish diplomat Lord John Ponsonby in the founding of two nation-states that seemingly have nothing in common? Welcome to Ponsonbyland: an invitation to think about nationalities and identities from a different perspective.

A personal documentary about a sense of being in-between: belonging, but at the same time experiencing distance. What is it like to long for a home you don’t really know? And do you solve the longing by returning, or does that break the fantasy?

Short documentary on the conceptual artist, Lawrence Weiner, produced for Belgian television.

AN EMBRACE is a conversation about rest, embodiment, and connection. Through a multitude of exchanges, the film weaves a tapestry of voices, images, and sounds, dissolving the boundaries between the tangible and intangible. Rest is embraced as a liminal realm, creating a space for stillness and complete attention, inviting profound reflection on our own presence and the habitual ways we perceive and relate.

On a rugged island off the coast of Madagascar, the paths of two souls searching for meaning cross. Macha, originally from Belgium, seeks refuge with her mother, while Franco, born on the island, returns to his roots. As their personal stories intertwine, the island—imbued with mysticism—reveals the maternal and ambiguous power of water, which can be both nurturing and overwhelming.

Toto, a twelve-year-old with the appearance of a monstrous humanoid creature, is determined to push his parents to the limit. How much torment is this family prepared to endure? Will the abusive son succeed in imposing his malicious whims on his parents? In this abrasive satire, no limits will be unbreakable.

Still Processing, a poetic and evocative short film by directors Sonia Mutaganzwa and Jean Luc Niyonshuti, delves into the intricate and ever-shifting nature of grief. Loss is not linear—it loops, twists, and folds back on itself. We fall, we process, we heal, but we might fall again. Through a lyrical exploration of the five stages of grief, the film reveals how loss extends beyond the physical—encompassing identity, self-worth, relationships, and sense of direction. Each stage offers a different lens, a new way of seeing how we break, mend, and break again. Is healing the destination, or just another step in the cycle? No matter where you begin, you’ll follow the rhythm—because healing isn’t out of reach. You’re just still processing.

Frankie is a lonely factory worker who believes he is dying, but there os no one in his life to say goodbye to. On his way to heaven, he becomes a planet, full of life.

A family of wild owls experiences the springtime: hunting, feeding, raising their young. A camera in their nest captures their every move. While a community of online viewers monitor the owls 24/7 via livestream, a strange story begins to unfold, calling into question the paradigm of control that underpins our human interventions into the non-human realm.

Based on old records, a doctor in the year 2222 conducts an examination of a woman's body.

One of Emma’s mothers is too busy; the other is too far away. One is rejected, the other idealised. Out of a trivial tension, an intimate and unsettling face-to-face confrontation suddenly arises.