Film festivals in Belgium and Luxembourg

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The film festivals in Belgium and Luxembourg go back to the 1970s. Today there are a total of around thirty film festivals in the region , most of which take place in Brussels .

Programming and history

overview

On the one hand, there is a lack of large non-specialized international film festivals in Belgium and Luxembourg, such as the Berlinale in Germany, the Viennale in Austria or Locarno in Switzerland . On the other hand, there are many festivals specializing in a particular genre , theme or region, some of which are world-class in their field. This includes the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent . Created in 1974 from a student environment, it now attracts 110,000 spectators annually to Ghentmaking it the largest film festival in Belgium. Its specialty is the focus on film music, which also includes concerts of film music .

The International du Film Francophone Festival in Namur, with its specialization in French-language film, is also of national importance. It has had an important film market since 1998.

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival is one of the world's most important festivals for fantasy , horror and science fiction films . The little brother of the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival is Cynenygma in Luxembourg , which also specializes in fantasy films . The popular Festival International du Film d'Amour (FIFA) in Mons , which is considered to be the largest film festival in French-speaking Belgium, also has a thematic focus: It shows love films and has been holding an international competition for them since 1999. The since 1976 in the small town Moustier-sur-Sambre organized Festival du Cinéma Belge is an annual showcase of the Belgian filmmaking and serves as a meeting place for the national film scene in the country.

Several festivals focus on a specific region. The FestCEAL - Festival Cinémas d'Espagne et d'Amerique Latine in Brussels shows works from Spain and Latin America and was created in 1998 through the merger of the Spanish Film Festival (founded in 1993) and the Latin American Film Festival (founded in 1997). The Cinéma Méditerranéen à Bruxelles festival specializes in filmmaking from the Mediterranean region . Films from Italy have been shown at SINTESI - Rendez-vous du cinéma italien in Brussels since 1984. African cinema can be found at Afrique Taille XL in Brussels, at the Cinémaf Afrikaans Film Festival in Antwerp and at the Africa Film Festival in Leuven - all three film festivals are more recent.

In the field of short films , Media 10/10 and the International Short Film Festival Leuven Kort are the oldest events. Media 10/10 in Namur shows short films from the French Community , while Leuven Kort has both a Flemish and a European competition. Other short film festivals are the Festival du Court Métrage de Bruxelles and the Festival International du Court-Métrage de Luxembourg, both with an international focus.

Anima in Brussels specializes in animation films. Filmer à tout prix is showing international and Belgian documentaries in Brussels. For the international independent film there is the Festival international du film indépendant de Bruxelles, which emerged from the Super 8 movement. The Europees Jeugdfilmfestival Vlaanderen in Antwerp and Bruges specializes in children's and youth films from Europe .

The Festival International des Ecoles de Cinéma (FIDEC) in Huy and the Brussels European Film Festival are dedicated to promoting young talent . While the four-day FIDEC shows short films that have been made in film schools and also organizes an international competition for them, the European Film Festival shows feature films, documentaries, shorts and animated films that are first or second films by European directors.

List of festivals with year of foundation, place and date

since Name of the film festival place meeting
1972 Media 10/10 Namur November
1974 Flanders International Film Festival Ghent Ghent October
1974 Festival international du film indépendant de Bruxelles Brussels November
1976 Festival du Cinéma Belge Moustier-sur-Sambre March
1978 Filmer à tout prix Brussels November
1982 Anima Brussels February
1983 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Brussels April
1984 Festival International du Film d'Amour Mons February
1984 Cinema Novo Bruges March
1984 SINTESI - Rendez-vous du cinéma Italy Brussels February
1986 Festival International du Film Francophone Namur Sept./Oct.
1987 Europees Jeugdfilmfestival Vlaanderen Antwerp , Bruges February / March
1992 Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen à Bruxelles Brussels Nov./Dec.
1995 International Short Film Festival Leuven Lions December
1996 Africa film festival Lions Apr./May
1996 Cinénygma Luxembourg International Film Festival Luxembourg October
1998 Festival du Court Métrage de Bruxelles Brussels Apr./May
1998 FestCEAL - Festival Cinémas d'Espagne et d Amérique Latine Brussels November
2000 Festival International des Ecoles de Cinéma (FIDEC) Huy October
2003 Brussels European Film Festival Brussels June July
2004 Cinémaf Afrikaans film festival Antwerp Sept./Oct.
2004 Festival International du Court-Métrage de Luxembourg Luxembourg Sept./Oct.
2005 Afrique waist XL Brussels April
2007 Director's Cut Film Festival Luxembourg October
2007 Ostend Film Festival East End September
2008 Razorreel Film Festival Bruges Oct./Nov.
2011 Luxembourg City Film Festival Luxembourg February / March

Organizational structures and financing

The art house cinema Cinéma Nova , a venue of the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Films

The vast majority of film festivals in Belgium and Luxembourg are organized by associations sans but lucratif (short form: asbl). Examples of this are the Apas Films Production asbl at the Festival International du Court-Métrage du Luxembourg and the Folioscope asbl at Anima. An asbl is a non-commercially oriented special form of the association under Belgian and Luxembourg law, which is comparable to the association de la loi 1901 in France.

Some film festivals in Belgium are politically initiated. The main organizer of Media 10/10 is the Service de la Culture of the Province of Namur , while the Festival International du Film Francophone in Namur is organized by the International Organization of Francophone . The Festival International du Film d'Amour, on the other hand, was founded by the later mayor of Mons.

Public funding ensures that most festivals are financed. Important donors are the two large communities of Belgium, namely the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community , as well as the Brussels-Capital Region . Brussels-based film festivals are sometimes supported by all three, such as the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Outside the capital, the provinces and cities are often added, for example the Europees Jeugdfilmfestival Vlaanderen also receives funding from the Province of West Flanders , the Province of Antwerp and the City of Bruges. In a European comparison, the number of Belgian film festivals funded by the European Union through the media program is strikingly high , including Anima, the Brussels European Film Festival, the Europees Jeugdfilmfestival Vlaanderen and the Festival du Court Métrage de Bruxelles. Finally, the embassies of other countries play a lesser role as donors, especially for smaller festivals specializing in foreign films .

Networks

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, the Festival International de Film Francophone de Namur and the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent are accredited by the international film producers association FIAPF - each as a festival with a specialized international competition (see also: List of FIAPF-accredited film festivals ). Neither Belgium nor Luxembourg have an A-category festival.

A total of fourteen film festivals in Belgium, including nine in Brussels, and Cinénygma in Luxembourg are members of the European Coordination of Film Festivals, which is based in Brussels. This means that only the major EU countries France , Germany , Italy and Spain have more members than Belgium in the most important European film festival association .

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and Cynénygma are members of the European Federation of Fantastic Film Festivals (EFFFF), which includes around a dozen film festivals in Europe.

Film awards

As expected, only those film prizes that are awarded at the major festivals are of international importance . These include the Bayards d'Or (named after Pierre du Terrail , Chevalier de Bayard) of the Festival International du Film Francophone, the Georges Delerue Award (for the best film music) and the Grand Prix des Flanders International Film Festival Ghent as well as the Pegasus , the Golden Raven , the Silver Raven and the Silver Méliès (named after Georges Méliès ) of the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

In addition, most of the other film festivals in Belgium and Luxembourg also award film prizes in various categories and with different amounts of money.

literature

  • Ken Lawrence: Het economisch en cultureel belang van film festivals . Diploma thesis, Universiteit Antwerpen 2005

See also

Web links

Commons : Film festivals in Belgium  - collection of images, videos and audio files