15/06/2009

Summer sees the return of a Brussels event showcasing European film. From June 27-July 5, the Brussels Film Festival will offer Belgian audiences 30, mainly unreleased European films.

Traditionally focusing on debut and second features, the festival will spotlight on the new European film scene. The 14 works in competition represent as many different facets of the continent’s film industry. From Iceland to Spain, taking a detour through Turkey, viewers will be treated to Sri Lankan handball players lost in Bavaria, an epic journey on snow scooters and Corsican chess players.

The debut films will reveal young auteurs, as well as film personalities who are stepping behind the camera for the first time. Valdis Oskarsdottir, editor on Gus Van Sant and Michel Gondry’s films, will present Country Wedding [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and The Full Monty producer Uberto Pasolini will unveil Machan [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

The festival’s avant-première section will include work by established talents. There will be an opportunity to discover one of the many faces of prolific director Michael Winterbottom in Genova [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and celebrate the vitality of Swedish cinema, at a special evening dedicated to Lukas Moodysson, where his latest film Mammoth [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] will be shown and his second feature, Together, will have an open-air screening.

For the first time, the European Parliament is a partner of the festival and will unveil the ten films shortlisted for the 2009 LUX Prize. These are Claire Denis’ 35 Shots of Rum [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Roberto Castón’s Ander [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Kamen Kalev’s Eastern Plays [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kamen Kalev
film profile], Arash T. Riahi’s For a Moment, Freedom [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Peter Strickland’s Katalin Varga [+see also:
film review
trailer
Interview Peter Strickland - Director …
film profile], Caroline Strubbe’s Lost Persons Area [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Rune Denstad Langlo’s North [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rune Denstad Langlo
film profile], Yesim Ustaoglu’s Pandora’s Box [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Hans-Christian Schmid’s Storm and Philippe Lioret’s Welcome [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Philippe Lioret
film profile].

The LUX Prize aims to support the cultural and linguistic diversity of European cinema and promote film circulation. In November, MEPs will select the winning film, to be subtitled in the 23 official European languages on as many different prints.

Created in 2007, the prize was previously awarded to Fatih Akin’s The Edge of Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fatih Akin
interview: Klaus Maeck
film profile] and Lorna’s Silence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arta Dobroshi
interview: Arta Dobroshi
interview: Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne
interview: Olivier Bronckart
film profile] by the Dardenne brothers. Both these films highlight Europe’s multiculturalism and the political and social challenges posed by this diversity.

(Translated from French)