Brussels Independent Film Festival is back! The full lineup will feature numerous World, International and European Premieres. In total, Brussels Independent Film Festival will show 64 features and shorts from 25 countries including narrative features, documentary features, narrative shorts, documentary shorts, animation and experimental films. On February 5th, the festival will begin its in-person screenings at Cinema Galeries at 8:30pm, with the Belgian narrative film Dor (Longing) by Jannes Callens. To find the complete festival schedule and to reserve (free) tickets, check www.brusselsfilmfestival.com. HIGHLIGHTS It’s difficult to just highlight a couple of films out of the more than 60 selected films! An attempt: Dor (Longing) (Belgium) by Jannes Callens A cinematic and existential encounter between Belgian-Romanian Stefan Gota and a group of young shepherds. Running time: 00:52:30. Also selected at Visions du Réel and 30__70 DOC FEST. Screening on Sunday 5 February at 20:30 in Cinema Galeries / Free entry Chaylla (France) by Clara Teper, Paul Pirritano Chaylla is fighting to free herself from an abusive relationship. Her determination comes up against a part of herself that still hopes it is possible to share her life with the father of her children. This magnificent documentary sheds upsetting light on violence against women and the difficulties of finding a way to justice. Running time: 01:12:00. Also selected at Visions du Réel. Screening on Tuesday 7 February at 19:30 in Cinema Ritcs / Free entry A Perfect Day for Caribou (USA) by Jeff Rutherford An estranged father and son named Herman and Nate spend a perilous day together in the high desert looking for family and stumbling through their heartaches. Running time: 01:35:00. Also selected at Locarno Film Festival, Slamdance, Cork International Film Festival. Screening on Thursday 9 February at 19:30 in Cinema Ritcs / Free entry People We Know Are Confused (Lithuania) by Tomas Smulkis Set in Vilnius, a modern city still in search for its relation to the past, three parallel stories with three average people marooned in a state of change, looking to the future with hope, but not letting go of constricting and reassuring fears of their past. Running time: 01:41:26. Winner of FIPRESCI Award at the Vilnius International Film Festival. Screening on Sunday 12 February at 22:00 in Cinema Galeries / Free entry OFF ON SELECTION: AN ONLINE SECTION In addition to its regular physical screenings, the Brussels Independent Film Festival will also offer a small online program entitled 'OFF ON Selection'. The 'OFF ON Selection' will be available for streaming one from 1 February to 14 February 2023. More info at www.brusselsfilmfestival.org/off-on-selection. PARTNERSHIPS WITH CINEMATEK AND ARGOS The Brussels Independent Film Festival aims to celebrate and connect the Brussels film scene. This is why we are delighted to collaborate this year with two established names within the capital's cultural landscape. As part of a "tribute to the masters of independent cinema," the festival is supporting three screenings at CINEMATEK. On the program: "Trust" by Hal Hartley, "Submarino" by Thomas Vinterberg and "Elephant" by Gus Van Sant. For these screenings, the Brussels Independent Film Festival is giving away 20 free tickets, more info at www.brusselsfilmfestival.com. In addition, the Brussels Independent Film Festival is an official partner for the exhibition 'Oriana' by the Puerto Rican artist Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, organized by the ARGOS centre for audiovisual arts. The exhibition will celebrate its opening on 11 February from 6-9pm, and will run until 7 May. 'Oriana', the artist's first solo exhibition, consists of a single multi-channel audiovisual installation. Beatriz Santiago Muñoz develops her films and videos through writing, as well as through chance encounters and structured improvisation with non-actors. Using tools of ethnography, the artist mines local histories and indigenous mythologies, creating multilayered filmic interventions that juxtapose documentary with fiction and storytelling. More info at www.argosarts.org EDIBLE FILM AWARDS On Friday February 11 at 21.00 in Cinema Galeries, the festival will announce the 2023 Atomium Film Awards. Crowned with Belgian chocolate and thus edible medallions of the Atomium, made by “Gault & Millau Finest Chocolatier” Wim Vyverman. The award ceremony will be followed by a screening of 7 short films. After the screening, the audience and the filmmakers can enjoy a free drink at the bar together. FREE ENTRY Tickets can be reserved on the website: www.brusselsfilmfestival.com. Our screenings are always free of charge to provide opportunity for interested film goers to view up and coming, challenging, and inspiring pieces of art, encouraging students, seniors, and those in underprivileged environments to share the experience of film and cinema. We welcome film-goers, regardless of income and financial status. CLIMATE NEUTRAL FILM EVENT Brussels Independent Film Festival is a 'Climate Neutral Film Event'. By planting a total amount of 3,000 trees with Treeplan.org the festival is more than offsetting its carbon footprint. ABOUT THE BRUSSELS INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL Inspired by the legendary Festival International du Film Indépendant de Bruxelles, that was founded in 1974, but stopped existing in 2012; the revived Brussels Independent Film Festival continues to emphasize lesser known, vanguard cinematic works and further its tradition of galvanizing budding talent. Most importantly, the Brussels Independent Film Festival creates a space for unique visionaries and voices. True to its history, the festival screens films of both novices and veterans —with medium and low budgets— from all over the globe. The festival’s goal is to create a warm, open atmosphere in which filmmakers, fans, critics, and producers can watch the films of emerging talents, explore new cinematic techniques and styles, and award cinematic excellence. The Brussels Independent Film Festival aims to create an intimate atmosphere in which to revel in the beauty and wonder of the cinema with like-minded cineastes from all over the globe.
Brussels Independent Film Festival 2023
Location: Various places in Brussels, 1000 Brussels
