Belgium

Synopsis:
‘An old blacksmith is now too old to adapt to the changing technological society. Frustrated, he creates his own universe in which he eventually also becomes obsolete.’
– Raoul Servais FoundationRead More »

Synopsis:

‘When the average man in the street is asked what he thinks of the political situation, there’s not much to be learned. Only a drop-out is willing to give a truly personal opinion.’
– Raoul Servais FoundationRead More »

Quote:
LE CHANTIER DES GOSSES

THE CHILDREN’S BUILDING SITE

JEAN HARLEZ, 1956-1970, BE, 35MM, OV FR ST ANG & NL, 83′

The narrow streets of the Marolles are full with kids. Their paradise is a wasteland. One day, the wasteland is barricaded, disembowelling by machines, while the surrounding houses are pulled down. The amazement of the kids soon turns into revolt: they choose a leader, manufacture catapults with the shoulder straps of their parents and decide to start a war to the entrepreneurs and architects…
“Le chantier des gosses” takes us on a journey into their little world. The kids (the youngest is 2 years and a half, the oldest 14) are the main actors, playing their role with a lot of spontaneity and a great deal of improvisation!Read More »

Quote:
Inviting favorable comparison to the overtly political, social realist films of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, The Wound is an understatedly affecting, acutely observed, and profoundly sobering portrait of oppression, dehumanization, and exclusion. By incorporating organic, extended plan-sequences and using repeated images of interminable waiting – from Blandine’s detention, to her self-confinement at a derelict tenement, to Papi’s real-time ride through the countryside in the back of day laborer truck – Nicolas Klotz reflects the inherent inadequacy (if not outright failure) of immigration and asylum laws, lax procedural structure, and government-tolerated, often racially motivated policies (and undocumented, obstructive common practices) that willfully hinder or impede the integration and assimilation of immigrants into their adoptive countries. Using the treatment of Blandine’s wound while in French custody as a metaphor for the authorities’ repeated turning of a blind eye to the obvious, visible social problem, the film serves as a harrowing and trenchant exposition on intolerance and systematic marginalization.Read More »

Quote:
The word protected, the words embodied

Essay from the booklet:
Spoiler
This film was born out of the encounter with a man, Fara Bâ. He wanted to testify in order not to forget those who were political prisoners at the fort of Ouatala ten years before, for having opposed the racial segregation they suffered as black people. Many of his companions died there. It is the testimonies of these former prisoners, those who survived prison, which Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd is going to collect over a ten-year period, without any camera. When it became necessary to make a film out of this, upon the request of Fara Bâ, only the words mattered. The film was to be constructed on the narrative of these years of detention, a narrative co-written with the film-maker on the basis of the testimonies of the group of survivors. Fara Ba is their spokesperson. His voice is the one which tells and it overshadows that of the film-maker whose presence vanishes for the duration of a film. The starting point is this encounter and not an intention or vision of the film-maker. The necessity of tt1e film does not come from him at first. The images are claimed by the narrative, told by the man’s voice, “spokesvoice” for his companions.Read More »

It is a film about motorway, tourists under transhumance, concrete picnic tables, lines to the restroom, tepid melon slices and carwashs. It is a film about a man who wants to leave and a kid holding him back. It’s a summer’s film.Read More »

Blue Bird is a story about how one day in a child’s life can change its world. One morning, Bafiokadié and his sister Téné, two African children, leave their village. The only thing on their mind is to find their lost blue bird before the day is over. But they will find much more along their way.Read More »

Pim, the emotionally abandoned and affection-starved young gay son of a small seaside town’s resident floozy, grows up dreaming intensely of a loving father who will someday come for him, but never does. Frequently home alone, Pim often spends time at a neighbor’s house where another single mom and her two teenage children accept him matter-of-factly. As Pim is about to turn 15, he and neighbor boy Gino become each other’s friend-with-benefits, entering a period of sexual awakening together. Life, however, is all about change, and while Gino (a couple years older) is ready to move on and move out, Pim is not, leaving Pim behind to carry on with his continuing crush for Gino (while Gino’s sister Sabrina develops an unrequited crush for Pim).Read More »

Quote:
New York City’s Monterey is a residence hotel; the residents we see are older, most live alone. The camera, usually stationery, begins with a look into the lobby. The film ends with a panorama from the hotel’s rooftop. There’s no soundtrack. The lobby is clean with granite floors. Men wear hats. People enter and exit an elevator. The camera looks out from within the elevator as doors open and close. People sit alone and motionless in their apartments. There are long shots of empty halls. Paint peels. The flooring on upper levels is linoleum. Hall lights are florescent. Doors open a crack then close. The film provides the feeling of what it’s like to live there.Read More »