BE Film Festival returns to Brussels

“God exists. And he lives in Brussels.” One of the opening lines from Jaco Van Dormael’s Le tout Nouveau Testament (The Brand New Testament) got the country’s biggest collective laugh this year. The film that has made the shortlist for consideration for a foreign-language Oscar nomination can be relived all over again – or seen for the first time – at the BE Film Festival in Brussels this month.

Every December, locals get the chance to see all the Belgian films they’ve missed over the last 12 months – and a few premieres, which sweetens the deal. Next to Le tout, the year’s other big releases can be found here, including newcomer Robin Pront’s most excellent D’Ardennen – a violent game of cat-and-mouse between two brothers – and Paradise Trips, Raf Reyntjens’ comedy drama that sees a tour bus driver (Gene Bervoets) pushed beyond his limits by a bunch of hippy travellers en route to a music festival in Croatia (pictured).

But you’ll find lesser-known gems at BE, too, such as Olivier and Yves Ringer’s Les oiseaux de passage (Birds of Passage), which won best children’s film in Montreal this year for its simple story of two girls – one in a wheelchair – who embark on a road trip to save a duckling.

Then there’s Cafard, a beautifully realised animated feature by Jan Bultheel about Ostendenaars fighting in a special unit in the First World War. The story is bleak, but the fantastical colours and heartfelt denouement breathe new life into the current war memorial climate.

Among the most exciting premieres is Flemish filmmaker Manu Riche’s first fiction feature, Problemski Hotel, a curious mix of nationalities and languages as residents come into contact with new arrivals at a refugee centre in Brussels. The film opens in cinemas next month.

26-31 December at Bozar & Cinematek, Brussels