Belgian films showcased at Montreal Festival

This year’s edition of Montreal’s World Film Festival will feature a healthy number of Belgian films, writes Cineuropa’s Aurore Engelen. Enthusiasm for Belgian cinema has paid off over the past ten years Ben X, Adem and Come As You Are all won the Grand Prix of the Americas; North Sea Texas won the Silver Zenith while Jan Decleir, Filip Peeters and Johan Leysen were awarded Best Actor prizes and the short film FAL won the Grand Prix. Competing for the Grand Prix of the Americas this year is Het Vonnis (pictured), the new thriller by Jan Verheyen, which follows the path of a broken man after the death of his wife and daughter during a violent assault, which also left him in a coma for several weeks. Having barely recovered, he sees the culprit released by the court because of a procedural irregularity. The competition for Best First Film features Yam Yam by Vivian Gofette and 82 jours en avril by Bart van den Bempt. Another Belgian picture premiered at the festival will be Marina, the new film by Stijn Coninx, in the Grand Masters section. The movie, a biopic about famous Italian singer Rocco Granata, is released in Belgium on November 6. Finally, the comedy Brasserie Romantiek by Joël Vanhoebrouck will be presented in the Openness to the World section.