Culture beat – 20 February

It’s the final weekend of the animation film festival Anima 2015 at Flagey with a full programme of screenings and events. They include the classic Les Moomins dur la Riviera, Bob L’eponge and Cartoon d’Or, five films nominated for the European award (in French with English subtitles) plus the closing ceremony on Sunday evening.

Carnival fun continues this weekend with celebrations in city communes. The Marolles area adopts a Venetian air as hundreds of costumed and masked revellers join processions on Saturday (leaving from Bruegel Square) and Sunday from 14.00. The parade, themed Les Belles et Beaux, will salute the Manneken Pis (dressed in a Casanova costume) and enter the Grand‘Place. The procession includes a choir of 160 children. On Saturday, Kraainem (leaving Avenue Baron d’Huart at 14.30) and Saint-Gilles (leaving Place Morichar at 14.30) also stage carnival parades. At the Musée d’Art Fantastique in St-Gilles, children can enter the world of witches of Tharkam until Sunday.

The Museum of Natural Sciences is a family-friendly city attraction. In addition to its permanent dinosaur display, the current temporary exhibition offers an interesting insight into the human brain. Until August 15.

Defying the decline in book reading, the annual crowd-drawing Foire du livre de Bruxelles returns to Tour & Taxis from February 26 to March 2. The book fair embraces the digital revolution and provides interest for all kinds of reader, from literature, popular fiction, academia and comic strip. Events include talks, debates, book signings and cooking demonstrations (the culinary area is one of the liveliest corners of the fair). This year’s theme is Les liaisons dangereuses in honour of the famous 18th-century work and extends to the liaison between literature and cinema, including popular TV series and films by Orwell, Huxley and JK Rowling.

Bozar premieres Manu Bonmariage’s documentary Vivre sa mort about two men’s struggle for the right to die in dignity on February 28. The film is an intimate portrayal because of the director’s close relationship with the two subjects. Cinematek devotes a retrospective to the Belgian director from March 3 to May 31 as part of the series Belgorama.

Mons 2015

One of the big draws for European culture capital this year is the cultural exchange programme Les Ailleurs en folie (Home and Away) in which a revolving number of artist curators showcase their city. This weekend it is the turn of London in partnership with The Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. The Maison Folie in Mons is transformed into a typical British club, complete with fitted carpet, velvet upholstered seating, bar, and eccentrically-dressed staff. There’s entertainment thanks to a cabaret stage decorated with an illuminated giant red heart (pictured above). As Belgians would say, “how shocking!”.

Tonight Mons launches the international love film festival FIFA. The week-long event is celebrating its 31st edition and screens around 100 films, the majority European, but many from all corners of the globe. The opening and closing ceremonies are staged at the Théâtre Royal in the Grand Place, the rest of the programme is screened at the Imagix complex on the outskirts of Mons and the city-centre cinema Plaza Art. A highlight of the week is a talk by Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche at Mons Expo on February 26. The festival is also screening three of his award-winning works: Games of Love and Chance, Couscous and Blue is the Warmest Colour. In a nod to Mons 2015 and the city of Pilsen that shares the European Capital of Culture status this year, films being shown from the Czech Republic, including the country’s famed director Milos Forman.