Jaco Van Dormael is a Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His films especially focus on a respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities.
Mr. Nobody is a 2009 science fiction drama film written and directed by Jaco Van Dormael and starring Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Linh Dan Pham, Rhys Ifans, Natasha Little, Toby Regbo, and Juno Temple. It tells the life story of Nemo Nobody, a 118-year-old man who is the last mortal on Earth after the human race has achieved quasi-immortality. Nemo, memory fading, tells a doctor and journalist about his three main loves and his parents' divorce and the subsequent hardships he endured. The speculative narrative frequently changes course to investigate the alternate life paths that could have resulted from his making different decisions in his life, focusing on when he is nine, fifteen, and thirty-four. The film has a nonlinear narrative that incorporates the multiverse hypothesis.
A Town Called Panic is a 2009 internationally co-produced stop-motion animated adventure fantasy comedy film directed by Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar from a screenplay co-written by Aubier, Patar, Guillaume Malandrin and Vincent Tavier. The film is based on the French-language Belgian series of the same name and stars Aubier, Jeanne Balibar, Nicolas Buysse, Véronique Dumont, Bruce Ellison, Frédéric Jannin, Bouli Lanners, and Patar, among others.
Fabrice Du Welz is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. He has directed several films including Calvaire in 2004, Vinyan in 2008 and Message from the King in 2016.
Joachim Lafosse is a Belgian film director and screenwriter.
Potiche is a 2010 comedy film written and directed by François Ozon, based on the play of the same name by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy. It stars Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini, Karin Viard, Judith Godrèche and Jérémie Renier. Set in 1977, the film tells the story of a submissive wife who gets to run her husband's umbrella factory, after the employees rebel against their tyrannical manager. In French, a potiche is a decorative vase, but by extension means "window dressing" or, roughly, "trophy wife". The film competed at the 67th Venice International Film Festival and received two Magritte Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for Jérémie Renier.
A Magritte Award is an accolade presented by the Académie André Delvaux of Belgium to recognize cinematic achievement in the film industry. Modelled after the French César Award, the formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in Belgium. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette. The awards, first presented in 2011, are considered the Belgian equivalent of the Academy Awards in the United States.
Ernest & Celestine is a 2012 animated comedy drama film directed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner. The film is based on a series of children's books of the same name published by the Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent. The film was selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, as part of the TIFF Kids programme at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and at the 2013 Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Brimstone is a 2016 psychological western film written and directed by Martin Koolhoven. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Emilia Jones, Kit Harington, and Carice van Houten. It is a Dutch-American as well as French, German, Belgian and Swedish international production.
The Brand New Testament is a 2015 fantasy dark comedy film written, produced, and directed by Jaco Van Dormael. It is a co-production among Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The film was screened at the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. It was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist of nine films, but was not nominated. The Brand New Testament received ten nominations at the 6th Magritte Awards, winning four awards, including Best Film and Best Director for Van Dormael. The film has become a cult film.
As I Open My Eyes is a 2015 French-Tunisian drama film directed by Leyla Bouzid. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Baya Medhaffar stars as a teenage rock singer. The film is Bouzid's first feature. It was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards. However, the film was not included on the final list of submissions published by the Academy.
Belgica is a 2016 Belgian drama film directed by Felix Van Groeningen, written by Van Groeningen and Arne Sierens. It stars Stef Aerts, Tom Vermeir, Hélène Devos, and Charlotte Vandermeersch. The movie is based upon a true story and revolves around a group of friends trying to run a bar where rock bands come to play. Belgica has since then become a cult film.
Racer and the Jailbird is a 2017 drama film directed by Michaël R. Roskam, starring Matthias Schoenaerts and Adèle Exarchopoulos. A gangster and a racing car driver fall in love, set against the background of a brutal crime gang in Brussels. It was selected to be screened out of competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in 2017. It was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. It received five nominations at the 8th Magritte Awards, including Best Flemish Film.
The 8th Magritte Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie André Delvaux, honored the best films of 2017 in Belgium and took place on 3 February 2018 at the Square in the historic site of Mont des Arts, Brussels, beginning at 8:45 p.m. CET. During the ceremony, the Académie André Delvaux presented Magritte Awards in 22 categories. The ceremony was televised in Belgium by La Deux, after RTBF took over broadcast rights from BeTV. Actress Natacha Régnier presided the ceremony, while Fabrizio Rongione hosted the show for the third time.
Lukas Dhont is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. His debut feature film, Girl, premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Caméra d'Or and the Queer Palm awards. He was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2019. His second feature film, Close, premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where he shared the Grand Prix with Claire Denis' Stars At Noon. In 2023, Close was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film representing Belgium.
Above the Law is a 2017 Belgian-French crime thriller film directed by François Troukens and Jean-François Hensgens. Frank Valken a career criminal, commits a bank heist with his crew, and is set up by corrupt police, for the murder of a judge investigating the 30 year old unsolved case of the mass murders of Brabant who had been duped into being at the getaway scene, and for killing bystanders who witness the murder.
The Barefoot Emperor is a 2019 Belgian comedy film directed by Jessica Woodworth and Peter Brosens. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It is a sequel to King of the Belgians, a 2016 mockumentary by the same directors. Events from the first movie are briefly recapped at the beginning of the film. As of October 2021, 50% of the six reviews compiled on Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10.
Adoration is a 2019 Belgian-French thriller film directed by Fabrice Du Welz and starring Thomas Gioria, Benoît Poelvoorde, and Fantine Harduin. It was written by Du Welz with Vincent Tavier and Romain Protat. The film premiered at the 2019 Locarno Film Festival.
Jessica Hope Woodworth is a Belgian-American film director, screenwriter, and producer.
