Beware, good people !
Ghouls, zombies, ill-tempered serial killers, trolls and irascible Leprechaums roam the streets of Brussels. The 37th BIFF started at Bozar this Tuesday and, as every year, fans of genre films will be able to discover dozens of international novelties that they would have had a hard time (werewolf ?) to watch otherwise. In the opening and closing sessions, also at 8:30 p.m. daily, the BIFFF concentrates on more mainstream works that have a real chance of being released in theaters, but which are presented here in exclusive previews on the territory.
Those who have never been to the BIFFF may not know it yet, but the BIFFF is a universe of its own, an alien bubble where thrill-seekers, monster lovers and hemoglobin enthusiasts gather every year. A decompression chamber where it is not forbidden to shout out jokes (generally the same ones for more than 30 years), to mock the easy effects, but also to rave loudly. A temple where every specialized director dreams of entering one day to… sing on stage. Because yes, it is the tradition!
In recent years, Wallimage has made a few timid appearances in the program. Promising first steps. No real surprise though: this recognition is the logical consequence of a renewed will during each financing session to make room for works in the margins, fond of special effects. Much to the delight of our VFX studios, which have become bastions of digital image manipulation in just a few years.
In 2019, we break all our records as three films co-financed by Wallimage are on the BIFFF bill. Three ? Do you even realize how much fun this achievement is?
On Saturday at 4:30 pm, Dreamland will be presented, the craziest of the trio, co-produced in Belgium by Velvet Films. On the night of the strangest wedding in film history, a grotesque gang leader assigns a cold-hearted killer to bring him the finger of a former jazz legend turned drug addict. Right ? What ? When Mafia, jazzy jams and vampires meet under Bruce McDonald’s direction with Stephen McHattie, Juliette Lewis and Henry Rollins on screen, you already know you’re in for a real treat, don’t you ? And, believe us : you are not at the end of your surprises !
On Monday the 15th at 8:30 pm in the big hall of Bozar, the BIFFF has chosen to program another new jewel in the line-up of Wallimage : La Chambre/The room. Shot in English in Belgium, this fantastic film by Christian Vockman (Renaissance) brings together Kevin Janssens and Olga Kurylenko in an isolated house that conceals a very strange room. At first sight, it is paradise. But hell is not far away. The room, co-produced in Wallonia by Versus, is reminiscent of The Shining (this is just our opinion, the director never claimed to be Stanley Kubrick) and culminates in an unhealthy and breathtaking finale. It will surely be released in theaters in the next few weeks, but discovering a film like this one at BIFFF is of course an invitation that is hard to decline.
The third feature film co-financed by Wallimage will close the BIFFF on Sunday April 21 at 8:30 pm. Hole in the Ground had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last January (the same festival that launched Mandy last year). Praised by the press who compared it to Hereditary, Badabook and It follows, this psychological thriller on the edge of horror is co-produced in Belgium by Wrong Men who, for the occasion, joined for the third time with their Irish partners from Savage Films. A young single mother is convinced that her little boy has been transformed by something sinister coming out of the depths of a mysterious hole in the ground. A delusion of overworked mom ? Maybe… Not sure… Entirely post-produced in Belgium (the VFX are signed Mikros-Liège), Hole in the ground with its spectacular final is likely to chill more than one spectator, informed or not.
We won’t lie to you : seeing three films co-produced in our country and co-financed by Wallimage on the bill of the most mythical Belgian film festival is a great pride for the whole team of the Walloon fund and a pleasure that we want to share with everyone.
See you at BIFFF ?
