Belgium has always been a pioneer in avant-garde cinematography – Brussels Art Film Fest 2018
This year’s edition of Brussels Art Film Festival has selected the best of documentaries on art. The films present a blend of sincere confessions, powerful non-fiction stories and cinematic shots in which the viewers can immerse themselves without hesitation.
From the 15th to the 18th November, the BAFF aims to give room for better visibility of Art cinema. Organizers say that, “this cinema, sometimes shown in art galleries for lack of rooms that can accommodate it, deserves a better visibility, deserves a place of diffusion, and deserves its festival.’’
The opening on Thursday will screen the film Silvana, about the life and career of the famous Swedish rap performer Silvana Imam. The closing nigh at Bozar will show the film The Greenaway Alphabet – a candid conversation with Peter Greenaway and his daughter about his refined, playful and wacky universe. In between, the programme is filled with documentaries about painters, dancers, performers who discuss the reasons behind their artistic endeavors.
The festival boosts the artistic and cinematographic production in Belgium by presenting films on art, most of them not yet distributed officially. The documentaries come from the two communities, French and Dutch-speaking, and the films are available with English and French subtitles. BAFF allows the directors to find alternative distribution networks and get feedback on their work.
For 2018 edition, BAFF has chosen 11 truly fascinating documentaries in competition. All films date from 2017 or 2018, and have a link with Belgium. The festival offers a national competition of documentaries on art in connection with Belgium, international films out of competition, sessions for young audiences, meetings for four days with movie enthusiasts, directors and producers.
“Belgium has always been a pioneer with regard to the film on art and avant-garde cinematography. Its presence in specialized international festivals is the proof and the number of productions (around 80 per year) is characteristic of the interest shown by filmmakers in their artists and art in general,’’ says the organisation.
