The 2nd edition of the Brussels International Film Festival
From June 20th to 29th will take place the BRIFF, the Brussels International Film Festival. For this 2nd edition, the team of BOZAR CINEMA which is one of the partner places gives us his favorites. On the program: documentary that celebrates musical creation around such figures as Fela Kuti and MIA, “La Flor”, the work of Argentinian director Mariano Llinás, Virgil Vernier and musician James Ferraro as special guest for the presentation of “Mercuriales “and” Andorra “, and finally the long-awaited series” Vernon Subutex “and” Big Little Lies 2 “. In short, a real treat before diving into the summer! Why deprive yourself!
THE FLOR DE MARIANO LLINÁS – PART I
PALACE OF FINE ARTS – STUDIO
Sunday 23.06.2019 – 17:00
Selected at the Locarno, Toronto and Rotterdam Film Festivals, La Flor is without a doubt the most ambitious and acclaimed Argentine film project in recent years. This monumental film, which lasts no less than 886 minutes, includes six separate episodes, divided into three parts. The director Mariano Llinás, the actresses of the theater company Piel de Lava and many others have worked for more than 10 years on this project.
La Flor will be screened in full at BRIFF – the first two parts, at BOZAR, and the third at Cinéma Galeries.
“The first episode is a kind of B-movie about an evil mummy, the second is a drama about a duo of musicians who have to record a song despite the end of their relationship, while a secret society is trying to to make an elixir of eternal life.The two episodes have a beginning but end in media res . ” (AR, 2018, 210 ‘, fiction)
THE FLOR DE MARIANO LLINÁS – PART II
PALACE OF FINE ARTS – STUDIO
Monday 24.06.2019 – 17:00
“During the 80’s, in the Argentinean pampas, four spies have to carry out” Operation Hercules. “Through flashbacks telling the story of each character, an intriguing narrative canvas is woven – a masterpiece. ” (AR, 2018, 312 ‘, fiction)
MIA / MATANGY / MAYA
PALACE OF FINE ARTS – STUDIO
Tuesday 25.06.2019 – 19: 00
Daughter of the founder of the Tamil Armed Resistance in Sri Lanka, Matangi had to hide from government forces during an atrocious and bloody civil war. Later, when her family fled to London, she will become Maya, a teenage immigrant and creative immigrant. Today, she is known on the international scene under the name of MIA, a character who mixes the different identities she has forged throughout her career. Matangi / Maya / MIA paints an intimate and unique portrait of the artist and presents her battles with the music industry and the mainstream media while she is at the height of her fame. Today, MIA is one of the most recognizable, frank and provocative voices in the world of music.
MY FRIEND FELA – JOEL ZITO ARAUJO
PALACE OF FINE ARTS – STUDIO
Tuesday 25.06.2019 – 21:00
“My Friend Fela” takes a fresh look at Nigerian Fela Kuti, a musician too often portrayed as “an eccentric idol of African ghetto pop music,” as director Joel Zito Araújo points out. Through the stories of his close friend and official biographer, Afro-Cuban Carlos Moore, this documentary highlights the complexity of Fela’s life. Throughout the documentary, the many influences and dynamics that shaped the extraordinary life of Fela are revealed to us. By putting Fela’s personal story in a pan-African context, the film not only portrays a man but also a whole Pan-African generation. (2019, Brazil, 94 ‘)
VERNON SUBUTEX
PALACE OF FINE ARTS – STUDIO – IN THE PRESENCE OF CATHY VERNEY (CREATION AND PRODUCTION)
Wednesday 26.06.2019 – 19:00
Vernon Subutex, an unemployed music store, is being evicted from his apartment. In search of a place to sleep, Vernon asks former friends of the band Revolver, his legendary record store, including Alex Bleach, rock star on the return. But this one dies of an overdose and leaves him three mysterious videocassettes. While Vernon disappears in the anonymity of the city, he becomes the most sought after man in Paris … Adapted from the novel by Virginie Despentes, Vernon Subutex plunges us into contemporary Paris, populated by unusual characters and rinsed by the time. (FR, 2019, season 1, ep 1 – 3, OV FR ST EN, 3 x 30 ‘)
COPENHAGEN DREAMS – MAX KESTNER
PALACE OF FINE ARTS – STUDIO
Wednesday 26.06.2019 – 21:00
Copenhagen Dreams is a documentary portrait of the Danish capital, directed by Max Kestner. It looks at the physical environments of the city, which shape people’s lives, such as the buildings in which people wake up, the entrance doors we cross and the streets we use. It’s also a film about how our lifestyles affect our environment, the places we dream about and the walls on which we engrave the names of those we love, before it’s too late. (2009, Denmark, 70 ‘)
VIRGIL VERNIER
PALACE OF FINE ARTS – STUDIO
Thursday 27.06.2019 – 18h Projection Mercuriales + discussion Virgil Vernier and 21h Projection Andorra (20 ‘) + James Ferraro Live
“Mercuriales” – (2014, France, 104 ‘)
Mercury is the fastest, hottest, coldest planet. On one side it is always dark, on the other always day. It feels very light, because its gravity is low. The sky is black without any variation, there is no air … This story happens in remote times, Times of violence. Across Europe, a kind of war was spreading. In one city there were two sisters who lived.
“Andorra” – (2013, France, 20 ‘)
A shopping center in the middle of the mountains, pyramids of goods, a glass tower dedicated to body care, Andorra dazzle the promises of modern happiness. But when night comes, the streets fall into silence and Andorra shines only for itself. Andorra is a short film by Virgil Vernier with music by James Ferraro.
In 14 films including 6 feature films, with no career plan and operating in a light economy, Virgil Vernier (° 1976) has established himself as one of the most exciting French filmmakers of the moment. Navigating freely between fiction and documentary, he embarked on a singular exploration of the contemporary world, recording in pseudo-ethnological fashion the mythologies at work in the signs, attitudes and objects that surround us.
For the detailed program of the Festival, see
