Belgica rewarded at Sundance
On 31 January 2016, Felix van Groeningen has won the award for best Director in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, in Utah (USA). It is the first time a Belgian film has ever won one of the most major prizes of the festival.
Felix van Groeningen, the director of internationally acclaimed films, including The Misfortunates (2009) and The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) was in Utah to introduce his latest film Belgica.
The screenplay of the film was written in collaboration with Van Arne Sierens (Dagen zonder lief). It tells the story of Jo (Stef Aerts) and Frank (Tom Vermeir) who are two very different brothers. Jo is single and passionate about music; he has just opened his own bar in Ghent, the Belgica. His brother, Frank, quickly joins him to keep the bar running. In a few weeks, the Belgica becomes in this way “the place to be”, a den of debauchery that sweats rock and roll and where everything seems possible. For a certain time at least, because the party never ends and turns into an addictive trip…
Belgica received support from the Flemish Audiovisual Fund and Screen Flanders, and will be released in cinemas in Belgium, France and the Netherlands on 2 March.
Another Belgian film entitled The Land of the Enlightened by the filmmaker Pieter-Jan De Pue was also awarded and won the award for Best Director of Photography.