It seems too good to be true. The Brussels Independent Film Festival presents some 200 films across Thurn/Tour & Taxis, Kinepolis, Cinema RITCS and Cinema Galeries without charging an entry fee.
In 'In Ashes', a mother and son must save their relationship after painful questions before it really is too late.
Brussels Independent Film Festival: daring films, free of charge
The Brussels Independent Film Festival is not as famous as Anima, BIFFF, Brussels Shorts or the Brussels International Film Festival. But the festival can boast of a past going back to 1974. Back then, it was still called Festival International du Film Indépendant de Bruxelles. The idea was to focus on Super 8 films and technologically experimental films.
Over time, the festival has also covered independent films and championed lesser-known cinema from countries such as Lebanon and Egypt or films by and for those with a hearing impairment. In 2012, the ship foundered – at least in the eyes of the current team. It explicitly sticks to the original philosophy: highlight lesser-known, innovative films by budding talent, avant-garde film-makers or veterans with their own voice and the courage to experiment.
Because Covid stopped the festival last year, there will be a double edition this year. In Thurn/Tour & Taxis, Kinepolis, Cinema RITCS and Cinema Galeries, 208 feature and short films from 45 countries will be shown. Tickets are free but reservation is recommended. The Norwegian Kjetil Engh Aasen will provide the opening film. In In Ashes, a mother and son must save their relationship after painful questions before it really is too late.
It has been said, and written, that Heather Young's Canadian Murmur also is an intimate and humanistic character study. A lonely middle-aged woman is caught drunk behind the wheel and her punishment is to work in an animal shelter. The company of the terminal dog Charlie makes her particularly happy.
The section “The Rabbit Holes” covers unconventional, strange, poetic, surreal or abstract underground films. They are screened in the vaulted underground of Cinema Galeries. Are you up for an adventure? It is free.
BRUSSELS INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
6 > 16/2, various locations, www.brusselsfilmfestival.org
Read more about: Film, Events & Festivals, Brussels Independent Film Festival, Tour & Taxis, Cinema Galeries, cinema RITCS
