The Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) returns from 20-28 June with a packed programme of screenings, ranging from new features to classics.
The city’s UGC De Brouckère, Palace and Galeries cinemas share the bill for what the organisers promise will be a “wealth of powerful images and emotions on the big screen”.
The opening night will see the world premiere of Les Tourmentés (The Haunted Minds) by Belgian director and novelist Lucas Belvaux, who will be present at the UGC’s Grand Eldorado with two of the film’s stars, Ramzy Bedia and Linh-Dan Pham.
The Brussels Times has had a sneak preview of the film, a powerful and disturbing portrayal of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Skender (Niels Schneider) plays a homeless military veteran who receives a life- changing offer from his former sergeant in Iraq, Max (Bedia). Max works for a mysterious, super-rich boss, ‘Madame’ (Pham), who has dealt with her own scars of war by hunting every animal on the planet. She now wants to go after the ultimate prey – a human.
If she kills Skender, his wife (Déborah François) and young sons will get the €3 million she promised him. But can Madame go through with her plan? The film is sub-titled in English.
Oscar winners and a Ukraine war documentary
Other BRIFF highlights include an open-air screening at Mont des Arts of Flow, the stunning Latvian movie which won Gints Zilbalodis the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in March, as well as Cuba and Alaska, a documentary by Yegor Troyanovsky about two real-life medics on the front-line in Ukraine, Alexe Poukine’s Kika, the story of a young pregnant woman in Brussels forced to take desperate measures when her life is turned upside down, and Jane Campion’s Oscar winning classic, The Piano. Ticket and programme details can be found here.
The festival also features workshops for industry professionals and a casting for a new film by Belgian director Sandrine Dryvers. She is looking for a young, French- speaking woman aged 16-20 for the lead role, with no experience required. The casting will take place on 21 June at the Industry Corner. Interested? Send recent photos and contact details to michael@adk-kasting.com. The filming is scheduled for summer 2026 around Liège.
The BRIFF is programmed by Céline Masset and Pascal Hologne, who also run the Brussels Short Film Festival and distributor Un soir…un grain.
