Film and the Flemish movement

Earlier this year, the third, this time digital, Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement was published. It is the outcome of a widely supported collaborative effort involving researchers, archival institutions, universities, and other entities with expertise on the Flemish Movement. The Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement aims to serve as the premier reference for all research and knowledge concerning the Flemish Movement from its origins to the present day. It is a scholarly publication ensuring the scientific integrity of each entry, but it targets not just specialists like historians, policymakers, and journalists, but also seeks to engage a wider audience, making its content accessible to educators, the cultural sector, and interested citizens. Moreover, the Encyclopedia is designed as a living knowledge base, continually updated beyond its 2024 publication. Readers are encouraged to contribute by reporting errors, gaps, or new suggestions through a dedicated suggestion submission feature.

Together with Guido Convents, Daniel Biltereyst and Roel Vande Winkel, I contributed a lengthy lemma on cinema. In this lemma, we describe how since the inception of cinema at the end of the 19th century, the film industry in Flanders has evolved from a Belgian sector, predominantly French-speaking, into an increasingly distinct Flemish film sector. Flemish national discourses were primarily found in non-fiction and amateur film productions, while the professional Flemish fiction film production rarely engaged with ‘hot nationalism’. However, we show how these films also contributed to a ‘banal’ cinematic construction of a Flemish nation.

A shorter version of our lemma was selected to appear in the book Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement: The Synthesis. The notion of ‘synthesis’ is somewhat relative, as the work extends beyond 700 pages… It was a great pleasure to participate in this expansive collaborative project, which brought together such a wide array of scholars and experts! A big thank you to the people from ADVN (Archive for National Movements), who coordinated this massive work in a very smooth way.

Re-imagining Belgium beyond the split

Last week, Bram Van Beek successfully defended his PhD dissertation entitled Re-imagining Belgium beyond the split: national identity in contemporary Belgian cinema. Bram’s research critically examined the historical divide between Dutch- and French-speaking cinematic traditions in Belgium, uncovering recent trends that suggest a revival of Belgian identity of Belgian identity in Belgian cinema. His work not only deepens the understanding of the interplay between Belgian cinema and national identity but also makes a pivotal contribution to the broader debates on the concept of national cinema.

Bram’s dissertation also forms the most important scientific output of the University of Antwerp BOF research project ‘The state of the nation in Belgian cinema’, which I initiated in 2019. Working closely with Bram, including our collaboration on the article ‘Intranational film industries’ for French Screen Studies, has been a true pleasure. I eagerly anticipate continuing our fruitful partnership on future endeavours!

The doctoral jury of Bram’s PhD defense was chaired by Remco Sleiderinck (University of Antwerp) and included Leen Engelen (LUCA School of Arts/KU Leuven), Daniël Biltereyst (Ghent University), Bénédicte Rochet (University of Namur, Steven Jacobs (University of Antwerp/Ghent University) and myself as supervisor.

Rewind, recycle, revive!

The latest issue of NECSUS European Journal of Media Studies focuses on the theme ‘Cycles: On circularity and recursivity in media culture‘. Edited by Toni Pape (University of Amsterdam), the special issue brings together contributions that analyse how media culture engages with notions of cyclicality, circularity, and recursivity. Together with Atalya De Cock, Eduard Cuelenaere and Stijn Joye, I also contributed to the issue with the article ‘Rewind, recycle, revive! An investigation into nostalgia-driven sequel and requel practices in small European film industries: The case of Flanders‘.

Our article departs from the observation that in the last decade, nostalgia-driven imitative filmmaking – characterised by requels and ‘belated’ sequels – has become ubiquitous in commercial cinema globally. While the transgenerational appeal of nostalgia in Hollywood has been researched extensively, smaller European film industries like Flanders remain underexplored in this regard. This article investigates how Flemish nostalgia-driven sequels and requels employ transgenerational nostalgia both within the films and in their marketing endeavours.

We focus on three case studies: 1) De Collega’s 2.0 (2018), a requel of late 1970s, early 1980s BRT comedy series De Collega’s (1978-1981); 2) 8eraf! (2021), a belated direct sequel to early 2000s young adult series W817 (1999-2003); 3) Zeppos het Mercatorspoor (2022), a legacyquel to the 1960s BRT children’s series Kapitein Zeppos (1964-1969). Throughout our analysis, we argue that compared to Hollywood’s consistent 1980s nostalgia strategy, Flemish cinema employs nostalgia as a short-term commemorative tactic, celebrating Flemish pop culture artefacts of the recent past instead of the past itself.

‘Zero Hour?’ at CINEMATEK

As part of the symposium Zero Hour? Reconstructing post-war Belgian cinema (21-22 February), we organize a film programme at CINEMATEK, the Belgian Royal Film Archive in Brussels. Together with Bjorn Gabriels (University of Antwerp) and Bénédicte Rochet (University of Namur) I curated five film screenings which will all be introduced by symposium participants. The film programme is now online on CINEMATEK’s website, in English, French and in Dutch.

The English-language web page does not include our accompanying programme text, so here it is:

In the aftermath of World War II, Belgium sought to rebuild itself from the ruins of conflict. While cinema attendance reached record highs in the newly established theaters during the post-war years, Belgian filmmakers contemplated what a local production and film culture could look like. The symposium and film program titled Zero Hour? Reconstructing Post-war Belgian Cinema examine their diverse responses.

Continuing a pre-war tradition, humor played a significant role. Brussels-based filmmaker Gaston Schoukens, known for his popular folk comedies, reflected on the resistance with the film Un ‘Soir’ de joie, while documentary filmmaker Henri Storck, in his only feature film Le Banquet des fraudeurs, wittily observed the establishment of the Benelux. Concurrently, waves of modern cinema emerged. Paul Meyer, with the neorealist work Déjà s’envole la fleur maigre, contemplated the lives of migrants in the Borinage region. André Cavens drew inspiration from the psychological landscapes of modernism for his poignant love story Il y a un train toutes les heures. The Belgian art documentary gained international recognition, with filmmakers such as André Cauvin, Henri Storck, and Paul Haesaerts contributing to this tradition. This legacy is also evident in experimental short films like Un autre monde (Serge Vandercam, Christian Dotremont, and Henri Kessels) and Perséphone (Luc de Heusch).

Friday 9 February, 19:00-21:00
Déjà s’envole la fleur maigre (Paul Meyer, 1960)
With an introduction by Gertjan Willems (University of Antwerp/Ghent University)

Friday 16 February, 19:00-21:00
Le banquet des fraudeurs (Henri Storck, 1952)
With an introduction by Jérémy Hamers (University of Liège)

Tuesday 20 February, 21:15-23:00
Un ‘Soir’ de joie (Gaston Schoukens, 1954)
With an introduction by Leen Engelen (LUCA School of Arts/KU Leuven) and Roel Vande Winkel (KU Leuven/LUCA School of Arts)

Wednesday 21 February, 19:00-21:00
Un autre monde (Serge Vandercam, Christian Dotremont & Henri Kessels, 1958) + Perséphone (Luc de Heusch, 1951)
With a lecture by Steven Jacobs (University of Antwerp/Ghent University): Cobra Cinema: Perséphone and Un autre monde

Thursday 22 February, 19:15-21:00
Il y a un train toutes les heures (André Cavens, 1961)
With an introduction by Wouter Hessels (RITCS/INSAS)

Symposium programme ‘Zero Hour?’

I’m very happy to announce the programme for the symposium Zero Hour? Reconstructing post-war Belgian cinema. The symposium, which I organize together with my colleagues Bjorn Gabriels (University of Antwerp), Bénédicte Rochet (University of Namur), takes place on 21-22 February in Brussels, and brings together a multitude of perspectives to reflect on how Belgian film production and culture is constructed between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s. The programme includes 5 screenings at CINEMATEK and 17 presentations and lectures by colleagues from 12 different institutions. It’s more than exciting to bring together all this expertise in Belgian cinema around the table.

Registration is free but seating is limited, so pre-registration is required. Please send a mail to bjorn.gabriels@uantwerpen.be.

programme-zero-hourDownload

From Hashtag to Hollywood

Today, we received the great news that the FWO (Research Foundation Flanders) grants a PhD Fellowship to Katrijn Bekers. The next four years, she’ll be working on her research project ‘From Hashtag to Hollywood: Fourth-Wave Feminism and the Representation of Women in Biopics‘, supervised by myself and Sofie Van Bauwel (Ghent University). In this project, Katrijn will study how how the representations of women in recent biopics interact with fourth-wave feminism. We have already started the research for this project since some time, which has resulted in an article on the ‘#MeToo Literary Biopic‘ in Adaptation. I’m very much looking forward to continuing this research and collaboration!

NECS conference 2023

Yesterday, we had the privilege of presenting a research paper at the annual NECS (European Network for Cinema and Media Studies) conference. Hosted at the University of Oslo, the conference centered around the theme of ‘Care’. Together with Liesje Baltussen, we took this opportunity to present part of our research project on Fugitive Cinema to an international academic audience for the first time. While I gave a general introduction about Fugitive Cinema as a Belgian film collective established in 1966 and closely connected to the contestation movement of the time, Liesje focused on the collective’s film distribution activities.

Liesje Baltussen presenting our research on Fugitive Cinema

We were part of a panel which also featured interesting presentations by Tereza Czesany Dvorakova (on women at the Czech FAMU Film School), Marta Rocchi (on gender inequality in medical dramas) and Ruby Cheung (on independent Hong Kong filmmaking). I also had the opportunity to attend a workshop on historical film festival research by Estrella Sendra, a wonderful panel on the representation of caring women in comtemporary European art cinema (with Mariana Liz, Olga Kourelou, Anna Fonoll Tassier and Anna Viola Sborgi, and a great keynote speech by Shohini Chaudhuri.

Estrella Sendra introducing her workshop

CFP ‘Zero Hour?’

In February 2024, I’m organizing the symposium Zero Hour? Reconstructing post-war Belgian cinema, together with my colleagues Bjorn Gabriels (University of Antwerp), Bénédicte Rochet (University of Namur). We have just launched the call for papers, which can be found on our conference website and below.

With this symposium, we want to bring together a multitude of perspectives – combining aesthetic, socio-economic as well as political approaches – to reflect on how Belgian film production and culture is constructed between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s. The symposium will take place on 21 and 22 February 2024 in Brussels and will be accompanied by a film program in CINEMATEK, the Royal Belgian Film Archive.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Zero Hour? Reconstructing post-war Belgian cinema

After the devastation of World War II, Belgium embarked on a journey of rebuilding and reconstruction. The effort was aimed at upholding the image of a modern consumer society, as symbolized by the monumental Atomium at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Despite this pursuit, Belgium was repeatedly shaken to its very foundations. Internal political and social turmoil such as the Royal Question, the Second School War, the Winter Strike of 1960-1961 as well as the independence of its colonies – Congo in 1960 and Ruanda-Urundi in 1962 – lay bare several lines of fracture in the country.

In film circles, both press and makers projected the need for reconstruction onto their own field of work. The war years had introduced their own dynamic under the German occupation, while the existent production was heavily disrupted after a steady succession of Belgian films had been initiated only in the mid-1930s. A national film production of any substance was yet to be created. Was now the time?

With the burgeoning consumer society in Belgium, its film culture also boomed. New film theatres opened all across the country, ticket sales skyrocketed to an all-time high, film clubs as well as the national film archive were on the rise, and festivals as well as film schools were being founded. Before the breakthrough of television, which was boosted by the 1958 World’s Fair, art documentaries had a heyday while there was also a revival of folkloristic cinema.

The symposium ‘Zero Hour?’ wants to bring together a multitude of perspectives – combining aesthetic, socio-economic as well as political approaches – to reflect on how Belgian film production and culture is constructed between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s, when selective government support systems for Dutch- and French-language films were introduced.

Format

• Presentation proposals (in English, Dutch or French) should include the title of the presentation, a 300-word abstract and a short bio. 
• The deadline for abstracts is 15 June 2023. 
• Notifications will be made by 7 July 2023.
• Please send your proposal to bjorn.gabriels@uantwerpen.be.

Practicalities

• The two-day symposium will be held in Hoek38, Brussels. 
• Presentations (in English, Dutch, or French) will be between 30 and 50 minutes, including the screening of films (or film fragments) if so desired. 
• There is no fee for speakers and catering will be provided. 
• Following the symposium, our aim is to invite authors of selected papers to contribute their work to an edited volume on this subject with an internationally renowned academic publisher or a special issue of a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Organizers

This symposium is organized by:

• Gertjan Willems (University of Antwerp/Ghent University)
• Bénédicte Rochet (University of Namur) 
• Bjorn Gabriels (University of Antwerp/University of Namur)

It is part of the FWO-funded research project ‘Screening Multiple Identities. National, subnational and transnational discourses in post-war Belgian cinema’.

Fugitive Cinema screenings

Poster for the film programma at the entrance of De Cinema

Last Tuesday, the film programme on Fugitive Cinema Distribution in De Cinema (Antwerp) was kicked off with a crowded screening of Dokstaking 73. This film by Robbe De Hert, on the workers’ protests in the Antwerp harbour exactly 50 years ago, was found back in the filmmaker’s archives and was shown for the first time since the 1970s. It’s a rough film that is still very powerful, probably due to the fact that the camera is really embedded in the action. The same can be said of Barbara Kopple’s compelling documentary Harlan County, USA (1976), which we screened on Wednesday.

Introducing the first screening

In the meantime, our research and film programme has received quite a lot of media coverage, including a television news item on ATV, and articles and announcements in, among others, Het Laatste Nieuws, MO*, Focus Knack, Vertigo and specialized websites such as Masereelfonds.be. Looking forward to the last two screenings next week!

Wednesday, April 26 at 8:15 pm: Formal and Social Engagement by Lethem, Henderickx & Marker
Introduction by Steven Jacobs (UAntwerp)
La Fée Sanguinaire (1968), Roland Lethem
Little Red Riding Hood and the Time-Bomb (1968), Guido Henderickx
La Jetée (1962), Chris Marker
Classe de Lutte (1969), Chris Marker & Groupe Medvedkine

Friday, April 28 at 8:30 pm: Experimental Cinema in Belgium: Ludo Mich
Introduction by Liesje Baltussen (UAntwerp)
Deus Ex Machina (1969), Ludo Mich
Arthur is Fantastic (1971), Ludo Mich
Lysistrata (1976), Ludo Mich

Pictures by Eline Van Hooydonck

Film programme on Fugitive Cinema Distribution

In the past six months, together with Liesje Baltussen and Steven Jacobs, I supervised a research seminar at the University of Antwerp that focused on the distribution activities of Fugitive Cinema. This Antwerp-based film collective, established in 1966, provided an alternative voice in the Belgian film industry, not only by producing their own films but also by distributing films that other distributors overlooked. Many of these films were in line with the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s (read more here). At the end of April, our research efforts into these distribution activities will culminate in a four-night film program at De Cinema in Antwerp. The four screening nights will offer a sample of the types of films that Fugitive Cinema distributed, including a rare archival discovery and several seldom-seen films.

This is the full programme:

Tuesday, April 18 at 8:15 pm: Workers’ Protests in Belgium
Introduction by Gertjan Willems (UAntwerp) & Patrick Humblet (UGent)
Dokstaking 73 (1975), Robbe De Hert
Vechten voor onze rechten (1962), Frans Buyens

Wednesday, April 19 at 8:15 pm: Workers’ Protests in the US: Harlan County, USA
Introduction by Sofie Delrue and Marilien Deraedt (UAntwerp students)
Harlan County, USA (1976), Barbara Kopple

Wednesday, April 26 at 8:15 pm: Formal and Social Engagement by Lethem, Henderickx & Marker
Introduction by Steven Jacobs (UAntwerp)
La Fée Sanguinaire (1968), Roland Lethem
Little Red Riding Hood and the Time-Bomb (1968), Guido Henderickx
La Jetée (1962), Chris Marker
Classe de Lutte (1969), Chris Marker & Groupe Medvedkine

Friday, April 28 at 8:30 pm: Experimental Cinema in Belgium: Ludo Mich
Introduction by Liesje Baltussen (UAntwerp)
Deus Ex Machina (1969), Ludo Mich
Arthur is Fantastic (1971), Ludo Mich
Lysistrata (1976), Ludo Mich