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

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

New publication on ‘The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short’

The latest issue of Film International features my article on The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen), André Delvaux’s 1965 feature film debut. The film soon gained international critical acclaim and became widely regarded as a modernist classic from Belgian cinema. In 2021, the Royal Belgian Film Archive CINEMATEK made a restoration of the film, which has since been picked up by several film institutions and distributors throughout Europe. The sophisticated manner in which Delvaux filmed the blurry line between reality and imagination not only earned him a reputation as master of magic realism, it also seems to keep fascinating new audiences.

You can download the article below. The earlier Dutch version of this article was published on Cinea’s Anatomie van de Film website.

The Man… in Film InternationalDownload

Intranational film industries

The latest issue of French Screen Studies has been published and includes an article by Bram Van Beek and myself entitled ‘Intranational film industries: A quantitative analysis of contemporary Belgian cinema’. You can read the full article here or download it here:

Intranational film industriesDownload

The article presents a quantitative analysis of Belgian fiction film production between 2000 and 2019. Analysing an extensive database, it explores the current state of Belgian cinema, which is characterised on the one hand by a strong international dimension, and on the other hand by two largely separate intranational industries: a Flemish and a francophone Belgian film industry. Despite the persistent gap between the two industries, a certain rapprochement seems to be manifesting recently. This industrial analysis is preceded by an exploration of the conceptual and practical difficulties and limitations that arise when trying to determine whether a film can be labelled (partly) ‘Belgian’, ‘Flemish’ and/or ‘francophone Belgian’. Emanating from the complexity of the Belgian situation, these difficulties reveal some of the theoretical contradictions of the concept of national cinema. As such, departing from a quantitative study of Belgian cinema, this article also provides an original contribution to ongoing debates on the concept of national cinema.

Storck in context

Last week and this week, a film programme dedicated to Henri Storck runs at De Cinema in Antwerp. Henri Storck is the most important Belgian filmmaker of the first half of the twentieth century, and he remained a leading figure in Belgian cinema until well after the Second World War. His contribution to the development of documentary cinema is internationally acknowledged.

The screenings at De Cinema mainly highlight his early work, always combined with similar films by other filmmakers such as Luis Buñuel, Luc de Heusch, Charles Dekeukeleire, Joris Ivens, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Walther Ruttmann, Jean Vigo and Basil Wright. The four programmes of short films (each screened twice) are: 1) Storck and the city symphony; 2) Storck and surrealism; 3) Storck and found footage; 4) Storck, exploration and ethnography.

The film programme is the final result of a ‘Research Seminar Film’ that I’m teaching with Steven Jacobs as part of the University of Antwerp’s MA programme in Theatre and Film Studies. The students are introducing the films they have studied, and Steven Jacobs also gives a lecture. Here you find more information and the exact screening dates.

19 & 26 April 2022: Storck and the city symphony
– Beelden van Oostende, Henri Storck, België, 1929, 15’
– Regen, Joris Ivens, Nederland, 1929, 14’
– Impressionen vom alten Marseiller Hafen (Vieux Port), László Moholy-Nagy, Duitsland, 1929, 11′
– À propos de Nice, Jean Vigo, Frankrijk, 1929, 23’
– Visions de Lourdes, Charles Dekeukeleire, België, 1930, 18’
– Pleziertreinen, Henri Storck, België, 1930, 6

19 & 27 April 2022: Storck and surrealism
– Voor je mooie ogen, Henri Storck, België, 1929-30, 8’
– Idylle aan het strand, Henri Storck, België, 1931, 35’
– Le Monde de Paul Delvaux, Henri Storck, België, 1946, 11’
– Magritte, ou la leçon de choses, Luc de Heusch, België, 1960, 15’

20 & 28 April 2022: Storck and found footage
– Melodie der Welt, Walther Ruttmann, Duitsland, 1929, 49’
– Op de boorden van de camera, Henri Storck, België, 1932, 10’
– Geschiedenis van de onbekende soldaat, Henri Storck, België, 1932, 10’

20 & 29 April 2022: Storck, exploration and etnography
– The Song of Ceylon, Basil Wright, Groot-Brittannië, 1934, 38’ (EN Gesproken | Geen OT)
– De driemaster Mercator, Henri Storck, België, 1935, 23’ (FR Gesproken | NL OT)
– Kaap naar het zuiden, Henri Storck, België, 1935, 25’ (FR Gesproken | NL OT)
– Paaseiland, Henri Storck, België, 1935, 26’ (FR Gesproken | Geen OT)
– Las Hurdes: Tierra sin pan, Luis Buñuel, Spanje, 1933, 27’ (FR Gesproken | EN OT)

PhD vacancy in film history

We have just opened a vacancy for a doctoral researcher in film history! The PhD candidate will conduct research within the framework of the FWO project ‘Screening Multiple Identities. National, subnational and transnational discourses in post-war Belgian cinema’, supervised by myself and Bénédicte Rochet (University of Namur). The project investigates the relationship between various cultural identities (in particular Belgian, Flemish, Walloon, Brussels, European, colonial, migrant and diaspora identities) and Belgian films from the period 1944-1960.

The job vacancy is published in English and in Dutch. Interested candidates can apply until 25 April 2022.

Introducing Mr. Nobody

Thought experiments: An introduction to philosophy is a new MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) offered by the Erasmus University Rotterdam. In this free course, professor Tim De Mey stimulates you to use your imagination in a philosophical way, thereby introducing philosophical core concepts and questions. The course material consists of short lectures and fiction films that deal with several of these questions.

The films are introduced by members of the Centre for Cinema and Media Studies (CIMS) at Ghent University. I introduce Mr. Nobody (2009), the existential science fiction film by Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael. You can watch my introduction here (in English).