One cinema in Brussels is set to screen three days of documentaries at the start of September, marking the 80th anniversary of the city's liberation from German occupation during the Second World War.
Cinema Vendôme in Ixelles will screen four documentaries about the memory of European resistance, from 3 to 5 September, to mark the historic milestone.
On 3 September 1944, Allied forces entered Brussels and liberated Belgium's capital city from four years of occupation by the German army, returning the Belgian Government to power five days later.
French filmmaker Patricia Niedzwiecki has spent 25 years gathering 120 hours of testimonials from witnesses of the European Resistance during the Second World War, as well as rare video and iconographic archives.
Around 30 subjects, now deceased, came to the filmmaker to share their stories after an article was published describing how Niedzwiecki's father survived a concentration camp.
Cheering crowds greet British troops entering Brussels on 4 September 1944. Credit: Belga Archives
Her work has culminated in around 20 films, which are collectively known as the 'Memory Holes' (Les Trous de la Mémoire).
The three-day festival at the Vendôme will screen four of Niedzwiecki's films, each followed by an audience debate.
The festival aims to carve a place in the collective European memory of war, hence the choice of Europe's capital – where Niedzwiecki spends half her time when not in her native France.
"These images plunge us back into a time we hope never to revisit. But these combatting forces still persist. It was essential to pass on this memory, which also carries a message of hope," Niedzwiecki shared in a press conference.
An additional film from Niedzwiecki's collection, dedicated to the hidden children of Belgium, will be broadcast on BX1 on 1 September.
