As the Belgian skies turn inevitably gloomy, the ideal, cosy activity for these chillier nights remains a trip to the cinema.
Not sure what to watch? No need to worry: The Brussels Times has selected some of the best films and festivals that cinephiles and curious cinema-goers should alike should not miss this November.
New releases
'Small Things Like These' (2024), various cinemas, from 20 November
This Irish-Belgian production is based on the bestselling novel by Irish author Claire Keegan, and is set in 1980s Ireland where the Catholic Church had a stifling presence.
Starring Oscar-winning Irish actor Cillian Murphy of Peaky Blinders fame, the story follows coal-merchant Bill Furlong as he discovers an unsettling secret in the local convent. The film sheds light on the real life story of Ireland's Magdalene laundries, where young and unwed mothers were housed in deplorable conditions.
Find more information here.
'Lee' (2023), Cinema Aventure, until 5 November
British actress Kate Winslet stars in this poignant true story about a fearless photographer called Elizabeth 'Lee' Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during the Second World War.
Miller photographs the atrocities of war, from the soldiers on the front line to the horrors of the concentration camps, depicting both the cruelty of war and the resilience of its victims in her work. But she also has to learn how to work through the traumas from her own past.
Find more information here.
'Anora' (2024), Cineflagey, various dates
Written and directed by American filmmaker Sean Baker, this award-winning dramedy explores the classic boy meets girl tale with a twist. When Anora, a sex worker from Brooklyn, meets Ivan, the son of a Russian Oligarch, it doesn’t take long for the pair to decide to get married. But the love story takes a complicated turn when the news of the union travels back to Russia.
Starring Mikey Madison, the film has already conquered the hearts of film critics and judges, winning the prestigious Palme d’Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Find more information here.
Film festivals
Pink Screens, various cinemas, until 9 November
Pink Screens is a ten-day queer film festival including a wide range of LGBTQ+ long and short films and documentaries, celebrating different sexualities and genders. Screened at independent cinemas across Brussels, dozens of filmmakers from around the world will be showcasing their works, while various exhibitions, debates about experiences and parties will be organised on the sidelines of the festival.
Credit: Pink Screens
A highlight of the festival will be 'Mea Culpa' (2024), an intimate film in which Brussels-based Patrick Tass unravels the relationship with his mother Randa, who still lives in Lebanon. Through their voice messages and video conversations which he transforms, he creates a portrait of her life in Lebanon and his in Belgium.
Lies and guilt are at the core of Patrick's relationship with his mother: she long kept quiet about the fact that he is Palestinian. The film reflects the complex process and evolution of his attitude towards that identity, and questions the links between national and sexual identities for a young Palestinian emigrant.
Find the full Pink Screens 2024 programme here.
CINÉ-LIBERTÉS, Cinema Vendôme and Cinema Aventure, every month until May 2025
Since 2006, the Festival des Libertés has made a name for itself as a showcase for international documentaries, which are "vehicles of testimony, resistance and the defence of rights and freedoms." Every month until May, a free documentary will be screening at Cinema Vendôme and Cinema Aventure.
Filmmaker Alon Schwarz's documentary 'Tantura' (2022) explores Israeli denial of the Nakba (Arabic for ‘Catastrophe’), the forced displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians upon the creation of Israel in 1948.
It lasers in on the eponymous Palestinian village where Zionist militias massacred over 200 people and threw their bodies into unmarked mass graves at the beginning of the Nakba. When student Teddy Katz recorded 140 hours of soldier confessions and eyewitness testimonies in 1998, he was sued for libel and had his university degree revoked.
Schwarz revisits Katz' revelations and probes Israeli soldiers about their contradictory statements and erasure of the truth.‘Tantura’ is part of a series of free screenings hosted by Festival des Libertés between November and May.
Find the full CINÉ-LIBERTÉS 2024 programme here.
CinemaMed, various cinemas, from 28 November until 6 December
CinemaMed will celebrate its 24th edition this year, once again putting Mediterranean stories and issues in the spotlight. Each year, the festival screens around 60 new dramas and documentaries from countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Insightful meetings and debates are also organised after each screening.
Credit: CinemaMed
'L'Histoire de Souleymane' (2024) is well worth a watch: it recounts 48 hours in the life of a Guinean courier who has just arrived in France and is in the process of applying for asylum and the trials and tribulations that come with this.
We also recommend 'Puisque je suis née' (2024), a pertinent look at patriarchy which explores the daily life of a young Moroccan girl seeking emancipation in a rural and traditionalist environment.
Find the full CinemaMed 2024 programme here.
Lauren Walker, Ciara Carolan, Ellen O'Regan, Rita Alves and Isabella Vivian contributed to this article.
