Belgium is well-represented at this year’s 34th edition of the European Film Awards (EFA), which takes place on Saturday evening in hybrid form in Berlin.
Nominees include 'Titane' by France’s Julia Ducournau - co-produced by Frakas Productions from the Belgian province of Liège - and winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Festival. After making a deep impression on critics in 2016 with 'Grave,' which touched on cannibalism, this time Ducornau is offering a metaphysical thriller.
Her full-length feature film is competing in four categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress (Agathe Rousselle) and Best Actor (Vincent Lindon). It is also guaranteed to receive an award in the Best Makeup and Hairstyling section, for which the winner is already known.
Belgium will also be represented at the 34th EFA ceremony by ‘Where is Anne Frank?’ a film by Israeli Ari Folman, whose heroine is not Anne Frank but Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom she wrote in her diary. This film, co-produced by the Walking the Dog company from Belgium and presented as a non-competitor at Cannes in July, has been nominated in the Best Animated Film category.
Two Belgian films, 'Un monde' and 'The Whaler Boy,' a co-production, are among six selections in the Fipresci European Discovery Award, granted each year to the director of a first feature film.
'Un Monde' by Laura Wandel explores the phenomenon of bullying in schools. It wooed audiences at the Cannes Festival and won the Fipresci international film critics award in the “Un certain regard” section, which focuses on emerging film directors. This feature film was also chosen to represent Belgium at the Oscars.
'The Whaler Boy' by Philipp Yuryev looks at the life of a young whale hunter in the Bering Straits who finds love on an adult website and decides to set off on a journey to find the young girl he has fallen in love with.
Two Belgian productions are among five short films up for awards. They are 'Easter Eggs' by Nicolas Keppens and 'Nanu Tudor' by Olga Lucovnicova.
The 34th European Film Awards can be viewed on livestream at europeanfilmawards.eu from 7:00 PM.
The ceremony will also be covered on social media networks dedicated to the EFA.
