As temperatures drop and the Christmas holidays just around the corner, many will be tempted to stay indoors and get cosy this weekend. However, there are plenty of great events in the coming days in Brussels worth venturing out for. We have selected some of our favourites.
Arts, music and culture
Âge d'Or Weekend, CINEMATEK, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 December
Âge d'Or, the festival organised by the Royal Belgian Film Archive CINEMATEK, returns for a weekend devoted to subversive and experimental cinema. The event aims to build bridges between historical and contemporary cinematic practices.
Credit: Brussels Museums
For this year's edition, organisers have devised a programme of seven screenings grouped into three distinct ensembles, namely 'Reframing Violence' (raising questions of how to represent violence and ensuring empathy), 'Spectral Memories, (materialising the passage of time), and 'Crossroads' (bringing together contemporary films with established or lesser-known works).
Find more information here.
braindance_ , Ancienne Belgique, Saturday 14 December
Prepare for a night beyond the ordinary: this XL edition of AB's electronic all-nighter will bring every room in the iconic AB music venue to life with DJ sets and electrifying live acts.
Credit: AB
The top name on the line-up is DJ Seinfeld, the Swedish artist who has become a globally in-demand DJ since rising to prominence in 2016. Crowd favourites will include British DJ Duskus (meshing elements of classic 4x4 hard-hitting house with rich melodies), London-based artist Elkka (live) and the Aussie house DJ sensation Mall Grab, who is headlining the night.
Find more information here.
Love is Louder Festival, Bozar, Friday 13 to Sunday 15 December
Inspired by Bozar's current eponymous expo, the three-day Love is Louder Festival focuses on the relationship between music and love, a musical reverie that goes further than the romantic interpretation of ‘love’.
The artists playing on Saturday. Credit: Bozar
The first night of the festival is flanked by debutant Martha Da'ro, who presents the ‘club experience’ of her debut album, and American Lyra Pramuk, expressing her deepest primal feelings. On Saturday, Brussels-based Adja, crowd favourite Gabriel Rios and muva of Earth (inspired by Bjork, Yves Tumor, Cleo Sol, FKA Twigs) will be given a guitar and half an hour on the timer to sing the theme of love. Sunday's event is already sold out.
Find more information here.
Out and about
Book sale, CINEMATEK, Friday 13 and Saturday 14 December
Already heading to CINEMATEK for the Âge d'Or festival? Or are you an avid collector of cinema memorabilia? This big sale at low prices is unmissable! The cinema's Documentation Centre will be selling books, magazines, yearbooks, festival catalogues, recent film posters, and DVDs published by CINEMATEK.
Illustration image of a previous sale. Credit: CINEMATEK
The Centre looks after an exceptionally rich collection, all devoted to the cinema, so you'll be sure to find a treasure in this trove. Whether you're looking to treat yourself or find the perfect end-of-year gift, every purchase directly supports the preservation and enhancement of cinematic heritage. What's not to love?
Find more information here.
Exhibition: Threads of Being, Talk C.E.C. in Ixelles, until Sunday 15 December
The link between arts and mental health has been well documented, allowing people to communicate and express complex and intangible experiences, and better understand the world around them.
"Threads of Being" Mental Health and Community Arts Exhibition. Credit: Elio Germani
This exhibition invites visitors to have a conversation about mental health and how to address mental health as a society. On Sunday, four films will be screened exploring the different ways in which people deal with their mental health.
Find more information here.
