Three Flemish films on European Film Awards shortlist
A total of 61 films are eligible for the main categories in the European Film Awards. Among the 45 feature films that are eligible for best European film is Coward by Lukas Dhont, which was previously submitted by our country for the Oscar for best international feature film and just opened the 53rd edition of Film Fest Gent. Coward, in which two soldiers want to escape the horrors of the First World War, will be released in the Benelux on October 21 and the film can be seen in France from November 18 under the title Les braves.
Radioman by Frank Van Passel is also part of the shortlist. Director Van Passel returns with his film to the world of Belgian radio in the 1940s. In the iconic Brussels Flagey building, Elza, an actress who takes her first steps in the radio play studios, meets Berre. He is a novice sound engineer with an almost magical ear. Their love lifts them above the threat of time. Radioman has already hit the screens and had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
After Filip Antonissen’s short animated film Melk won the Pardino d’Oro at the Locarno Film Festival in August, it has now also been shortlisted for Best European Short Film. This highly inventive animated film straddles the line between animation and visual art. Using 3D animation, Filip Antonissen creates a unique and colorful universe that never ceases to captivate the viewer.
The 61 films on the shortlist hail from 40 countries. Over the coming weeks, the 5,700 members of the European Film Academy will select the nominees for Best Film, Best Documentary, and Best Animated Film. Further nominations, including those for Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Actress, and Best European Director, will be announced on 1 and 14 November.
Nearly twenty films from the European shortlist are being screened at Film Fest Ghent. These include Fjord, Soudain, La Bola Negra, Dua, Iron Boy, Salvation, L’ estranea, La Gradiva, A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra, Bunker...
Raf Butstraen
With decades of film history behind him, former film critic Raf Butstraen is the ideal man to bring the latest film news for Film Fest Ghent.