Edition 2026
Gala & Specials
Belgian Cinema Today
Love, betrayal and survival collide head-on in Breendonk, a gripping series set in occupied Belgium in 1942. When resistance fighters Rik and Elisabeth are torn apart by the war, Rik ends up, along with his father Leon, in the notorious Auffanglager Breendonk camp, where the SS attempt to break prisoners through forced labour, humiliation and arbitrary violence.
To survive, Rik and Leon strike a devil’s pact with a Flemish SS guard who is playing both sides. Whilst the war rages outside the camp walls, every choice within the camp – to remain silent, to help, to betray or to obey – becomes a matter of life and death. Breendonk is an ambitious series, inspired by true events and filmed on location. It stars a remarkable duo: Koen and Jolan De Bouw, father and son, both in the series and in real life. Film Fest Gent is screening the first two episodes as a preview.
FFG Talkie: Breendonk
Director Filip Lenaerts and actors Koen and Jolan De Bouw will be discussing the making of the series and the portrayal of war, moral choices and human behaviour during the FFG Talkie at the Film Fest Café on 15 October at 12.30.
