08.10 | COWARD - LUKAS DHONT & HENK DE SMAELE
Lukas Dhont heads with his film Coward to the trenches of the First World War. Where he gives his signature sensitivity a far broader canvas, allowing the classic war film to blossom into something unexpectedly sensual and tender. Lukas Dhont and researcher Henk De Smaele discuss the process of creating a historically accurate world, from the story and research to the film’s sets and details.
09.10 | JONAH WAS HERE - NATHALIE TEIRLINCK, KOEN DE BOUW, AN PIERLÉ & MIREK COUTIGNY
When grieving Bob moves into his late son's student room, he finds himself living among his son's friends, habits and half-finished life. Jonah Was Here turns a father's unwillingness to let go into an intimate study of loss. Nathalie Teirlinck and Koen De Bouw discuss grief in film and their collaborative creative process as director and actor. Joining them are composers An Pierlé and Mirek Coutigny, who talk about the role of music in depicting loss.
10.10 | SIEMPRE SOY TU ANIMAL MATERNO - VALENTINA MAUREL | ENGLISH
Costa Rican director Valentina Maurel paints a vivid portrait of an eccentric family and their profusion of uncertain desires, ambiguous intentions and an overarching need for change. Here, reaching adulthood does not mark the end of the process of growing up, but rather its messy and equally painful and fascinating continuation.
12.10 | FFG TALKIE INVITES FC VERTIGO - STEVEN TUFFIN
FC Vertigo brings a dizzying dose of cinema to the Film Fest Café, with film news, reviews and guests. Steven Tuffin takes over the FFG Talkie for a live edition of his podcast, exploring the latest news in the world of film.
13.10 | FILMKRITIEK EN FILMREFLECTIE MET FILMFIX, FLANEUR UITGEVERS & FILM - RUBEN NOLLET, BERT POTVLIEGE, JOHANNES DE BREUKER, ANKE BROUWERS & ELIAS VOSKAMP
What does film criticism mean today, and how can we create space for thoughtful reflection on cinema? Ruben Nollet, Bert Potvliege, Johannes De Breuker, Anke Brouwers and Elias Voskamp, as authors and editors, bring together FilmFix magazine, Flaneur uitgevers with their 24 frames bookseries and the relaunched FILM magazine for a conversation about writing, publishing and thinking about film.
14.10 | TEGENWOORDIG HEET IEDEREEN SORRY - FREDERIKE MIGOM & BART MOEYAERT
On a sweltering summer day, almost 13-year-old Bianca finds an unlikely confidante in her idol Billie King, a soap star who suddenly appears on her sofa. Frederike Migom, turns Bart Moeyaert's beloved novel into a sun-drenched reverie on growing up, feeling invisible and the aching desire to be truly seen. Migom and Moeyaert discuss the journey from beloved novel to feature film and the process of bringing Bianca's story to the screen.
15.10 | BREENDONK - FILIP LENAERTS, KOEN DE BOUW & JOLAN DE BOUW
Belgium under Nazi occupation, 1942. Resistance fighter Rik and his father Leon are imprisoned in the brutal Breendonk camp, where survival comes at a devastating price. A powerful television series inspired by true events. Director Filip Lenaerts and actors Koen and Jolan De Bouw discuss the making of the series and its portrayal of war, moral choices and human behaviour.
16.10 | MEEUWEN STERVEN IN DE HAVEN - BJORN GABRIELS, WOUTER HESSELS & TOMAS LEYERS
Meeuwen sterven in de haven (Seagulls Die in the Harbour) follows a drifter haunted by a terrible crime. Wandering through Antwerp’s docks and backstreets, he searches for redemption while crossing paths with unexpected companions. Following the restoration of this post-war classic and the publication of Cinema in Post-War Belgium: Rebuilding Screens and Identities, 1944–1967, Björn Gabriels, Wouter Hessels and Tomas Leyers discuss the film and its restoration, situating it within the broader context of Belgian cinema in the years after the war.