The Cinema of Belgium can often be considered a blending of Dutch Cinema and French Cinema France was the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle Vague, began in the country. It is noted for having a particularly strong film industry, due in part to a certain level of protection afforded it by the French government. It is able though with its own unique national qualities.

Contents

History

Early history

While the invention of the cinématographe by the French France (pronounced /ˈfræns/ or /ˈfrɑːns/; French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Lumière brothers The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean (5 October 1864, Besançon, France – 6 June 1948, Bandol ), were among the earliest filmmakers. (Appropriately, "lumière" translates as "light" in English.) is widely regarded as the birth of cinema, a number of developments in photography preceded the advent of film. Among the people pioneering work on animation devices was a Belgian professor of experimental physics Joseph Plateau Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau was a Belgian physicist. Plateau, who was active at the Ghent University Ghent University is one of the three large Flemish universities. It is located in the historic town of Ghent in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking (northern) part of Belgium. It has 30,000 students and 6,400 Staff members invented an early stroboscopic device in 1836, the "phenakistiscope". It consisted of two disks, one with small equidistant radial windows, through which the viewer could look, and another containing a sequence of images. When the two disks rotated at the correct speed, the synchronization of the windows and the images created an animated effect. The projection of stroboscopic photographs, creating the illusion of motion, eventually led to the development of cinema.

The first public projection in Belgium took place on March 1 March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 305 days remaining until the end of the year, 1896 Year 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar) at the Kings Gallery in Brussels Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been an important centre for international politics. It hosts the main institutions of the European Union, and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization . Thus, Brussels is the polyglot home of many international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels. In the following years there was a surge in activity, initially dominated by the French industrial Charles Pathé. One of his assistants, Alfred Machin founded the first production studio in 1910; some of his films are still preserved in the Royal Filmarchive in Brussels. The first Belgian movie producer was Hippolyte De Kempeneer, who produced several interesting films until his studio burned down in 1923.

1930 - 1980

The 1930s however saw the first serious attempt at cinema. Several prominent figures such as Charles Dekeukeleire and Henri Storck experimented with new filming techniques and founded the Belgian Documentary School, which was long regarded as one of the highlights of Belgian Cinema. With the advent of sound, directors such as Jan Vanderheyden fully explored the possibilities of the medium, adapting popular literary works such as De Witte of Ernest Claes. De Witte proved to be a pivotal work in the history of Belgian Cinema. The film was a tremendous popular success and would spawn a future remake and a TV series that was widely acclaimed in its own right.

While attempts to produce a serious feature length film were frequently met with difficulty, Belgian animated films Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion slowly gained a reputation abroad, lead by animators such as Raoul Servais, who won several awards throughout the sixties in a career that culminated with a Golden Palm The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded to competing films at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. From 1964 to 1974 it was replaced again by the Grand Prix du Festival for best short feature in 1979 for Harpya.

From 1964 on, film could be subsidized by the government, making way for a new generation of filmmakers such as André Delvaux André, Baron Delvaux was a Belgian film director and widely regarded as the founder of the Belgian national cinema. Born 21 March 1926 in Heverlee, he died on 4 October 2002 in Valencia, Spain (De Man Die Zijn Haar Kort Liet Knippen, after Johan Daisne's book), Roland Verhavert (Pallieter) and Harry Kümel.

1980 - 2000

The 1980s however saw a break with the tradition of the 60s and 70s, which was increasingly perceived as too stagy or otherwise preoccupied with rural dramas, giving rise to more personal and gritty filmmaking, led by people such as Marc Didden (Brussels by Night) and Robbe De Hert (Blueberry Hill, Brylcream Boulevard). 1985 however saw the release of the ambitious but spectacular failure De Leeuw van Vlaanderen Robert III of Flanders , also called Robert of Bethune and nicknamed The Lion of Flanders was Count of Nevers 1273-1322 and Count of Flanders 1305-1322, written and directed by Hugo Claus Hugo Maurice Julien Claus was a leading Belgian author, writing primarily in Dutch. He was prominent as a novelist, poet, playwright, painter and film director, after Hendrik Conscience Henri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Flemish writer. He was a pioneer in writing in Dutch after the secession from the Netherlands in 1830 left Belgium a mostly French speaking country's novel. Belgian acclaim in animation continued with an academy award The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present for best animated short in 1987 with A Greek Tragedy, by Nicole van Goethem.

Belgian cinema - especially from Wallonia Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonie, Dutch: Wallonië (help·info), Walloon: Waloneye) is the French-speaking southern region of Belgium. It makes up about 31% of the population and 55% of the territory of Belgium - finally took flight during the 1990s, gaining international prominence with such films as Man Bites Dog (with Benoit Poelvoorde), Daens Daens is a 1992 Belgian film directed by Stijn Coninx. This 1992 drama starring Jan Decleir, Gérard Desarthe, Antje de Boeck and Michael Pas, tells the true story of Adolf Daens, a Catholic priest in Aalst who strives to improve the miserable working conditions in the local factories. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign (directed by Stijn Coninx Stijn, Baron Coninx is a Belgian film director best known for the movie Daens. He was made a Baron by King Albert II of Belgium. He studied film directing at HRITCS (currently Rits, at Erasmus Hogeschool Brussel)) and Rosetta (directed by the Dardenne brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and his younger brother Luc Dardenne (born March 10, 1954 in Liège, Belgium) are a critically acclaimed Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce and direct their films together). In 2000, Dominique Deruddere's Everybody Famous! was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is given to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track. Like Rosetta, the Dardenne's 2005 film L'Enfant won the Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded to competing films at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. From 1964 to 1974 it was replaced again by the Grand Prix du Festival at the Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival , founded in 1946, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals. The private festival is held annually (usually in the month of May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France. Other important Walloon directors include Fabrice du Welz, Lucas Belvaux, Bouli Lanners and Vincent Lannoo.

Present

2003 saw the release of Erik Van Looy's stylish detective movie The Alzheimer Case (known internationally as The Memory of a Killer) to wide acclaim. In 2008, Van Looy's follow up thriller Loft opened to rave reviews in Belgium, and had twice as many opening weekend admissions as The Alzheimer Case. The film won several awards and has been in talks for a remake. BenX is also a Belgian success since its release in 2007, it won multiple awards all over the world and was even "pre" nominated for an oscar.

Classic literary works continue to be adapted, in particular the work of Willem Elsschot, and often in coproduction with Dutch The Netherlands (pronounced /ˈnɛðərləndz/ ; Dutch: Nederland, pronounced [ˈneːdərlɑnt] ( listen)) is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, film companies.

Belgium also annually hosts several film festivals, the most important among these the Flanders International Film Festival-Ghent.

Anthony Bochon is a specialist of the History of cinema of Belgium.

Belgian films

Main article: List of Belgian films

Notable people

Directors

Main article: List of Belgian film directors

Actors and actresses

Cinema of Belgium

Actors • Directors • Films A-Z • Chronology of films • Composers • Producers • Screenwriters
World cinema World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term Foreign film. However, both World cinema and Foreign film could be taken to refer to the films of all countries other than one's own,
Africa The term African cinema refers to film production in Africa, most often referring to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa[citation needed] following formal independence, which for many countries happened in the 1960s. Some of the countries in North Africa had developed a national film industry much earlier and are related to West Asian cinema. Often,

Burkina Faso Many films shot in Burkina Faso by local directors have found distribution in Francophone Europe and several have received assistance from the French Ministry of Co-operation. However, while these films have won awards in Europe and are regularly featured in African Studies courses, in Africa itself they are little known outside of academic · Egypt Egyptian cinema is Egypt's flourishing Egyptian Arabic-language film industry based in Cairo. Since 1976, Cairo has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. There's also another festival held in Alexandria. Of the more than 4,000 short- and feature- · Kenya Cinema of Kenya refers to the film industry of Kenya. Although a very small industry in western comparison, Kenya has produced or been a location for film since the early 1950s when Men Against the Sun was filmed in 1952. Although, in Hollywood, jungle epics that were set in the country were shot in Hollywood as early as the 1940s · Morocco Morocco knew cinema since 1897 through the filming of "Le chevrier Marocain" by Louis Lumière. Between that time and 1944, many foreign movies were shot in Morocco, especially in the Ouarzazate area. The following are the key dates in Moroccan cinema: · Niger Cinema in Niger grew from ethnographic documentaries in the colonial period to become one of the most active national film cultures in Francophone Africa. Filmmakers such as Oumarou Ganda, Moustapha Alassane, Mahamane Bakabé, Inoussa Ousseini and Moustapha Diop have had their work featured around the world. The Niamey African Film Meeting is one · Nigeria The cinema of Nigeria is a nascent film industry in Nigeria, growing up within the last two decades to become the second largest film industry on the planet, ahead of the United States and behind the Indian film industries. According to Hala Gorani and Jeff Koinange formerly of CNN, Nigeria has a US$250 million movie industry, churning out some 200 · Senegal The first Senegalese film, Paulin Vieyra’s L’Afrique sur Seine, was produced in 1955. Vieyra would follow up with further short films L’Afrique à Moscou , Le Niger aujourd’hui (1958), Les présidents Senghor et Modibo Keita, Avec les Africaines à Vienne and "Présence Africaine" à Rome (1959) and Indépendance du Cameroun, · Somalia Cinema of Somalia refers to the film industry in Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa · South Africa Burkina Faso · Egypt · Kenya · Morocco · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Somalia · South Africa
Americas Burkina Faso · Egypt · Kenya · Morocco · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Somalia · South Africa
Latin America Latin American cinema refers collectively to the film output and film industries of Latin America. Latin American film is both rich and diverse. But the main centers of production have been Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba

Argentina The Cinema of Argentina has a long tradition dating back to the late nineteenth century, and has played an important role in the Culture of Argentina for more than a century · Brazil A couple of months after the Lumière brothers' invention, a film exhibition is held in Rio de Janeiro. As early as 1898, the Italian Alfonso Segreto supposedly filmed the Guanabara Bay from the ship Brésil on a return journey from Europe, though some researchers question the veracity of this event as no copy of the film remains. He would go on · Chile · Colombia The Cinema of Colombia or Colombian Cinema (Spanish: Cine colombiano) refers to the historic evolution of cinematography in Colombia. The Colombian cinema has struggled to develop a solid industry throughout its history[citation needed]. During the beginning of the 20th century some production companies tried to maintain a level of constant · Cuba Although cinema arrived at Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century and the island arrived early to the television phenomena and cinematographic production, only around 80 full-length films were produced before the Cuban Revolution of 1959, most of these films were melodramas. Following the revolution, Cuba entered what is considered the " · Mexico The history of Mexican cinema goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events – most particularly the Mexican Revolution – and produced some movies that have only recently been rediscovered · Paraguay The Cinema of Paraguay is small compared to that of neighbouring Argentina & Brazil. However, this has begun to change in recent years with films like El Toque del Oboe , María Escobar (2002), O Amigo Dunor (2005) which competed for Best Movie in the Rotterdam International Film Festival and Hamaca Paraguaya (2006) which was screened at the · Peru · Puerto Rico · Uruguay
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Categories: Cinema of Belgium

 

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