Brussels Film Festival - Bird People, Miss Violence, and The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq

After attending the film festivals Offscreen, BIFFF and Cannes earlier this year, I had the chance to be invited to the Brussels Film Festival which specializes in European cinema. Usually, when I go to a festival, I try to see as many films as possible. Things have been so crazy around here lately that I had to slow down a bit on the movies this time. Actually, I spent most of my time at the festival hiding away in the quiet corners of the Flagey cinema to get some work done.

Brussels Film Festival

I just came back from the Brussels Film Festival whose focus is on European films. Here are a few photos and an overview of the films I got to see...

Thursday

The Brussels Film Festival started on Thursday with two matinee press screenings. The first was Post Partum, a Belgian film about a young mother coping with postnatal depression and the inability to love her newborn. Many women will sympathize with Mélanie Doutey's believable character as they'll recognize her fatigue, doubts, anxieties, and attempts at being a good mother. I particularly loved the scene where her water breaks when she's at work in a veterinary office, yet she takes her time to put a client's dog to sleep and to give its owner the possibility to say goodbye. Post Partum is a film Belgium may be proud of.