/previous editions/2024
Brussels Independent Film Festival Wraps Up Another Successful Year, Honors Eight Winners with Chocolate Prizes
Brussels, 11 February 2024 - The curtains have closed on yet another edition of the Brussels Independent Film Festival. Spanning seven days, the festival showcased a total of 69 feature and short films hailing from 25 countries, nestled in the heart of Brussels at Cinema Galeries.
Reflecting on the recent edition of the Brussels Independent Film Festival, Kris De Meester, the Festival director, finds himself navigating a spectrum of emotions. "Year after year, the festival continues to unite a diverse community of film enthusiasts," he observes. "I've had the privilege of engaging with numerous exceptionally talented individuals who've contributed an array of captivating cinematic works. Yet, as is often the case with artistic endeavors, the subjective nature of film selection and award allocation can elicit varied perspectives. However, it is within the willingness to explore uncharted territories and acknowledge the potential for missteps that we propel the evolution of cinema forward. Our festival endeavors to serve as a platform for cultural exchange, embracing a spectrum of viewpoints without prejudice or censorship. We aspire to foster constructive dialogue, ensuring that every voice finds space for expression, regardless of agreement or dissent."
To culminate the 2024 edition, the prestigious award ceremony unfolded at Cinema Galeries on Saturday, February 10th. Eight exceptional films were bestowed with edible medallion awards, crafted from Belgian chocolate by the esteemed 'Gault & Millau Finest Chocolatier,' Wim Vyverman. Handpicked by the jury panel, the following films emerged as this year's winners:
Best Narrative Feature Film:
Coyote (Canada) by Katherine Jerkovic
Best Narrative Short Film:
Manar (Israel) by Rachel Albert
Best Documentary Feature Film:
It Runs In The Family (Dominican Republic) by Victoria Linares
Best Documentary Short Film:
Mum (Portugal) by Siddhant Sarin
Best Animated Film:
Nature Attack (France) by Erik Semashkin
Best Experimental Film:
En Vagues (Belgium) by Alex Schuurbiers
Best Music Video:
They are watching you (France) by Quentin Bernard
Best Belgian Film:
Calf (Belgium) by Tuur Oosterlinck
Congratulations to all!
Last but not least, the Brussels Independent Film Festival wishes to say a special thank you to Cinema Galeries, Chocolate Atelier Wim Vyverman, The Bigger Screen, Connecting Cultures Program, TreePlan.org, and Whush, for their contributions in creating this wonderful event.
Official selection 2024
Chemical Somnia (Canada) by Scott Portingale
Ademoka's Education (Kazakhstan) by Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Arcadia (Poland) by Małgorzata Paszko
En Vagues (Belgium) by Alex Schuurbiers
Limits (Switzerland) by Simon de Diesbach
Cyclepaths (Belgium) by Anton Cla
Calf (Belgium) by Tuur Oosterlinck
Prosa (Ukraine) by Kyryl Volovych
Bardo (Germany) by Tobias Staab, Gustavo Gomes
Before Pandemic and War, There Were Bed Bugs and Love! (Lithuania) by Nuruzzaman Khan
The Fuse (Switzerland) by Kevin Haefelin
Mum (Portugal) by Siddhant Sarin
Jaime (Belgium) by Francisco Javier Rodriguez
After Bed (United States) by TT Takemoto
Coyote (Canada) by Katherine Jerkovic
LKATM (Belgium) by Mauro Desmedt
Melantroop (Belgium) by Vibe Stalpaert
Time Traveling Through Time (Canada) by Ryan Ward
Performer (Germany) by Oliver Grüttner
After Winter, Cherry Blossoms (United States) by Jil Guyon
They are watching you (France) by Quentin Bernard
Image Me (Germany) by Till Gombert
Epicenter (Korea, Republic of) by Hee-yoon Hahm
Right and Wrong (China) by Jody Xiong
The Shell (Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Marko Lončarević
Generation (United Kingdom) by Riccardo Fusetti
Tyranny of the Unafflicted (United States) by Adam E Stone
Wood Dove (United States) by David Jonathan Orr
The Feast (Georgia) by Mariam Bitsadze
Kiss/Crash (United Kingdom) by Adam Cole
European Man...American Beach (United States) by Rex Shannon
Nature Attack (France) by Erik Semashkin
A Dog, A Stone (Tunisia) by Asma Laajimi
Daydrift (Belgium) by Tim Jans
Our Males and Females (Jordan) by Ahmad Alyaseer
Supurbia (Norway) by Alexander Gudmestad
Manar (Israel) by Rachel Albert
Darkness Falling (Poland) by Marcin Nowrotek
It Runs In The Family (Dominican Republic) by Victoria Linares
Floating Flies (Austria) by Victoria Halper
Black Dragon (Rồng đen) (United States) by Alexander Thompson
Ara - Torn (Switzerland) by Sinan Taner
Listen to the wallflowers (Norway) by Johanne Wilbrink
Motus (Portugal) by Nelson Fernandes
Cataract (Denmark) by Jonatan Egholm Keis
Slower Animals (United States) by John Christopher Kelley
Love is the monster (Costa Rica) by Neto Villalobos Brenes
The Factory (Iran) by Masoud Saadat
Demons in the Closet (Germany) by James Smith
Most of the Time We Are Just Waiting (Canada) by Molly Shears
Hotel Centaur (Greece) by Lino Kafidas, Dimitris Kafidas
Ziúr - Eyeroll (with Elvin Brandhi) (Sweden) by Sander Houtkruijer
What If Women Ruled The World? (Italy) by Giulia Magno
Lonely noisy blue (Korea, Republic of) by N’Ouir
Hell of Se (Japan) by Sawa Kawakami
It Must Be Love (Japan) by Junko Emoto
Little Yellow Flower (Taiwan) by Chien-Ping Lin
Pentaclub (The Club of Five) (Italy) by Roberto Strazzarino
Holestepper (Peru) by Sergio Fernández Muñoz
The Loop (Poland) by Antoni Ferency
Yeah I'm good thanks (United Kingdom) by Hannah Lau-Walker
Alone (United States) by S Columbus
Lights Out, Berlin! (Germany) by Dimitris Argyriou
The Discoverer of the Discoverers (Norway) by C. S. Nicholson
Uyi Nosa-Odia: A Portrait (Luxembourg) by Sofiya Kudryavtseva
Kissing Ralph (United States) by Daniel Lewinstein
The girl who is selling fish (United States) by Alecs Nastoiu
The Rooster (Lebanon) by Chadi Younes
Carry me in (United States) by Rebecca Penner