The
44th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) takes place this year from Friday 3rd April through until Saturday 18th April, in the Belgian capital city of Brussels. The BIFFF offers more than just horror movies. It is first and foremost a genre film festival that is open-minded, and offers a great deal of variety. Its programme serves up thrillers, science fiction films, fantasy films, black comedies, action films, as well as many other genres. As one of the most famous genre film festivals in the world, the BIFFF does not limit itself to screening feature films and shorts. In the course of its sixteen days, almost twenty peripheral activities will be on offer. The programme includes the famous vampire ball, the must-see make-up competition, an art exhibition, as well as many other surprising events. During the festival, you can enjoy more than a hundred features and shorts and get the opportunity to discover a truly unique audience. Thanks to the master classes held by prestigious guests, lively debates, exceptional exhibitions, and breathtaking animations, this is not merely a festival you are going to attend. It is an experience like no other! So reads the official website.
The main International Competition of the festival consists of eight to ten feature films each year. In this section you’ll find the cream of the crop in terms of recent fantastic features from around the globe. The selected films can win the grand prize of the festival, the Golden Raven, or one of two Silver Ravens, two incentive prizes for film Directors that show great potential. Those films in this main competitive category are :-
* 'Back to the Past' - from Hong Kong and China, and this action Sci-Fi film is Directed by Jack Lai and Yuen Fai Ng.
* 'Gaua' - from Spain, and this fantasy horror film is Written and Directed by Paul Urkijo Alijo.
* 'Imposters' - from the USA and this Sci-Fi psychological horror film is Written and Directed by Caleb Phillips. European Premiere.
* 'Never After Dark' - from Japan and this mystery ghost story is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Dave Boyle. European Premiere.
* 'Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie' - from Canada and this time travel Sci-Fi comedy film is Written and stars Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol and is Directed by Matt Johnson.
* 'Saccharine' - from Australia and this crime horror thriller film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Natalie Erika James.
* 'The Home' - from the USA and this horror film is Co-Written and Directed by James DeMonaco, and stars Pete Davidson, John Glover and Bruce Altman.
* 'The Red Mask' - from the USA and this black comedy slasher film is Directed by Ritesh Gupta.
* 'Tristes Tropiques' - from South Korea and this action thriller film is Written, Produced and Directed by Hoon-jung Park.
* 'Whistle' - from Ireland and the USA and this supernatural horror mystery film is Directed by Corin Hardy and stars Dafne Keen, Nick Frost and Sophie Nelisse.
For the descriptors of the above named films, plus the full details of the the other competitive strands being showcased, together with a summary of each of the 132 films being screened over the duration of the festival, and a whole heap of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.bifff.net
Turning the focus back on this weeks five new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we launch with a comedy drama in which estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents. Then we have a RomCom where a happily engaged couple get put to the test when an unexpected revelation sends their wedding week way off track. This is followed by a film from Iraq that tells the story of while people across 1990's Iraq struggle to survive, a nine-year old girl has been selected to prepare a cake to celebrate President Saddam Hussein's birthday. Next up is a Vietnamese horror offering where a young woman returns to her family's dyeing workshop after years of being ostracised, only to be confronted by a supernatural entity. And closing out the week we have an Aussie doco about ten young dance hopefuls who score the chance of a lifetime to audition for a London dance theatre company under the guidance of a renowned choreographer.
Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.
'FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER' (Rated M) - is a comedy drama anthology film Written and Directed by Jim Jarmusch whose filmography takes in his feature film debut with
'Permanent Vacation' in 1980, which he would follow up with the likes of
'Stranger than Paradise' in 1984,
'Down by Law' in 1986,
'Dead Man' in 1995,
'Ghost Dog : The Way of the Samurai' in 1999,
'Broken Flowers' in 2005,
'Only Lovers Left Alive' in 2013 and
'The Dead Don't Die' in 2019. This film Premiered in the main competition at last years Venice International Film Festival at the end of August where it won the Golden Lion. It has generated mostly positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$7.5M following its US release on Christmas Eve last year. It is released in the UK and Ireland next week.
Carefully constructed in the form of a triptych, the three stories all concern the relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parent (or parents), and each other. Each of the three chapters takes place in the present, and each in a different country. In 'Father', siblings Emily and Jeff (Mayim Bialik and Adam Driver) make a dutiful trek to their father (Tom Waits) somewhere in rural USA, whose destitution may be an act; in 'Mother', Charlotte Rampling presides over ritual tea with daughters Lilith (Vicky Krieps) and Timothea (Cate Blanchett) in Dublin, Ireland; and in the third 'Sister Brother', Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) sift through the residue of their parents lives in Paris, France. Also starring Sarah Greene and Francoise Lebrun.
'THE DRAMA' (Rated MA15+) - this American RomCom is Written and Directed by Kristoffer Borgli who made his feature length film Directorial debut with 2017's
'Drib', and which he would follow up with
'Sick of Myself' in 2022 and
'Dream Scenario' in 2023. Here, a happily engaged couple - Emma Harwood (Zendaya) a bookstore clerk from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson) a British museum Director - just days before their wedding, has their relationship shaken when one partner learns of unsettling truths about the other which sends their wedding week off the rails. The film also stars Mamoudou Athie and Alana Haim, and is released this week too in the US.
'THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE' (Rated M) - is an Iraq, Qatar and US Co-Produced drama film Written and Directed by Hasan Hadi, in his feature film making debut. Set in the 1990's, it’s 'draw day' across Iraq, when schools select students for the honour of bringing items to their mandatory local celebrations of President Saddam Hussein’s birthday. Nine-year-old Lamia (Baneen Ahmad Nayyef) lives in the historic marshes with her spirited grandmother, Bibi (Waheed Thabet Khreibat). Before school, Bibi teaches Lamia clever tricks to avoid being chosen for the president’s cake. However, when Musa (Ahmad Qasem Saywan), the authoritative teacher, calls Lamia’s name for the most challenging task - the birthday cake - she has no choice but to accept. Refusing could mean imprisonment or even death. The film had its World Premiere showing at the Directors' Fortnight section of last years Cannes Film Festival in mid-May where it won the section's Audience Award and the Camera d'Or. It had its US release in early February, has garnered widespread critical acclaim and has so far generated US$2M in Box Office receipts.
- this Vietnamese supernatural horror film is Directed by Pom Nguyen and serves as a prequel to the 2025 film
'The Corpse' which was also Directed by Nguyen. Here, a young woman, Minh Nhur returns to her family's dye workshop after years of exile, only to confront supernatural phenomena and the brutal truth behind her mother's death and a blood pact from the past. As karma comes full circle, can Minh Nhur escape the grip of the evil that surrounds her? The film was released in its native Vietnam in mid-March and has garnered average reviews.
'DANCE FOR YOUR LIFE' (Rated PG) - is an Australian documentary film Co-Produced, Directed, photographed and Edited by Luke Cornish in only his second feature length film after
'Keep Stepping' in 2022. Here, ten young Australian dancers from Australia's leading commercial dance school - Brent Street Performing Arts School in Sydney, compete for a spot with an international dance company, traveling to London to audition for Shapehaus Dance Theatre under choreographer and Artistic Director Dean Lee. The film serves as a powerful testament to the transformative power of dance, where every leap is a story, every setback a lesson and every moment a chance to be seen.
With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
