Bruges International Film Festival / Brugge Film Festival

Bruges International Film Festival Wraps Up 4th Edition!

The Bruges International Film Festival would like to thank all their guests for coming out to enjoy a selection of new independent cinema from around the globe at the 4th edition of its festival, which concluded yesterday. This year, the festival was privileged to receive over a thousand entries, of which 26 made it to the final official selection.

Bruges IFF is pleased to share with you today the 2024 award winners, as chosen by the jury panel:

Best Narrative Feature Film
Alien Food (Italy) by Giorgio Cugno

Best Documentary Feature Film
The Urge to Escape. Slowly. (France) by Pascal Nowak

Best Narrative Short Film
The Fuse (Switzerland) by Kevin Haefelin

Best Documentary Short Film
Life on the outside (France) by Pascal Marc

Best Animated Short Film
Furrie (France) by Lucie Grannec

Best Underground Film
A Body Like Mine (Germany) by Maja Classen & Puck

Best Experimental Film
The Lovers Of Avignon (Spain) by Manuel Fernández Ferro

Best Belgian Film
Noham (Belgium) by Victorine Durmort, Marie Fotso

Best Music Video
Shake Stew - Lila (Austria) by Rupert Höller

Congratulations to all!

Today, a new Call for Entries has been launched on FilmFreeway for the next edition, which will take place in October 2025. Submit your film now https://filmfreeway.com/BrugesInternationalFilmFestival

ABOUT BRUGES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Bruges International Film Festival showcases innovative independent cinema by emerging artists from around the world. The festival provides a platform for films with a unique voice and message, regardless of how low the budget might be. Aiming to inspire, motivate and award new talent. Focusing on the art of filmmaking rather than on the box office, the festival aims to introduce quality, non-mainstream films from global filmmakers as well as local talent. By recognizing the important role independent films have in the history of filmmaking, storytelling, and culture, the Bruges International Film Festival wants to help empower the next generation of artists.

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HOME | Bruges International Film Festival | Brugge Film Festival The Bruges International Film Festival showcases innovative independent cinema from around the world by up-and-coming artists. The festival hopes to be the voice and representation for films with a unique voice and message, regardless of how low the budget might be. Aiming to inspire, motivate and a...

Gratis naar de film tijdens het Brugge Film Festival op 29 & 30 oktober 2024
De vierde editie van het Brugge Film Festival (officieel Bruges International Film Festival) vertoont een internationale selectie innovatieve onafhankelijke cinema van opkomend talent. Het filmfestival zal doorgaan op 29 en 30 oktober in Kinepolis Brugge, met vier filmvertoningen + online streaming van in totaal 26 kort- en langspeelfilms (Engels gesproken en/of Engels ondertiteld). Dankzij onze sponsors is toegang tot het festival gratis. Het volledige programma en meer informatie over het festival kan je terugvinden op: https://www.brugesfilmfestival.org

WANNEER?
Dinsdag 29 oktober 2024 om 18:00
Dinsdag 29 oktober 2024 om 20:15
Woensdag 30 oktober 2024 van 18:00
Woensdag 30 oktober 2024 van 20:00

WAAR?
Kinepolis Brugge
Koning Albert l-laan 200
8200 Brugge

GRATIS TICKETS
Toegang tot het festival is gratis! Reserveren kan via de website (https://www.brugesfilmfestival.org), maar is niet verplicht, ‘op is op’ natuurlijk.

OVER BRUGGE FILM FESTIVAL
Brugge Film Festival biedt een platform aan films met een unieke stem en boodschap, ongeacht van hun budget. Het doel: inspireren, motiveren en nieuw talent belonen. Het festival streeft ernaar kwaliteitsfilms van lokale en internationale makers buiten het mainstream circuit te introduceren, waarbij het accent ligt op de kunst van het filmmaken, eerder dan op de 'box office'. Door het erkennen van de belangrijke rol van onafhankelijke films in de geschiedenis van filmmaken, van verhalen vertellen, van cultuur, wil het Brugge Film Festival een springplank zijn voor de volgende generatie kunstenaars.

Bruges International Film Festival Wraps Up Third Edition!

The Bruges International Film Festival would like to thank all their guests for coming out to enjoy a selection of new independent cinema from around the globe at the second edition of its festival, which concluded last Wednesday. A warm thank you also to special guests in attendance: Arash Tagarian, Tim Jans, Julie Ducrocq, Simon Heymans, Delphine Duez and Jonas Hollevoet.

This year, the festival was privileged to receive over a thousand entries, of which 28 made it to the final official selection. Bruges IFF is pleased to share with you today the 2023 award winners, as chosen by the jury panel:

Best Narrative Feature Film
Courage (Mexico) by Rubén Rojo Aura

Best Documentary Feature Film
Berlin Bytch Love (Germany) by Heiko Aufdermauer, Johannes Girke

Best Narrative Short Film
Nocturnal Burger (United States) by Reema Maya

Best Documentary Short Film
What If Women Ruled The World? (Italy) by Giulia Magno

Best Animated Short Film
Limits (Switzerland) by Simon de Diesbach

Best Underground Film
Poor Boy Long Way From Home (Belgium) by Jonas Hollevoet

Best Experimental Film
Kiss/Crash (United Kingdom) by Adam Cole

Best Belgian Film
Daydrift (Belgium) by Tim Jans

Best Music Video
Shaka Shams - Balrog (Belgium) by Yoann Stehr, Alice Khol

Congratulations to all!

Today, a new Call for Entries has been launched on FilmFreeway for the next edition, which will take place in October 2024. Submit your film now https://filmfreeway.com/BrugesInternationalFilmFestival

ABOUT BRUGES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Bruges International Film Festival showcases innovative independent cinema by emerging artists from around the world. The festival provides a platform for films with a unique voice and message, regardless of how low the budget might be. Aiming to inspire, motivate and award new talent. Focusing on the art of filmmaking rather than on the box office, the festival aims to introduce quality, non-mainstream films from global filmmakers as well as local talent. By recognizing the important role independent films have in the history of filmmaking, storytelling, and culture, the Bruges International Film Festival wants to help empower the next generation of artists.

Brugge Film Festival is terug op 31/10 + 1/11 2023
De derde editie van het Brugge Film Festival (officieel Bruges International Film Festival) vertoont een internationale selectie innovatieve onafhankelijke cinema van opkomend talent. Het filmfestival zal doorgaan op 31 oktober en 1 november in Kinepolis Brugge, met vier filmvertoningen + online streaming van in totaal 28 kort- en langspeelfilms (Engels gesproken en/of Engels ondertiteld). Dankzij onze sponsors is toegang tot het festival gratis en wordt er achteraf een drankje voorzien in het café van de cinema, want deze films kunnen niet zonder nabespreking! Het volledige programma en meer informatie over het festival kan je terugvinden op: www.brugesfilmfestival.com

WANNEER?
Dinsdag 31 oktober 2023 van 17:00 tot 19:00
Dinsdag 31 oktober 2023 van 20:00 tot 22:00
Woensdag 1 november 2023 van 17:00 tot 19:00
Woensdag 1 november 2023 van 20:00 tot 22:00

�WAAR?
Kinepolis Brugge
Koning Albert l-laan 200
8200 Brugge

GRATIS TICKETS + DRANKJE
Toegang tot het festival is gratis! Reserveren kan via de website (www.brugesfilmfestival.com), maar is niet verplicht.

OVER BRUGGE FILM FESTIVAL
Brugge Film Festival biedt een platform aan films met een unieke stem en boodschap, ongeacht van hun budget. Het doel: inspireren, motiveren en nieuw talent belonen. Het festival streeft ernaar kwaliteitsfilms van lokale en internationale makers buiten het mainstream circuit te introduceren, waarbij het accent ligt op de kunst van het filmmaken, eerder dan op de 'box office'. Door het erkennen van de belangrijke rol van onafhankelijke films in de geschiedenis van filmmaken, van verhalen vertellen, van cultuur, wil het Brugge Film Festival een springplank zijn voor de volgende generatie kunstenaars.

Bruges International Film Festival Wraps Up Second Edition!

The Bruges International Film Festival would like to thank all their guests for coming out to enjoy a selection of new independent cinema from around the globe at the second edition of its festival, which concluded last Tuesday. A warm thank you also to special guests in attendance, Tuur Oosterlinck, Anthony Pieck, Sid Choudry, Nadine Baboy, Pien van Grinsven, and Glenn Dumortier.

This year, the festival was privileged to receive over a thousand entries, of which only 19 made it to the final official selection. Bruges IFF is pleased to share with you today the 2022 award winners, as chosen by the jury panel:

Best Narrative Feature Film: EASY TIGER (BELGIUM) BY KAREL TUYTSCHAEVER. “An intimate portrait of a vulnerable man during a true and insurmountable romance.”

Best Narrative Short film: OUSMANE (CANADA) BY JORGE CAMAROTTI. “Ousmane, a newly arrived immigrant living in Montreal, faces a challenging situation when he meets an elderly disoriented lady at the end of his workday.”

Best Documentary Feature Film: TWO MEN (NETHERLANDS) BY SUZANNE RAES. “Ivo Van Hove is a world famous theatre director. The role of his partner, scenographer Jan Versweyveld is less known. The couple worked together for more than 40 years. Two Men focuses on the microcosm of their collaboration and unravels the story of a love that is uniquely sustained by creating great theatre together.”

Best Documentary Short Film: DEADNAME: SID (BELGIUM) BY ANTHONY PIECK. “Sid lost contact with his father due to a major disagreement that is magnified by the family’s religious beliefs. Fortunately, he can always count and fall back on his friends. They accept him the way he is. Sid goes to great lengths to prove he’s confident in his choice and won’t back down to anyone or anything.”

Best Experimental Film: 2020 (USA) BY TOM BESSOIR. “A film for 2020, a year to remember. 2020 different colors create a flicker film. Music by Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth).”

Best Underground Film: THERE CAN BE NO SHADOW WITHOUT LIGHT (BELGIUM) BY TUUR OOSTERLINCK. “A person becoming self-aware through exploring the sense of hearing and observing light and shadow.”

Best Animated Film: LOSING IT (AUSTRIA) BY SASCHA VERNIK. “After losing the tool he relies on most, a fraud information worker decides to go back in time to prevent it.”

Best Super Short Film: 21 DAYS OF QUARANTINE (GERMANY) BY FREDERIC SCHAEFER. “21 days spent in Hong kong in Quarantine. One room, 21 days, a visual diary.”

Best Dance Film: UN-SPOKEN WORDS OF A HEARTIST - JE SUIS NÉE DANS UN CHAOS (BELGIUM) BY NADINE BABOY, MUHIBA BOTAN. “ Nadine Baboy offers a hybrid poetic work where the dance becomes word. And in the midst of chaos, the word becomes a movement that brings a new breath of hope to humanity in search of reconnecting to the authenticity of its identity. A word is enough to reveal the essential and initiate a movement that brings a new breath to a world that has been forced to hold back its own.”

Best Music Video: FLORE (BELGIUM) BY PIEN VAN GRINSVEN, THOMAS SZACKA-MARIER. “A son has to leave his father in a nursing home, where he has to come to terms with the progression of Alzheimer's disease. But even when they are apart, they cannot let the other one behind.”

Best Connecting Cultures Film: LADY OF THE CITY (IRAN) BY MARYAM BAHROLOLUMI. “Shahrbanoo is a mother of three, who has been sentenced to life in prison for drug transferring. After 11 years in prison, she is released for just a few days to attend her son's wedding. However, this temporary freedom confronts Shahrbanoo with another aspect of her life and that of her family before returning to prison…”

Best Acting: IDOL (AUSTRALIA) BY ALEX WU. “A young Chinese celebrity is called into an emergency meeting after a fan of his commits suicide.”

Congratulations to all!

Today, a new Call for Entries has been launched on FilmFreeway for the next edition, which will take place 30 Oct – 1 Nov 2023. Submit your film now https://filmfreeway.com/BrugesInternationalFilmFestival

ABOUT BRUGES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Bruges International Film Festival showcases innovative independent cinema by emerging artists from around the world. The festival provides a platform for films with a unique voice and message, regardless of how low the budget might be. Aiming to inspire, motivate and award new talent. Focusing on the art of filmmaking rather than on the box office, the festival aims to introduce quality, non-mainstream films from global filmmakers as well as local talent. By recognizing the important role independent films have in the history of filmmaking, storytelling, and culture, the Bruges International Film Festival wants to help empower the next generation of artists.

GRATIS FILMVERTONINGEN: BRUGGE FILM FESTIVAL 17+18 OKT 2022

De tweede editie van het Brugge Film Festival (officieel Bruges International Film Festival) vertoont een internationale selectie innovatieve onafhankelijke cinema van opkomend talent. Het filmfestival zal doorgaan op 17 en 18 oktober in Kinepolis Brugge, met vier filmvertoningen van in totaal 21 kort- en langspeelfilms (Engels gesproken en/of Engels ondertiteld). Dankzij onze sponsors is toegang tot het festival gratis en wordt er achteraf een drankje voorzien in het café van de cinema, want deze films kunnen niet zonder nabespreking! Het volledige programma en meer informatie over het festival kan je terugvinden op: www.brugesfilmfestival.com

WANNEER?
Maandag 17 oktober 2022 van 17:00 tot 19:00
Maandag 17 oktober 2022 van 20:00 tot 22:00
Dinsdag 18 oktober 2022 van 17:00 tot 19:00
Dinsdag 18 oktober 2022 van 20:00 tot 22:00

WAAR?
Kinepolis Brugge
Koning Albert l-laan 200
8200 Brugge

GRATIS TICKETS+DRANKJE
Toegang tot het festival is gratis! Reserveren kan via de website (www.brugesfilmfestival.com), maar is niet verplicht.

OVER BRUGGE FILM FESTIVAL
Brugge Film Festival biedt een platform aan films met een unieke stem en boodschap, ongeacht van hun budget. Het doel: inspireren, motiveren en nieuw talent belonen. Het festival streeft ernaar kwaliteitsfilms van lokale en internationale makers buiten het mainstream circuit te introduceren, waarbij het accent ligt op de kunst van het filmmaken, eerder dan op de 'box office'. Door het erkennen van de belangrijke rol van onafhankelijke films in de geschiedenis van filmmaken, van verhalen vertellen, van cultuur, wil het Brugge Film Festival een springplank zijn voor de volgende generatie kunstenaars.

Exciting news! Ala Kachuu - Take and Run, which won Best Narrative Short Film at Bruges International Film Festival 2021, is nominated for an Oscar® in the Live Action Short Film category for the 2022 Academy Awards!

‘Ala Kachuu’ depicts the Kyrgyz tradition of bride-kidnapping, after which the film is named. The synopsis reads, ‘A young Kyrgyz woman is kidnapped and forced to marry. A drama about the desire for freedom in the clutches of a tradition’.

Congratulations to the team:
Writer and Director: Maria Brendle
Producers: Nadine Luchinger (Luna F*x), Flavio Ge**er
Production Company: Filmgerberei GmbH
Executive Producer: Jaime Newman
Distribution Company: Sa**ud Morisset

Meet Brussels-based filmmaker Charles Habib-Drouot. His narrative short film Queen Crocodile was selected for multiple film festivals, and won 'Best Belgian Film' at our 2021 edition. iFilmFestival had an exclusive one-on-one with him on his experience as a filmmaker.

One-on-one with filmmaker Charles Habib-Drouot on his short Queen Crocodile, and more Meet Brussels-based filmmaker Charles Habib-Drouot. After studies in literature and cinema, Charles Habib-Drouot created and ran the documentary production company Triptyque Films, before leaving to focus on his work as an auteur. Scriptwriter, director, editor, his work lies between fiction film, d...

Bruges International Film Festival Announces Award Winners For First Edition

The Bruges International Film Festival launched its very first edition last week, with four screenings at Kinepolis Brugge featuring a total of 21 short and feature films. The new Bruges International Film Festival showcases innovative independent cinema by emerging artists from around the world. The festival provides a platform for films with a unique voice and message, regardless of how low the budget might be. Aiming to inspire, motivate and award new talent. Focusing on the art of filmmaking rather than on the box office, the festival aims to introduce quality, non-mainstream films from global filmmakers as well as local talent. By recognizing the important role independent films have in the history of filmmaking, storytelling, and culture, the Bruges International Film Festival wants to help empower the next generation of artists.

“This first edition was an instant hit,” felt Festival Director Kris De Meester. “A beautiful film selection at a top notch location, hosted by the super funny Piet De Praitere and rounded off by a well-attended Filmmakers Network Party”, which was co-hosted by festival sponsor Casting Studio. “Piet De Praitere was genius as a host. His soberingly absurd style matched perfectly with the sometimes weighty themes of the films” De Meester adds. “The closing film and also winner of the Best Underground Film award 'Obscure Desire' provided a beautiful moment. The credits already ended, the theatre light was on, but everyone remained seated in silence… they were moved. I can't imagine a better ending.”

The Bruges International Film Festival is pleased to share with you today the award winners of the 2021 edition:

Best Narrative Feature Film: Yellow Cat (Kazakhstan) By Adilkhan Yerzhanov. “Ex-con Kermek and his beloved Eva want to leave their crime-infested lives on the Kazakh steppes behind. He has a dream: building a movie theater in the mountains.”

Best Narrative Short film: Ala Kachuu - Take and Run (Switzerland) by Maria Brendle. “A young Kyrgyz woman is kidnapped and forced to marry. A drama about the desire for freedom in the clutches of a tradition.”

Best Documentary Film: Lumen (Canada) by Sarah Seené. “Lumen (meaning light in Latin) is a sensorial film shot in super 8 that paints a portrait of an adolescent with albinism. The hypersensitivity that this genetic condition engenders and the lack of pigmentation in her skin and eyes lend her an extraordinary aura. This film echoes a series of photographs entitled fovea, which takes as its subject visually impaired young people.”

Best Experimental Documentary Film: Letter to my mother (Iran) by Amina Maher. “A heartfelt letter to tell a mother the most painful of secrets. Amina, who in 2002 was the young protagonist of Ten by Kiarostami, is now a transgender director who tries to make her voice heard, understood, and be understood.”

Best Underground Film: Obscure Desire (U.S.) by Kunlin Wang. “A coming-of-age story of a teenage boy who sexually awakens after discovering the dark sexual relationship between his father and sister. The sibling love and companionship, which once served to counterbalance familial strangeness, is now disturbed and gradually develops into a sexual attraction and desire.”

Best Experimental Film: Poise (Portugal) by Luís Soares. “A sad and restrained man lying on the bed in his empty room. Hesitates, ponder hypotheses in a cycle without deciding, stuck. In exhaustion all anguish equals. Another man is sitting at the window: he looks at him and to the street. Characters in broken situations. The key positions, the suspended sequences, are shown. The man almost decides - and they almost return, inside and out, to them and to the city, time and movement. Infinite dawn.”

Best Animated Film: Helfer (Hungary) by Anna Szöllősi. “Helfer is about a young woman who is struggling with anxiety and recurring nightmares that she wants to end. She is seeking a helper, who offers an alternative solution, but in the process she must confront her biggest fears.”

Best Dance Film: Fragile Machines (U.S.) by Derek Johnson and Luke Smithers. “Fragile Machines is an independent art film which tells the story of a married couple and the affairs that make their relationship irreparable. The film follows a non-linear, gestural narrative—shifting between seasons, homes, oceans and embraces fluidly and rapidly. The movement direction follows a form of contemporary dance: contact improvisation.”

Best Music Video: Atlas (France) by Jim Vieille. “Dark and poetic, this music video depicts a rite of passage : the liberation of an inhibited personality. First, the night, rough, wild and frenetic, to let out all the accumulated frustrations. Then the next day, appeased, like a rebirth, a return to life.”

Best Connecting Cultures Film: Syncope (Iran) by Toraj Heybati. “A 19-year-old boy is married to a 12-year-old girl. At the wedding night the young girl suffers a seizure. The boy does not know how to solve this problem and asks his older brother for help.”

Best Belgian Film: Queen Crocodile by Charles Habib-Drouot. “Rayna is a Bulgarian pr******te, working in Brussels’ Red Light District. One night, she shares a mystical and sexual moment with an African client, who dies shortly after. That night will haunt her.”

The inaugural edition of the Bruges International Film Festival marks the start of a promising new story. Its second edition will be taking place in October 2022. A Call for Entries will be launched on FilmFreeway later this week: keep an eye out on the website to submit your film: www.brugesfilmfestival.com

See you next year!

Thanks Cinevox for the exposure: https://www.cinevox.be/nl/nieuw-jaarlijks-filmfestival-in-brugge/

By the way, the crew positions are not longer vacant.
Free tickets still availble.

Nieuw jaarlijks filmfestival in Brugge! - Cinevox In Brugge zal dit jaar voor het eerst Bruges International Film Festival doorgaan, met binnen-en buitenlandse films en als gastheer acteur en comedian Piet De Praitere. Het nieuwe jaarlijkse Brugge Film Festival (officieel Bruges International Film Festival) vertoont een international selectie aan i...

BRUGGE FILM FESTIVAL (7+8 OKTOBER 2021) KONDIGT OFFICIËLE SELECTIE AAN

Het nieuwe jaarlijkse Brugge Film Festival (officieel Bruges International Film Festival) vertoont een international selectie aan innovatieve onafhankelijke cinema van opkomend talent. Het festival zal een platform bieden aan films met een unieke stem en boodschap, ongeacht van hun budget. Het doel: inspireren, motiveren en nieuw talent belonen.

Het festival streeft ernaar kwaliteitsfilms van lokale en internationale makers buiten het mainstream circuit te introduceren, waarbij het accent ligt op de kunst van het filmmaken, eerder dan op de 'box office'. Door het erkennen van de belangrijke rol van onafhankelijke films in de geschiedenis van filmmaken, van verhalen vertellen, van cultuur, wil het Brugge Film Festival een springplank zijn voor de volgende generatie kunstenaars.

De eerste editie zal doorgaan op 7 en 8 oktober in Kinepolis Brugge, met vier filmvertoningen van in totaal wel 31 kort- en langspeelfilms. Alle films zijn Engels gesproken en/of Engels ondertiteld. Het volledige programma en meer informatie over het festival kan u terugvinden op: www.brugesfilmfestival.org

PIET DE PRAITERE IS GASTHEER
We zijn verheugd om aan te kondigen dat niemand minder dan Vlaams stand-upcomedian, acteur en schrijver Piet De Praitere de filmvertoningen zal introduceren als gastheer van het festival. Piet De Praitere raakte redelijk wereldberoemd als Etienne met het open verhemelte en als Dikke Gilbert de la Tourette. Hij werkte samen met Kamagurka, Freddy De Vadder en Gunter Lamoot en was te zien en te horen op Studio Brussel, Radio 1, Canvas, VT4, 2BE en de VPRO. Onlangs verscheen zijn eerste dvd Gekapt en bracht hij een boek uit waarin zijn beste oneliners van de afgelopen twintig jaar zijn gebundeld. Ondertussen kennen we hem ook van Bevergem, De Dag en De Twaalf en maakte hij samen met Dries Heyneman zijn eigen programma Lookalikes.

WANNEER?
Donderdag 7 oktober 2021 van 17:00 tot 19:00
Donderdag 7 oktober 2021 van 20:00 tot 22:00
Vrijdag 8 oktober 2021 van 17:00 tot 19:00
Vrijdag 8 oktober 2021 van 20:00 tot 22:00

WAAR?
Kinepolis Brugge
Koning Albert l-laan 200
8200 Brugge

GRATIS TICKETS
Toegang tot het festival is gratis! Reserveren is niet verplicht, maar wel aangeraden. Omwille van COVID-19 werken we dit jaar enkel met duotickets. Reserveer nu jouw duoticket op de website: www.brugesfilmfestival.org

Bruges International Film Festival / Brugge Film Festival updated their information in their About section.