The Brussels International Film Festival - BRIFF - is back again this year in the heart of the European capital from 20 to 28 June 2025!
Once again, the UGC De Brouckère, the Palace cinema and the Galeries will be joining forces to offer an emotional journey on the big screen. In addition to the thirty or so films in competition (National, International and Directors' Week), there will be retrospectives, carte blanche, free open-air screenings, a focus on Ukraine, Poland and Green Planet, special screenings with guests and a plethora of professional events.
screen.brussels is once again well represented this year with 6 films, including 3 in competition: Au bord du monde by Guérin van de Vorst and Sophie Muselle and KIKA directed by Alexe Poukine. The animated film Savages by Claude Barras and the documentary The Eukrainian by Viktor Nordenskiöld will be projected during special screenings.
Industry
BRIFF is also a meeting place for all film professionals. A series of events will be organised to support the creation of new films, provide support and training for young professionals, encourage collaboration within Belgium and internationally, and promote networking. It's a programme for thinking about the future of European cinema and seeing new voices emerge.
PITCH
The aim of PITCH is to put film writers living in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in touch with potential partners for their feature-length fiction projects (producers, broadcasters, sales agents, distributors, etc.) at a pitching session. As in previous editions, screen.brussels is supporting the event and participating in a prize-giving ceremony to encourage the development of promising projects. Watch the selection of projects in development and light productions on June 27 at UGC De Brouckère
The PITCH event is an initiative of l’ARRF and l’ASA, organized with BRIFF and in partnership with SACD, screen.brussels, Sabam for culture, l’UPFF+, Elles Font Des Films, and play.brussels.
Brussels CoProMarket
The Brussels CoProMarket is an initiative that aims at supporting promising short and feature films in development and connecting them with potential partners. The event has been divided in three different sections:
- Short Film Sessions,specially designed for short films.
- Feature Films: Gap Financing Sessions, created with a focus on helping European producers with finding Belgian minority co-productions, a selection of European projects specifically looking for Belgian collaborators. A special session on financing in Belgium will be organised with the participation of screen.brussels on 23 June.
- Feature Films: UP: Up-and-coming Producers, a section specifically designed for producers in their early career.
The selected projects are presented during pitch sessions and one-to-one meetings. Industry professionals who wish to meet with the project holders are invited to register as attendees.
Rencontre autour des films de genre
Before the launch of the new Genre Film Writing Grants (5 times € 15,000) , the SACD, Orange Belgium, the CCA, and screen.brussels are organizing a meeting as part of the BRIFF on 26 June. Exchanges, perspectives, and feedback on genre films: a key moment to question practices and identify sector needs. A moment of reflection and dialogue that, perhaps, could also inspire your projects.
A meeting featuring a rich and ambitious panel composed of:
- Michiel Blanchart, director of La Nuit se traîne
- Antoine Bours, screenwriter, director, and ASA member
- Jeanne Brunfaut, director of the Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel
- Clotilde Colson, screenwriter and director
- Alix de Montblanc, co-production manager at Orange/Be TV
- Noël Magis, director of screen.brussels
- Jean-Yves Roubin, producer at Frakas Productions
Masterclass Production and Distribution
The BRIFF and mediarte are offering an exclusive masterclass with two international distributors, who will share their experience, methods, and vision of partnerships with producers. A unique opportunity to explore best practices, common pitfalls, and the keys to successful collaboration—from development to theatrical release. This session will also include networking opportunities.
Au bord du monde
National Competition
Determined and idealistic Alexia, 25, arrives as a trainee nurse in the closed ward of a psychiatric hospital, where she meets Joëlle, the head nurse, who shows her the ropes, and Beline, a 20-year-old patient, who thinks that she should not be there. Despite Joëlle's warnings that she should keep her distance from the patients, Alexia grows close to Beline and puts all her efforts in trying to get her out.
KIKA
National competition
Kika's partner has not long died when, to her complete surprise, she finds out that she is pregnant. Completely broke and with a broken heart, she lists her priorities: One, get out of this mess; two, consider whether or not to keep her baby.
To meet again
National competition
In the summer of 1942, Jews in Antwerp were arrested and deported en masse. Eighty years later, a group of sixth-year pupils from a super diverse school in Antwerp meet with some surviving relatives of the Jewish families who were deported. They also meet the sons and grandsons of the men involved in the raids. For too long, we have been silent about our collective responsibility for what went wrong that summer. What can we learn from that past today?
Savages
Special screenings - Accessibility
In Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, street orphan Kéria rescues a baby orangutan whose lineage is about to be decimated. Too busy nurturing their mutual affection, Kéria neglects her young cousin Selaï, a forest nomad who has moved into Kéria’s home to escape the conflicts between his family and the logging companies that are destroying his land. He ends up running away, taking the ape with him.
The EUkrainian
Special screenings - Focus on Ukraine
While her country fights for survival, her task is to make sense of the new era that will begin when peace returns. Olha Stefanishyna is ‘the EUkrainian’, a young minister who has the almost insurmountable task of getting her country to join the EU and NATO.
Arcanes
Special Screenings
The year is 1995. Following the dissolution of MTLK Acier, its director, Clémence Rosier, tries to find out the reasons behind the “accidental” death of his son two years prior.