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Home , Amrita Acharia, Before We Vanish, Belzebuth, Brabant killers, Christ figure, Docufiction

Summary

1. EDITO ...... 4 2. NEWS ...... 5 2.1 The BIFFF Guild ...... 5 2.2 The Vampire Ball at the Beaux-Arts ...... 8 2.3 Body Painting Contest 2.0 ...... 9 2.4 Tarquin : the comeback! ...... 10 2.5 Prosthetic Reality ...... 11 2.6 & Market ...... 12 2.7 Boulevard du polar ...... 13 2.8 Gaming Madness Zone ...... 17 2.9 VR Screening Room ...... 18 2.10 Sharing Box ...... 19 2.11 iGoTo ...... 20 2.12 SÉMA Éditions ...... 21 2.13 The 501st FanWars Garrison comes to the BIFFF ...... 23 3. BIF MARKET ...... 24 4. THE OFF OF THE FESTIVAL ...... 25 4.1 Zombifff Day ...... 25 4.2 35th Make Up Contest ...... 28 4.3 3rd international Art Contest ...... 29 4.4 Artbifff ...... 30 4.5 ...... 34 TaKaPa ...... 34 Puck Company ...... 35 Art&Smile ...... 35 Magic Land Theatre ...... 36 Tultétar Co...... 36 Predator ...... 36 4.6 PointCulture ...... 37 5. MASTERCLASS ...... 39 5.1 Guillermo del Toro ...... 39 5.2 League of Human Rights ...... 40 5.3 Deon Meyer ...... 41 6. APPETIZERS ...... 42 6.1 Belgian Short Competitions ...... 43 6.2 Belgian : non-competitive section ...... 48 6.3 European Short Film Competition (Méliès) ...... 50 6.4 International Shorts ...... 52 6.5 The year of the Contestation ...... 54 6.6 Kim Jee-woon retrospective ...... 55 6.7 Cronos Retrospective ...... 56 6.8 Mexico Focus ...... 57 6.9 Courts mais Trash ...... 58 6.10 Mad in ...... 60 6.11 Fantastikids ...... 62 6.12 50 years of Belgian cinema: "Tueurs" by François Troukens ...... 63 6.13 Special Screening « I Kill Giants » ...... 64 7. THE MAIN COURSE ...... 65 7.1 Opening / Closing : ...... 65 7.2 Midnight -Tremes ...... 67 7.3 Fantastic Night ...... 73 7.4 7th Orbit Competition ...... 75 7.5 Competition ...... 82 7.6 European Competition ...... 87 7.7 Critics' Prize ...... 95 7.8 International Competition ...... 100 7.9 Out of competition ...... 108 7.10 Schedule of BIFFF 2018 ...... 125 8. KNIGHTS OF THE ORDER OF THE RAVEN ...... 127 9. KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF THE RAVEN 2018 ...... 129 10. PRACTICAL INFORMATION ...... 130 11. THE PARTNERS ...... 133

1. EDITO The BIFFF stands for 36 years of passion, self-denial, sweat, and sometimes blood. Hundreds of hours that make you feel like your eyes will give in or that make you want to light a candle. Since 1983, the BIFFF has been a fierce defender of movies, a section of the cinema that is now the most popular in the world. Thanks to its co-productions and talented technicians, Belgium is increasingly asserting itself as a key player in cinematic fantasy art. This year, we are proud to present eleven Belgian , six of which are world premieres! Internationally, Belgium is holding a set of winning co-production cards: Muse (Jaume Balagueró), I Kill Giants (co-produced by Chris Colombus of fame), Mandy (with Nicolas Cage), and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Terry Gilliam). Quite something, isn’t it? All this justifies, more than ever, the BIFFF’s risky bet to create the first European genre film market in 2017. For its second edition, the BIF Market is again welcoming sellers and buyers from all over the world. We will also be launching the “Work in Progress” section and offer a perfect forum for Belgian professionals to showcase their talents in an international context. But above all, the BIFFF remains a popular festival, made for and by the public. Of all Belgian film festivals, we have the highest percentage of paying spectators. Our reputation exceeds national boundaries, which becomes evident from the number of submissions (nearly 2,000 films!) from the four corners of the globe. This year, we’re having a record number of twelve world premieres, thirteen international premieres, and nine European premieres. Thirty-five debut films will be programmed alongside work by top names such as Ryuhei Kitamura, John Cameron Mitchell, Paco Plaza, , Xavier Gens, , and Kim Ki- duk. Genre cinema, as an uncompromising mirror of our time, addresses topical themes: from feminism via the rise of nationalism to migration. Our selection is clearly an indication of current and ideological tendencies. But rest assured: , ghouls, vampires, unknown to Merriam-Webster, time loops, zany, daring, and hardcore movies are still part and parcel of the festival’s DNA! As to novelties, it's a real feast: an Augmented Reality exhibition (unique in Belgium), a full- fledged Virtual Reality section, our Vampire Ball (for the first time at BOZAR), a monstrous Gaming Madness Zone, and a self-evident collaboration: the second edition of the Boulevard du Polar Festival. This will take place on April 13th and 14th at BOZAR, with illustrious literary guests such as Craig Johnson and Deon Meyer. Speaking of guests, hundreds of and directors will once again be present at the BIFFF to celebrate genre cinema. Among them, we welcome Julia Ducournau, Stéphanie Crayencour, and Laurent Lucas to our international jury, which will be chaired this year by Lloyd Kaufman. Ah yes, one last thing: a promising young Mexican director will also appear at the BIFFF. He has just won four Oscars with The Shape of Water, including Best Film and Best Director. It’s a certain Guillermo del Toro... who will graciously be giving an exceptional master class, co- hosted by Fabrice du Welz and Jonas Govaerts. Welcome to , fantasy capital of the world. Welcome to the BIFFF!

2. NEWS 2.1 The BIFFF Guild Rest assured: everything is going well in the BIFFF kingdom! Valiantly resisting the hurricanes of streaming, VOD, and budget cuts, the festival wants more than ever to keep its place on the world festival stage. Rather than passing the buck to our public by raising ticket prices, we prefer going about it in a fun way. How? By having two armies of loyal fans slug it out against one another on the virtual battlefield, by way of warming up for the festival itself. Would you like to with us? Welcoooome!!!!!

To whet the appetite, have a look at the superb coats of arms designed by David P., who will be showing some of his works at the BIFFF this year! THE BRIGHT SIDE WARRIOR GUARDIAN

LADY LORD

THE DARK SIDE

GREMLIN

DRAGON

WIZARD

2.2 The Vampire Ball at the Beaux-Arts A picture speaks more than a thousand words, doesn’t it?

Yes, it does! This year, the mythical Vampire Ball will take place at the Centre for Fine Arts! On Saturday, April 7th, lots of strange creatures will be seen running around in the proximity of Fernand Léger’s paintings... So if you feel like spending an unusual evening among stars in make-up and disguised festival- goers who wiggle their feet to wild rhythms, don't hesitate. This time, the Ball is at the CENTRE of the European capital, yak yak yak!! And if you find it hard to make yourself look like a freshly dug-up corpse, don't hesitate to leave your fate in the expert hands of our makeup artists and hairdressers.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION Saturday, April 7, 2018 9PM - Horta Hall – BOZAR/Centre for Fine Arts Makeup/hairdressing: € 3 (from 9 PM to 1 AM) Contest for the best disguise: 2 hours Advance booking: 13.50 € On site: 15 € www.bifff.net

2.3 Body Painting Contest 2.0

The BIFFF launched the BODY PAINTING CONTEST more than thirty years ago and since then it has been taken up all over the world. But now it arises from its ashes, like the phoenix. Thanks to AIR EUROPA and MIKIM FX (who are supporting this competition with an avalanche of prestigious prizes) international participants will be able to compete in the BODY PAINTING CONTEST on Sunday, April 8th at the BIFFF. The wildest, most fantastic and colorful creations will be presented during an unusual fashion show in the superb HLB hall and will then put to the vote by a jury of professionals.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION Sunday 8 April 2018 Centre for Fine Arts 2 – 4.30 PM: public access to the contest (free) 4.30 – 6 PM: unusual fashion show (10€ on-site – free tickets available via your registration on www.mikimfx.com)

2.4 Tarquin : the comeback!

Didier Tarquin, a of cartoon art, drew the poster for the 2017 BIFFF and he was a member of our Thriller jury, too. But above all, he is a human being like any other. Like thousands of you, he got the post- BIFFF blues at the end of last April. The only remedy for this chronic illness is to wait until the next edition, so Didier Tarquin took the initiative and started preparing his brushes for the 36th edition. But not just any which way! With a skillful system of post-it notes before certain sessions, the will be able to jot down ideas to inspire this outstanding artist. Because during the second week of the festival, he will be drawing live at the BIFFF!

2.5 Prosthetic Reality

The future is coming to the BIFFF! Witness the Belgian premiere of the AR exhibition Prosthetic Art in the corridors of the BIFFF, in partnership with the festival Courant 3D from Angoulême (), a collection of unforgettable works curated by the artist Sutu. Download the application for free and succumb to the art of the future! You won't believe your eyes!

2.6 Fantasy & Manga Market

Sunday, April 15th 2018 FANTASY & MANGA MARKET HORTA HALL BOZAR – CENTRE FOR FINE ARTS 36th Brussels International Festival ------The Fantasy and Manga Market is being held for the 7th time and takes place in the prestigious Horta Hall, next to the exhibitions entry. The Market is free for visitors and operating hours will be 10 AM till 8.30 PM. This event is a must for fans and collectors of posters, comics, DVDs and other film memorabilia! But it’s also a nice outing for the entire family, because on the same day we’re having a children’s program (with make-up, games, and a movie screening). Want to have a stand at the Market? Please contact [email protected]

2.7 Boulevard du polar

Spectacular robbery at the BIFFF – deposition by Boulevard du Polar! Minutes of the trial

Preliminary hearing: South African suspect Deon Meyer (Monday, April 9th) Deon Meyer is the internationally acclaimed author of seventeen best- sellers and also a director. He will present his latest film and will participate in a master class.

Profile Boulevard du Polar is an international multimedia festival. Its motive is to pay tribute to a genre that makes people’s hearts race and stirs up their neurons. One book out of five is a mystery. The genre has continued to grow in popularity and notoriety. The culprits are talented artists; it’s not clear whether they are novelists, filmmakers, screenwriters or illustrators. Literature and cinema revel in these stories rooted in the real world and that hold up an unflattering mirror.

Mysteries (, comic books, and films noirs) rely on the careful observation of society and report their findings in a critical and even controversial manner. They delve into our behavior, our instincts, our weaknesses, and our souls. In its slipstream were born modern knights and evil geniuses, like all mortals full of humanity, compassion, and frailty. The Suspects The investigators are looking into a French connection. The sponsors’ identity is known. They are the repeat offenders Nadine Monfils and Patrick Raynal. The list of suspected accomplices illustrates the scope of the network, with various profiles: screenwriters, novelists, and cartoonists with ink spots on their hands and film strips in their clutches! They are Belgian and maintain tight relations with their counterparts in mostly France. The following persons have confessed: Ian Manook: author of a Mongolian thriller trilogy, including the award-winning Yeruldelgger Serguei Dounovetz: continues the Nestor Burma series and also wrote a about a mourning aging rocker behind the wheel of a hearse in infernal Texas Stanislas Petrosky: is it any wonder that this former embalmer and fan of Frédéric Dard succeeded in getting Nadine Monfils to write a preface for his humorous and mocking stories?

The underworld’s women (also known as femmes fatales) are inevitably guilty. The conspiracy includes: ➢ Barbara Abel ➢ Lijn Alexandre ➢ Armelle Carbonel ➢ Sophie Chabanel ➢ Laurence Fontaine ➢ Pascale Fonteneau ➢ Kate Milie ➢ Elsa Roch

Suspicions also weigh heavily on a probable international network:

Craig Johnson (USA): will be summoned to shed light on Walt Longmire’s tenth adventure (master class: Saturday, April 14th at 4 PM). Juan- Méndez Guédez (Venezuela): the man who considers life to be a lucha libre-style fight will also be brought in.

Autopsy of the festival Signature sessions in Polar&Co’s bookstore at the festival Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 7 PM (free entrance) Panel discussions and master classes in the BIFFF Village (full program on www.boulevard- du-polar.be)

Screenings in Theatre 3: Friday, April 13th: Tueurs Saturday, April 14th: Une part d’ombre

Visits to unusual places and tastings of “bad taste” beer are also planned. Event – Friday, April 13th You can win thirteen autographed novels. If you liked Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water on the silver screen, you’ll just love his novel!

“A captivating work of art... that sheds light on the psychology of the characters, greatly enhances our understanding of their personality and dilemmas, and offers a broader and more engaging storyline.” (Booklist)

2.8 Gaming Madness Zone Gaming Madness Zone: 12 days of Gaming Mayhem in one spot!

There’s an ever thinner line between genre movies and games. We both love getting scared, killing orcs, having bad ass battles in space and so on. But even if we look like brothers from another mother, there is still so much we can learn from each other. That is why after three years of introducing all kind of gaming activities at the festival, we’re giving the gamers their very own space: The Gaming Madness Zone. This multifunctional space will start its activities on Wednesday 4 April, which will go on till Sunday 15 April. You’ll get access to the best new board games programmed by the Brussels Games Festival, you’ll be able to test new games and meet some old friends like Brotaru, Blending Game Jam, Brussels Game Festival,… And, as the cherry on the cake, there’ll be a masterclass devoted to games!

2.9 VR Screening Room

Horror in 2D is out; soon shuddering in 3D will be the new normal. Technology is evolving at supersonic speed and full immersion remains the Holy Grail of genre moviemaking! That’s why the BIFFF is opening its first Virtual Reality Screening Room, with nine Gears and a line-up of fifteen international titles, including the first VR films by Jaume Balagueró and Lloyd Kaufmann, as well as the masterpieces by Dark Corner Studios (screened every day from 2 to 11 PM)!

And you know what? Admission is absolutely free!

2.10 Sharing Box

Since you will spend an unforgettable moment at the BIFFF, why not immortalize it thanks to the Sharing Box? Sharing Box is a photo booth for today’s generation. With its 23-inch screen, it doesn’t just take pictures: it can make , add backgrounds, make gifs and printouts, and especially share them on social networks!

Enter posterity with your most fantastic mug shot, in partnership with RedSports.be, Sharing Box and the BIFFF!

2.11 iGoTo

This year, the BIFFF program is coming to life! It will have a brand new feature. With the iGOTO app, you can scan the program’s pictures that have the iGOTO Play logo. You’ll then be able to watch the trailers of those movies on your smartphone.

2.12 SÉMA Éditions Séma Éditions is a Belgian publishing house run by Michaël Schoonjans. Their favorite are the literature of the imaginary (science , fantasy, and horror), thrillers, esotericism, and youth. New collections are currently in preparation. The publishing house and its authors will be present at the BIFFF 2018. It’s a marriage made in heaven, given their preferences and their desire to introduce new genre writers. It will present the collections Séma'gique, Séma'cabre, Séma'galaxie, Séma'lice, Séma'lsain, Séma'phore, and Phénix! Authors signing their books at the BIFFF include:

Tuesday 3, Friday 13, Saturday 14, Sunday 15 Emmanuelle Nuncq: Les Chercheurs du Temps

Wednesday 4, Thursday 5, Friday 6, Saturday 14 Frédéric Livyns: Les Grisommes, parts 1, 2 & 3; Le Miroir du Damné; The Dark Gates of Terror; Les Contes d'Amy; Phénix 59; Petites histoires à faire peur... mais pas trop

Thursday 5, Saturday 7, Thursday 12, Saturday 14 Denis Labbé: Les Aventures de Bérénice et Profitroll, parts 1 & 2; Projet Cornélia, part 1

Friday 6, Monday 9, Tuesday 10 Daph Nobody: Nu sur le balcon

Friday 6, Saturday 7 Priscilla Grédé: Les Aventures de Bérénice et Profitroll, parts 1 & 2; Petites histoires à faire peur... mais pas trop

Saturday 7, Sunday 8 Philippe Dumont: Pour quelques grammes d’éternité

Sunday 8, Sunday 15 Southeast Jones: Il sera une fois…

Wednesday 11 Delphine Schmitz: Elixir de nouvelles

2.13 The 501st FanWars Garrison comes to the BIFFF

As part of this year’s partnership between the BIFFF and the Star Wars Identities exhibition, which ends its European tour at Palace 2 of the Heysel from April 2nd, the BIFFF invites the Dark Side of the Force.

The 501st FanWars Garrison is part of the 501st Legion, a worldwide non-profit organization whose activity is Star Wars costumed at official and charity events. Officially recognized by Lucasfilm, it is composed of more than 12,000 members around the world, spread across several national clubs.

The Stormtroopers accompanied by a Sith will brighten things up on April 15th. During the children’s afternoon, the young ones will even be allowed to sit in the Emperor’s Throne. The Stormtroopers will also be in charge of the festival-goers’ safety at the closing event ...

3. BIF MARKET After having hosted the co-production market for genre films for several years, the BIFFF set up its own market, exclusively dedicated to the sale of genre films. The BIF Market saw the light of day in 2017.

For the second edition, the BIF Market team has gone the extra mile and this time it’s even more innovating and welcoming, sometimes even with access for the general public.

The big novelty is the creation of a "Work in progress" section. Foreign producers will be showcasing current projects with a view to perhaps finishing them in Belgium, a cinema country with a strong expertise when it comes to post-production. It’s also an opportunity to highlight financing possibilities, not only via the tax shelter, but also through Belgian producers and post-production companies.

The films Muse, I Kill Giants, Mandy, and The Year of the Plague were all co-produced in Belgium and/or benefited from the excellent special effects available here. Muse, directed by Jaume Balagueró, will be shown at the festival in a classical version, but also in a special VR version. As VR or virtual reality is becoming bigger and bigger, we will highlight the phenomenon with a conference in collaboration with Wallimage, which helped finance the film.

The market also entails masterclasses and conferences led by professionals active in genre cinema and with a solid experience. For instance director Franck Ribière will come and talk about The Most Assassinated Woman in the World, the first 100% Belgian Netflix film, which will have its world premiere at the festival.

These masterclasses are generally reserved for professionals, attending in ever larger numbers from all over the world. A number of foreign production companies well-known to genre fans will be present, including Showbox (South Korea), Shoreline (), Reel Suspects (France), (), and Jinga Films (United Kingdom).

Which goes to show the reputation of the BIFFF and the BIF Market is well established!

4. THE OFF OF THE FESTIVAL 4.1 Zombifff Day

This year, the Zombifff’lympics welcomes Lloyd Kaufman as its godfather. He will open the 4th Olympic Games for Zombies during an unforgettable ceremony: after 13 days of racing… uh, walking starting from Drakulen Pis, the flame-bearer will finally arrive! In addition to the usual events such as spinal column-throwing or bridal gut-pitching, we will join the parade/marathon in the Royal Park. We will be holding a live concert and the much- awaited replay between journalists and zombies. On the occasion of the Football World Cup, a soccer game will be organized at the Parc Royale between zombies and journalists. Four years ago, the latter lost due to the lack of live players on the pitch. The zombies will then prepare some dance moves for an unforgettable flashmob. The BGF (Brussels Games Festival) organizes the following event:

Apocalypse at Carson City Zoo “Live”

Presentation: It’s a displacement game in which the players compete in teams of four. They have to save the animals of the Carson City zoo, fight the mutants and, above all, try and survive! Each team will consist of four players, with a value of 3 to 6. In each round, they will have to decide on one of the following actions:

- Bring a player into the zoo (the team then gets the points of the animal whose case they conquer but beware: there might be a mutant hiding in there);

- Move a inside the zoo (idem);

- Attack another character (this one then removes his chasuble and gives it to the at- tacking team: one can attack only a character whose value is less than or equal to one’s own value). The ZomBIFFF Day will end with two special ZomBIFFF films: RETURN TO RETURN TO RETURN TO NUKE 'EM HIGH AKA VOL. 2 in the presence of Lloyd Kaufman (9.30 PM – Cine 2) SOCCER KILLER (0.30 AM – Cine 2)

Timing:

11.30 AM: Arrival of the participants (make-up etc.) 12 noon: Opening ceremony with Lloyd Kaufmann 12.15 PM: Start 1.15 PM: Live concert 2.00 PM: Football match “Zombies vs Journalists” and break 2.30 PM: Carson City BGF animation 3.30 PM: Flashmob/choreography 4.00 PM: 2nd session Carson City BGF 5.00 PM: Closing and awards ceremony 9.30 PM (Cine 2): RETURN TO RETURN TO RETURN TO NUKE 'EM HIGH AKA VOL. 2 in the presence of Lloyd Kaufman 0.30 AM (Cine 2): SOCCER KILLER

4.2 35th Make Up Contest Free entrance Wednesday, April 4 to Thursday, April 12, 6 to 10 pm, Make Up Stand Award Ceremony on Friday, April 13, 9pm, Cine 3 Free make-up contest: open to all! Beginners, amateurs or semi-professionals, come in large numbers and demonstrate your creativity on the of fantasy, imagination, horror, and marvel at the 35th Face Makeup Contest. Turn human figures into monstrous or creatures, delirium into special effects and, above all, have fun! Register in one of the three categories: amateur, semi-pro, special FX. Registrations are compulsory and must be made the same evening at the make-up stand. Products are at your disposal but it is nevertheless advisable to bring your own material: brushes, sponges, latex, prostheses,... The jury will determine the winners (based on photos taken during the competition) on Friday, April 13th. See you at 9pm at the Festival to receive your prizes! Responsible: Georges Stevens ([email protected]) With the participation of the make-up school Jean-Pierre Finotto: www.finotto.be

Prizes are generously donated by: MiKim FX : Arkel Body Art Gallery : www.arkel.be www.mikimfx.com Hair Club : www.hairclub.be Squidlab : www.squidlab.be Jean-Luc Maitrank ; 0478/251.276 Optique Vicqueray : 02/343.5450

4.3 3rd international Art Contest

From Thursday 5 to Friday 13 April 2018, every other day, from 5 pm till 10 pm Award Ceremony: Saturday 14 April 2018 - 7 pm 1st Prize: official participation to the ArtBIFFF 2019 exhibition The competition will take place every other evening from 5 till 13 April with Fantastic Art as theme. The candidates will have to create their work at the Artists Workshop of the BIFFF at the Center for Fine Arts. The paintings need to have a size of 80/100 cm and will be shown in the exhibition space during the festival. All techniques are allowed. A professional jury, composed of Palix, David P, Patrick Van Craenebroeck, Monique Sterckx, Bettina Meermans, Jonathan Lenaerts, Alain Poncelet and Patrick Cornelis will judge each creation for the competition.

1st Prize 2017: PALIX

The BIFFF is organizing the third edition of its International Art Contest, an event that was an immediate success at its first edition in 2016. Dozens of participants realized a painting in 5 hours during a Live Performance.

Organized in collaboration with • Art Projects Pieterpauwel ([email protected]) • Curator : Marleen De Schryver • Sponsor : Le Géant des Beaux-Arts (http://www.geant-beaux-arts.be)

4.4 Artbifff

PALIX During my first fifteen years of making illustrations (mainly watercolors), I was a drawer at large trials for the Belgian media, from Marc Dutroux to Salah Abdeslam. I illustrated many posters, beer labels, cars, records, and a dozen books. There are few disciplines I didn’t try my hand at.

For five years now, I’ve been improvising with large-format oil paintings in order to push the limits of my imagination. A bit like an archaeologist who meticulously digs the ground without knowing what he will find there I seek traces of life hidden under the virgin white of the canvases. I invite you for a graphic walk through infinite landscapes and inner worlds.

DAVID P.

David P. is a busybody who, in order to tirelessly create his paintings, sometimes dips his pen in blood red, sometimes in the darkest black. Each of his works opens the door to a parallel world or a different dimension, populated with teasing little monsters, demonic creatures, and treacherously erotic nymphs. Since he suffers from Peter Pan syndrome, it is not surprising that he also produces a whole range of cuddly monsters and amazing animal drawings. This born and bred Bruxellois has already published many books including Le livre secret du dégoûtant, Elephant man, anatomie d’un monstre, the series Il était une fois… (about the history of Belgium), as well as the series Beurk, la cruelle histoire de l’humanité, in which he shows us a new facet of his art: playful and educational books tinged with the sort of humor that will delight teenagers fond of spectacular . Dive straight into his historical- fantastical-erotic-burlesque universe.

ALAIN PONCELET & PATRICK CORNELIS

When two cartoonists and absolute fans of the zombie genre decide to do a joint project, it’s a safe bet they will not be pulling punches. Patrick Cornelis (Virus) and Alain Poncelet (Omega Thanatos, Rusalka) give full reign to their imagination in Mortinfernum, halfway between comic and art book. It contains three short stories in comics format, twenty works of art remade in “zombie fashion,” a “hot” chapter, and many other gory details! The book, which will be published at the end of March, will be presented at the BIFFF, including signing sessions and an exhibition.

SERGE BOULAROT Approach My research focuses on the representation of the human body. My job as a plastic arts teacher naturally led me to analyze the work of past masters, those of Greco-Roman Antiquity as well as of later periods. Homer uses the terms “thumos”, “psukhé”, and “aion” to describe what animates man, what pushes him to , what makes him live. These notions, quite abstract for us, were for the ancient Greeks concrete physiological substances. “Thumos” is the spirit, the ordinary consciousness of man. It’s a breath: vaporous, linked to the heart and lungs. The head is the seat of the “psukhé”: the soul or principle of life which, according to the Greeks, is not limited to the brain but extends to all the clear substances of the body: marrow, fat... The “aion”, on the other hand, is the paragon of all fluids: tears, sweat... In this sense, the “aion” is a sign of life, opposed to dryness, a sign of aging and death. I seek to implement this interiority of man, already thought of as a material conjunction by the Greeks, through matter. I endeavor to transpose the assimilation of moods, feelings, and human psychology with substances and organs to the soil. I try and find the structures and rhythms that spontaneously express the essence of man. How can we externalize physical and psychological beings through matter only? My work questions this representation of the body through the implementation of various techniques pertaining to today’s array of plastic possibilities. Made with paint, paper, and especially ceramic sculpture, my figurative work is plastic first and foremost. This double dimension of the image of the body inscribed in earth matter signifies a correspondence between man and his representation. Whether they are deaf or imperious, the same impulses animate the represented body and the ceramics that constitute it. This way, matter takes on meaning and the human form expressive force.

4.5 Animations TaKaPa

Four-legged Monsters Don't be afraid! Their hustle and bustle notwithstanding, they’re just two friendly balls of hair. That is, if they’ve eaten enough beforehand, of course... Will you dare approach them?

The Witches With their impressive broomsticks, our witches will not go unnoticed during your Halloween and medieval parties. Laughter and thrills guaranteed!

The Demons Run, they're coming! These quick and mischievous demons appear out of nowhere and make a mess wherever they go!

Mrs. Pumpkin She doesn't like princesses, children, old people, beauties or ugly ducks... In short, she doesn't like anything much, except maybe to talk, grumble and sing! But she’ll make you laugh!

Voodoo Magic and Cartomancy Meet Madame Nostra. Your past, present and future has no secret for her. Want even more magic? Baron Samedi is quite skillful at levitating objects. All you need for a magical BIFFF! www.takapa.be

Puck Company

Once more, Puck Company is present at the BIFFF! Not only will they present a zany closing show, they will make you move your ass during the ZomBIFFF’lympics! They also come in the guise of trolls: small, big, beautiful, and cuddly. Bring on the mud! www.puckcompany.be

Art&Smile

Monstrous Beauties Visual and acrobatic show of two Monstrous Beauties, with a hideously poetic program. Keep your eyes and ears open and don't lose a minute of their opening show! www.art-smile.be

Magic Land Theatre

The Magic Land Theatre has been a part of the BIFFF for years. Founded in 1975, the company has seen its activities diversify from puppet shows to television programs, but has always remained faithful to its first love: street arts. During the festival, these wickedly funny actors put on their wildest costumes and shape-shift into fantastic and zany creatures. www.magicland-theatre.com

Tultétar Co.

The Yeti Remember the yeti? You know: hairy, half animal, half man, with big feet and hands, known to scream his head off. Well, he’s out! In 2018, with all kinds of species dying out, he has reincarnated as a new creature: no thicker than an envelope, hair as good as gone, with tiny feet, and fond of dancing and hugging. How’s that sound?

Predator

He is back like a wrathful warrior! This time, the Predator has chosen Brussels as his hunting ground. Festival-goers beware, you are his new target! Whether for a photo or to see his trophies up close: come and meet the Predator!

4.6 PointCulture From E.T. to Stranger Things, what's changed? Zone Geek

The conference begins with a wide array of 80s pop culture and ends with Netflix, big data and Stranger Things! There's nothing like a mini conference to revive a bygone era: a time when you could meet aliens, ghost hunters, and gremlins and wander a whole day with Ferris Bueller! Rewinding your cassettes with a pencil to save the batteries of your walkman was an absolute art, just like learning karate by attacking fences...

Jérôme di Egidio & Kamal Messaoudi Jerome and Kamal met each other while studying . Among these geeks’ shenanigans is the short film Le souvenir de Gally, which pays homage to 1980s science fiction. Find their geeks reports on the Zone Geek channel: www.ZoneGeek.be

Practical information March 27th from 5.30 to 7.00 PM at PointCulture ULB Ixelles Admission: € 3 / € 2 (students), includes a free Cuvée des Trolls beer

Hate, Fear and Love | Francesco Serafini After his latest exhibition My Vision of Japan, Francesco Serafini is back with a project based on his second passion: cinema. Following a long collaboration with the BIFFF as a photographer, Francesco Serafini presents a new and original project: Hate, Fear and Love–three feelings that one often feels after watching a film. The photo ID format was chosen in order to give the model complete freedom and in order to maintain the same field of vision for everyone. Each shooting session took no more than thirty seconds, with a fake snapshot effect. The final result is amazing.

Biography Francesco Serafini has been working as a photo reporter for more than twenty years. He has worked in such places as Panama, Vietnam, and Japan, but has also explored other fields as a director and event organizer. He now lives and works in Brussels and every year, he faithfully attends the BIFFF, yes sir!

Practical information 04 > 28/04 (Tuesday to Saturday) at PointCulture ULB Ixelles Opening: Wednesday, April 4th from 5.30 PM

5. MASTERCLASS

5.1 Guillermo del Toro The young Mexican who had to sell his car to finance Cronos has come a long way. Yes indeed, we’re talking about Guillermo del Toro, who’s just won the Best Director and Best Movie for The Shape of Water!

During an exceptional master class at the 2018 BIFFF, he will be talking about his amazing career. You will hear it all, from writing The Devil’s Backbone while still at school to the temporary blindness of his entire crew while shooting Blade 2, from his long collaboration with buddies Ron Perlman and Doug Jones to the 22-minute ovation at the Cannes festival after screening Pan’s Labyrinth… Expect some funny asides, too. Does he really have a second house to store his gigantic comic book collection? Is it true he and James Cameron once hit Harvey Weinstein? Guillermo del Toro is a passionate and fascinating speaker, especially when it comes to cinema. The conversation with one of the world’s greatest filmmakers will be led by Fabrice du Welz and Jonas Govaerts, two of Belgium’s most talented genre movie directors.

Wednesday, April 11th 8:30 PM – Theatre 1

5.2 League of Human Rights Thursday April the 15th Theatre 1 (Q&A space) Fear in the city! Cities and Citizenship in Fantasy and Science Fiction A few months before the municipal elections, the Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH) is organizing a master class about the image of the city in genre, fantasy, and science-fiction cinema. The debate will take place after the film Survival Family ().

Speakers: Yannick Hustache (PointCulture), Gauthier Keyaerts (artist and journalist), David Morelli (Ligue des droits de l'Homme) and John Pitseys (researcher CRISP); chairman: Jean-Jacques Jespers (administrator). Many films tell the story of the city, and by extension of society and the world at large. Many filmmakers have projected the aspirations and anxieties of their time onto metaphorical cities: Metropolis, Elysium, Dark City, Sin City, Escape from New York... But here is quite a gap between the utopian Tomorrowland (a harmonious, rational, and cold city) and the dystopian Gotham (corrupt, anarchic yet so vivid).

What happens when, as in Survival Family, a city (and society as a whole) stops working after a general blackout? Can the rule of law survive? How about democracy? And what happens outside the city walls?

5.3 Deon Meyer From novel to : a meeting with Deon Meyer

During the 36th edition of the BIFFF, literature and film enter into a fruitful relationship. With the cooperation of the Festival Boulevard du Polar, we present a meeting with Deon Meyer. Originally from South Africa, Deon Meyer is a novelist of popular and critically acclaimed mystery novels. Apart from his literary work, this prolific author has been active in the South African film and television industry for more than ten years. In 2013, Deon Meyer wrote and directed his first , Die laaste tango. The screening of Jagveld (Hunting Emma), an adaptation of his novel, at this year’s BIFFF is the perfect opportunity to ask Meyer about his trade secrets. What are the essential ingredients for a good story? How did he make the transition from literature to film? How do you turn a novel into a screenplay? Does he filter his ideas before developing them? Did he ever turn an idea for a novel into a screenplay? According to what criteria? Are all ideas suitable for any medium? And what are the specifics of the novel and the screenplay? What works in one medium and does not in the other? All these questions, along with excerpts from his films and novels, will provide ample material for an exciting discussion on the relationship between literature and film.

The meeting will be led by Boris TILQUIN and Gaëtan DELFERIÈRE (Association des Scénaristes de l' Audiovisuel); it will be followed by a signing session.

Monday, April 9th from 4 to 6 PM

6. APPETIZERS

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival continues to support short films and defends the work of directors who have made the genre their favorite means of expression. This year, we have expanded our program with a non-competitive section of foreign shorts and the European Méliès competition.

These prizes will be awarded: - The Silver Méliès for the best short movie at the BIFFF, which will be chosen by the public on Sunday, April 8th (starting at 12.30!) and announced during the closing ceremony on April 15th; - The Grand Prix of the festival (Prix Michel Devillers), also winner of the FedEx Prize; the winner will take part in the competition for the best Belgian Short (Saturday, April 7th, beginning at 12.00!), the winner of which will take part in the Silver Méliès competition the following day; - The Sabam Prize, the BeTv Prize, the La Trois Prize; - The prize of the Youth Jury (consisting of the winners of the screenplay competition organized by the Confédération Parascolaire).

We continue to expand our Belgian program with non-competitive sections and also a brand new, not to be missed Courts Mais Trash session (Friday, April 13th at 10 PM)

6.1 Belgian Short Film Competitions Jury GUY ASTIC President of the Festival Tous Courts in Aix-en-Provence, Guy Astic teaches cinema at high school and university. He’s the managing director of the publishing house Rouge Profond and has written books on fantasy, horror, , and Stephen King.

CHRISTIAN BONTINCKX

Born in 1954, Christian Bontinckx studied psychology, pedagogy and cinematography at the ULB in Brussels. He also finished studies in art at the art academy of Sint Josse and Anderlecht, worked as a psy and helped on papers like “does cinema make you a mean person? “ that was presented at BIFFF in 2001. He participated at at the writing of pedagogic short movies made by Fredeirc Dumont in 1994 and Vincent Lannoo in 1996. He also curates expos.

BÉNÉDICTE BOURGOIS

Since 2006 she's been the head of the RTBF's Short Films Acquisitions and TV shows, especially with La Trois Channel's "Tout Court".When the RTBF started coproducing Belgian short films, back in 2009, she also became a member of the selection committee for the pending scripts. For several years now, she's been working with the editing short film committee at the WEBKey of the Centre of Wallonia Brussels imagery promotion tool which aims at putting our directors' works on the big screens of foreign markets and festivals.

XAVIER D’HONT

Xavier was born in the province of Liège in 1993, graduated in Public Relations in Namur, and recently joined the Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. He turned towards the film sector after several interesting experiences in his student days: he was a reporter for local radio station AFM, production assistant at Canal C (a television station in Namur), director/cameraman at trade fairs and sporting events, Community Manager at the FIFF/Festival International du Film Francophone etcetera. At the BIFFF, he will be a juror for the very first time!

MICHEL DEVILLERS

Born in Tournai on June 20th 1950, a painter and a sculptor, he is one of these artists whose voice never fades and constantly brings food for thought to the world surrounding us.

GOKHAN KULAK

Gökhan's early fascination with movies was encouraged by his father, who took him to Sunday Matinées, where he saw his first sword-and- sandal film as well as lots of martial arts movies. He was performing as an extra in several short films and TV series. Gökhan is responsible for the selection of the short films for the Fantasy Film Fest which takes place in the late summer in several cities in Germany.

NATALIE LEBEL

Studied literature and cinema at the University of VIII. Since 2006, head of Sales and Acquisitions at the short films Agency, Broadcast service: "I've had the pleasure of discovering many short films masterpieces, all by working in collaboration with producers, directors and buyers to put forward and valorize a thousands short films filled catalog made for all types of broadcasters around the world."

TOM POUCE

This die-hard fan has been a BIFFF-regular since the 2nd edition. He's crazy enough to spend his holidays each year at the festival. He's a member of our short film jury and responsible for the smooth progress of the Audience Award. His name is Alain Galand, but everybody knows him as Tom Pouce.

GILLES REUNIS

After working for 5 years as marketing manager at the Cinéart movie distribution company, Gilles Reunis now is head of acquisitions at Betv-VOO and is in charge of broadcasting, selecting and buying feature films, movies made for TV and short films for PayTV and VOD. He’s also in charge of coproducing Belgian full length and short films.

FRANÇOIS STASSENS François Stassens is the head of the SABAM’s audiovisual department. His mission is to be the go-to person between the SABAM and the French-speaking members of the audiovisual business. His main role is to be present on the field, handle communication, operating files as well as the requests for sponsorship in the audiovisual business. He’s also very active at the Pro Spere federation, which is consisted of many authors’ associations specialized in audiovisual, as well at the movie department’s Consultation Committee of the Wallonia- Brussels Federation.

One screening session on Saturday 07/04 at 12:00 (competition) and 3.10PM (outside competition), in Theatre CINE 3. The Short Film Competition is organised with the support of the “Fédération Wallonie- Bruxelles“ Saturday 7th, at 12:00, Theatre 3 Dynaman / Michiel Blanchart / 20 min. / Belgium / 2017 Cast: Guillaume Kerbusch, Lucile Vignolles, Yvain Juillard, Didier, … Screenplay by Michiel Blanchart Music: Simon Fransquet D.O.P.: Marion Descy Contact: [email protected] Hidden and dressed in a red cape, Dynaman patrols the streets of Brussels, ready to save everyone!

The day the dogs disappeared / Ruth Mellaerts & Boris Kuijpers / 20 min. 27 / Belgium / 2017 Cast: Leen Van Diependaele, Nico Sturm, Peter De Graef, Boris Van Severen, … Screenplay by Ruth Mellaerts & Boris Kuijpers Music: Jens Bouttery D.O.P.: Robrecht Heyvaert Version: Ned. O.V., Eng. ST Contact: [email protected] Anna tries to protect her family, while a feeling of fear slowly creeps into their lives. The familiar becomes progressively strange... Deer Boy / Katarzyna Gondek / 15 min. / Poland/Belgium/Croatia / 2017 Cast: Janusz Chabior, Katarzyna Sobiszewska, Eryk Maj, … Screenplay by Katarzyna Gondek Music: D.J. Lenar D.O.P.: Maciej Twardowski Version: No dialogue Contact: [email protected] A tragicomic story about a hunter’s son born with antlers on his head...

Het Nest / Matthias De Bondt / 22 min. / Belgium / 2017 Cast: Sid Van Oerle, Laurence Roothooft, Janelle Vanes, … Screenplay by Matthias De Bondt Music: Ruben De Gheselle D.O.P.: Xavier Van D’Hyunslager Version: Ned. O.V., Eng. ST Contact: [email protected] He thought he was in heaven in the care of two lovely nurses, but he soon realizes that he’s in hell! Lost in the Middle / Senne Dehandschutter / 16 min. 42 / Belgium / 2017 Cast: Soufiane Chilah, Matthieu Sys, Dahlia Pessemiers, Koen Van Impe, … Screenplay by Senne Dehandschutter & Kevin Ingelbrecht Music: Liesa Van der Aa D.O.P.: Robrecht Heyvaert Version: Ned., Eng. & Arabic O.V., Eng. ST Contact: [email protected]

Two young Belgians leave for Syria. One is a journalist and the other a fighter... but nevertheless, they will find common ground! Les Naufragés / Mathieu Mortelmans & Cécile Delberghe/ 15min. / Belgium / 2018 Cast: Cécile Delberghe, Babetida Sadjo, … Screenplay by Cécile Delberghe Music: Vincent Ternest D.O.P.: Guillaume Simonin Version: Fre. O.V., Eng. ST Contact: [email protected] World premiere! Lou is a lawyer, Nina is a detainee; the meeting between these two women in prison will change their lives for ever.

6.2 Belgian short film: non-competitive section

Fugazi / Laurent Michelet / 28 min. 30 / Belgium/France / 2017 Cast: Alexia Depicker, Vincent Londez, Adena De Leener, … Screenplay by Fred Castadot Music: Pierre-Antoine Durand D.O.P.: Patrice Michaux Version: Fre. O.V., Eng. ST Contact: [email protected] Adèle has been working on a space station for three years and she has just one more mission to accomplish. But a grain of sand will change her destiny...

Caducea / Christophe Mavroudis / 25 min. / Belgium / 2017 Cast: Marie-Jeanne Maldague, Guillaume Alexandre, Vincent Delré, Maïlyse Hermans, … Screenplay by Christophe Mavroudis Music: Icarius Projektz D.O.P.: Guillaume Simonin Version: Fre. O.V., Eng. ST Contact: [email protected] Behind this Italian mask hides a distorted face with a macabre secret...

Sepsis / Pierre-Michel Chevigné & Loren Claessens / 30 min. / Belgium / 2018 Cast: Jean-Michel Vovk, Stéphanie Lowette, Yannick Rosset, … Screenplay by Pierre-Michel Chevigné & Loren Claessens Music: Lorris Gisana D.O.P.: Thomas Wilski Version: Fre. O.V. , Eng. ST Contact: [email protected]

World premiere! After a contamination, Fred and Catherine barricade themselves in a house. An infection turns people into zombies and the only cure is… booze!

Muil / Jasper Vrancken / 18 min. / Belgium / 2018 Cast: Matthieu Sys, Pascal Maetens, Myrthe Kramer, Anny Goddyn, … Screenplay by Jasper Vrancken Music: Kreng D.O.P.: Hyun De Grande Version: Ned. O.V. Contact: [email protected] Richard has a rather original sexual fantasy: to be completely devoured!

6.3 European Short Film Competition (Méliès)

One projection session on Sunday 8/04 at 12.30 (with 2 breaks)

36th INT. FESTIVAL OF FANTASY FILMS - SHORT FILMS - PROPORTIONAL VOTE

The European Short Film Competition is organised with the support of the “Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles“.

Psycho Kino / Guillem Dols / 18 min. / Spain / 2017 Teddy Bear Picnic / Tom “The Dude“ Hodges / 5 min. / U.K. / 2017 El aleteo del colibri (The Flapping of the Hummingbird) / Meritxell A. Valls / 15 min. / Spain / 2017 L’ora del buio (The Hour of Darkness) / Domenico de Feudis / 11 min. / / 2017 Alicia / Daniel M. Caneiro / 10 min. / Spain / 2017 A child outside / Panos Eliakopoulos / 7 min. / Greece / 2017 Ivy / Ruben Abarca / 14 min. / Spain / 2017 Splendida Moarte Accident (The blissful accident dead) / Sergiu Negulici / 16 min. / Romania / 2017 R.I.P. / Pinto & Caye / 17 min. / Spain / 2017 Mi-temps / Marie Sauvion & Lotfi Bahmed / 15 min. 45 / France / 2017 Marta / Lucia Forner Segarra / 15 min. / Spain / 2017 Scaramouche Scaramouche / Arthur Môlard / 25 min. / France / 2017 Sons of Bitches / Arnaud Baur / 20 min. / Switzerland / 2017 The Belgian short winner the day before The Elephone Man / Magarditch Halvadjian / 23 min. / Bulgaria / 2017 Pandora / Daniel Rübesam / 14 min. / Germany / 2017 Belle à croquer / Axel Courtière / 15 min. / France / 2017

6.4 International Shorts

Part one: Saturday the 14th 10PM

We summoned a demon / Chris McInroy / 6 min. / U.S.A. / 2017

Atomic Spot / Stéphanie Cabdevila / 14 min. / France / 2017

Imbroglio / Christopher Zatta / 15 min. / U.S.A. / 2017

DaemonRunner / Kiah Roache-Turner / 4 min. 41 / Australia / 2016

Red Ash / Yuta Sano / 22 min. / Japan / 2017

Hypocondriaque / Carnior / 5 min. 22 / Canada / 2017

Le Cow Boy du Mont Laurier / Gabrile Vilandré / 11 min. / Canada (Québec) / 2017

Chainsaw Charlie / Dan Lesser / 7 min. / U.S.A. / 2017

Alfred J Hemlock / Edward Lyons / 14 min. / Australia / 2017

Stay / David Mikalson / 8 min. 40 / U.S.A. / 2017

Part two: Saturday the 14th 8PM

Overrun / Pierre Ropars, Antonin Derory, Diane Thirault, Jérémie Cottard, Matthieu Druaud & Adrien Zumbihl / 7 min. 42 / France / 2017

9 Pasos (9 steps) / Moises Romera & Marisa Crespo / 7 min. / Spain / 2017

Transmission / Varun Raman & Tom Hancock / 17 min. 26 /. U.K. / 2017

Alleycats / Alejandro Jiménez / 8 min. 30 / Spain / 2017

Un Loft au Paradis / Alexandre Lança / 17 min. 30 / France / 2016

Angel Caido / Fran Parra / 17 min. / Spain / 2017

Memoria interna / Andrea Braga / 22 min. 16 / Argentina / 2017

A la Hora Marcada" (The Appointment) / José Luis Rivera / 15 min. 54 / Mexico / 2017

Part three : Monday the 9th 8PM

Mehua / Camille Aiglonz, Simon Anding, Michiru Baudet, Margo Roquelaure, Diane Tran Duc, Lucy Vallin Holmes / 4 min. 52 / France / 2017

Nouvelle Cuisine / Manuel Reyes Halaby / 5 min. / Spain / 2017

The Prank / Hervé Faula / 2 min. / France / 2017

Review / Filipe Traslatti de Mello / 16 min. / / 2017

Les fines bouches (The Foodies) / Arnaud Tabarly & Julien de Volte / 17 min. / France / 2017

Revelation – The City of Haze / Mao Qichao / 13 min. 38 / China / 2017

The Milkman / Giovanni Sabbagh / 12 min. 40 / Lebanon / 2017

Fe / Fran Parra / 10 min. 49 / Spain / 2017

Hezar Afsan (One thousand ) / Asghar Safar & Abbas Jalali Yekta / 8 min. / / 2017

Part four : Sunday the 8th 8PM

Marta no viene a cenar (Marta is not coming for dinner) / Macarena Astorga / 17 min. / Spain / 2017

Write off / Diego Hidalgo Lizana / 9 min. / Chile / 2017

The cleaner / Bowon Kim / 19 min. / South Korea / 2017

Exodus 20 / Jana Nedzvetkaya / 9 min. 04 / Russia / 2017

No Caminho Da Escola (On the way to school) / 9 min. / Brazil / 2017

Crying free sex / Iwasaki Tomohiko / 15 min. / Japan / 2018

Compatible / Pau Bacardit / 15 min. / Spain / 2017

The Replacement / Sean Miller / 16 min. 15 / U.S.A. / 2018

6.5 The year of the Contestation https://contestation2018.bruxelles.be/en This year marks the 50th anniversary of May 68 and its ensuing protest movements, of which contemporary society is the heir. The City of Brussels, at the initiative of its alderman of Culture, Karine Lalieux, has decided to bring together all of the city’s cultural institutions to address today’s contestation. In the 21st century, extremism, nationalistic narcissism, and simplistic divisions are once again rearing their ugly head. Fantasy has always been the ideal genre to denounce totalitarianism, anticipate ideological and technological aberrations, and sound the alarm through fiction. From Soylent Green to 1984 to Hunger Games, there is no shortage of examples. In 2018, the BIFFF features two outstanding films: with its bold Wrath of Silence contradicts the Chinese tendency to censorship, while Five Fingers for Marseilles advocates civil disobedience in post-Apartheid South Africa.

Five Fingers For Marseilles A clearly tribute to classical westerns, Five Fingers for Marseilles transposes Sergio Leone's mythical universe in post-colonial South Africa with its majestic landscapes. Cheeky for a first film, Michael Matthews can be proud of his work: complete immersion in the field, very present, polished plans that are waiting to hear a fragment of a harmonica to enter the legend; this modern version of the lonely cowboy is made in the image of The A-Team with Stetsons, where everyone would like that the plan unfolds without a hitch!

Wrath of Silence When Zhang Baomin returns to his native village in the arid north of China, he immediately notices that something is wrong. His son has disappeared and life in the village has come to a standstill. It looks like one of those forgotten places in spaghetti westerns where men only find solace in drinking at the local saloon. When he starts investigating he crosses the path of a man as evil as the devil in person. Chang Wannian (played by Jiang Wu, seen in Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin) is a man with a plan: he wants to control all the coalmines in the region, by any means necessary… Life will bring these two men together in a duel without a happy end.

6.6 Kim Jee-woon retrospective Wednesday 11 at 8 PM – Theatre 3

A tale of two sisters (2003-South Korea) Screenplay by Jee-woon Kim Casting : Kap-su Kim, Jung-ah Yum, Soo-jung Lim,… Duration : 115 minutes

After an unspecified traumatic event, two sisters go back home with their father, where they’re not exactly getting a warm reception from their wicked stepmother. Nothing is quite what it seems in this masterful horror thriller which keeps you guessing until the last moment as to how it all fits together. With this story about unconditional sisterly love, director Jee- woon Kim won a string of prizes all over the world, including a Silver Raven for his graceful actress Jung-ah Yum at the 2004 BIFFF. Kim doesn’t need cheap shocks but relies instead on convincing characters, sinister atmospherics, and agonizingly slow camera work. Forget the inferior American remake The Uninvited and just witness how strong a cast-iron concept can be if you meticulously stick to it! Friday 6 at 8 PM – Theatre 3

The good, the bad, the weird (2008- South Korea) Screenplay by Jee-woon Kim and Min-suk Kim Casting : Kang-ho Song, Byung-hun Lee, Woo-sun Jung,… Duration : 139 minutes

Following a mysterious map and armed with multifarious armaments, three wily individuals each go on a separate treasure hunt in the Manchurian desert during the turbulent 1940s, with the Japanese army, Korean independence fighters, Chinese bandits, and all sorts of gangs and hoodlums hot on their heels. The is obviously just a pretext in this eastern full of crazy characters, virtuoso shootouts, and wild camera capers. The body count is immeasurable and blood often spurts right onto the camera lens in the most expensive movie in South Korean film history. Throughout, Jee-woon Kim pays homage to the Sergio Leone of Fistful of Dollars and Once Upon a Time in the West, including an Ennio Morricone-like soundtrack in which flamenco guitars and Balkan brass bands vie for your attention. Two and a half hours of unbridled pleasure!

Wednesday 4 at 8 PM – Theatre 3

I saw the devil (2010-South Korea) Screenplay by Jee-woon Kim and Hoong-jung Park Casting : Byung-hun Lee, Choi Min-sik, Joon-hyeok, Lee, … Duration : 142 minutes

The wife of a big shot in the South Korean intelligence agency is brutally murdered by a serial killer, upon which the grieving husband sets out on a revenge mission that remains unmatched on the silver screen. In film history, I Saw the Devil (our 2011 Golden Raven) was a watershed moment because from then on all thrillers would be classified in the pre or the post Devil era. With this masterpiece, filmmaker Jee-woon Kim reached new heights regarding intelligent , blood- curdling , eerie atmospherics, and clever direction. The remake came out in 2014, the Hollywood version is in the works as we speak, but the original remains unsurpassed!

6.7 Cronos Retrospective

Thursday 12 at 2 PM-Theatre 2 An antiquarian accidentally discovers a golden scarab in the base of a wooden statue. The legendary Federico Luppi gave one of his best performances, while young director Guillermo del Toro became the golden boy of genre cinema. With a budget of 2 million dollars (the largest at the time for a Mexican film, a quarter of which came from its director) Cronos won 22 international awards, particularly in Cannes, but especially at the BIFFF with a Silver Raven in 1994. Universal wants to buy the rights for a remake, but Del Toro refuses. It’s the kind of Faustian pact that he reserves for the characters of his movies. The rest is history, crowned last March by 4 Oscars. At the occasion of his exceptional appearance at the BIFFF, we want to screen the movie that started it all and finally give him his Silver Raven in person!

6.8 Mexico Focus

Some people want to build a wall, we’d rather build bridges. Some only see cocaine and tacos, Mexico’s worst export clichés; we see a rich culture that craves exposure on the silver screen. Because, no, Mexico is not just El Chapo, drug cartels, and Selena Gomez’s stolen pictures from Puerto Vallarta! When it comes to cultural heritage, the native country of Frida Kahlo and the adoptive country of Luis Buñuel has nothing to be ashamed of. Its talented filmmakers are ready to do away with any preconceived ideas: Alejandro Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriel García Bernal, and that little upstart named Guillermo del Toro.... The entire world envies Mexico these talents and that’s why we at the BIFFF want to honor its extraordinary cinema.

6.9 Courts mais Trash

Friday the 13th, at 10 PM-Theatre 3

Once more the Brussels Independent Short Film Festival is present at the BIFFF. Its creator and organizer, François Marache, has selected the best genre shorts of the latest edition. On the program: Pétage de plomb, Serial Killer, Jésus et ses potes, a Desperate Housewives-remake à la , and a bloody karaoke!

Tundra / Karim OUELHAJ / 2017 / Belgium / 29 min.

Le Crayon / Basile VUILLEMIN / 2017 / Belgium / 0 min 40

In Nomine Debiti / Bilal BAHADIR / 2016 / Germany / 1 min. 29

Les Rescapés de l'Impossible : Le convoi de la peur / Mathieu BERTHON / 2017 / France / 14 min. 51

Le monde étrange du LSD / Lenny & Harpo GUIT / 2017 / France / 1 min. 02

Nocturnally yours / David FERINO / 2017 / U.S.A. / 11 min. 17

Cries in Spanish / Giancarlo LOFFREDO / 2017 / U.S.A. / 4 min. 42

I-Medium / Alfonso GARCIA LOPEZ / 2016 / Spain / 6 min.

The Contract / CHRZU / 2015 / / 6 min. 35

Don't ever change / Don SWAYNOS / 2017 / U.S.A. / 9 min. 44

6.10 Mad in Belgium It’s no secret to anyone that the few Belgian movies that get released in the theatres of the Kingdom are just the tiny tip of a giant film production iceberg. Some of the pictures that are floating underneath are completely deranged, experimental, improbable or underground, but all are craving to find their place in the sun (or under the Belgian drizzle, if you prefer). And as this kind of cinema is exactly our piece of cake, these films can only be enjoyed at the BIFFF, together with our always enthusiastic and jovial audience. That’s why this year we’re offering you a few slices of… Typically Mad in Belgium!

Ca tourne près de chez vous (2018-Belgium) Directed by Arno Pluquet Screenplay by Arno Pluquet and Olivia Robert Casting : David D'urbano, Annick Cornette, Arno Pluquet, … Duration : 80 minutes

Two amateur filmmakers make a documentary about the Moeraske in Evere, a sleepy, swampy corner of the Belgian capital. On a sunny summer day in 2017, seven corpses and a car are found there. A DVD and a camera on the scene contain proof of an actual suicide. Before they know what’s what, our private eyes are up shit creek without a paddle... For Ça tourne près de chez vous, Brussels filmmaker Arno Pluquet, a self-proclaimed fantasy buff, was inspired by Man Bites Dog, The Blair Witch Project, and other Cloverfields. With a combination of found footage, film-within-the- film, and tragicomedy, he finishes his fantasy trilogy, the first parts of which were also shown at the BIFFF: Papillon noir (2016) and La caravane du cafard (2017). This time, he shares screenwriting and directing credits with Olivia Robert.

Doubleplusungood (2017-Belgium) Directed by Marco Laguna Screenplay by Wild Dee and Marco Laguna Casting : Delfine Bafort, Georges Beguin, Jonathan Borms, … Duration : 90 minutes

A man with a nasty face and a criminal record returns to the urban jungle that he had to leave 15 years ago for an extended stay in the can. Now he’s back with an axe to grind: he wants to kill off Lucifer’s Twelve Apostles. Methodically he goes through the list, if need be with extreme measures. Not exactly someone we care to meet at midnight in a dark alley… but in a dark movie theater we rather like this kinda fella! In a previous life, Marco Laguna (a.k.a. Marc du Marais) toured the European concert circuit with the legendary indie band La Muerte. His first full-fledged fiction film, a labor of love five years in the making, is a no-nonsense cross between a revenge movie and a spiritual . Among the thesps, we recognize national talents like actress/model Delfine Balfort (You Go to My Head, Steve + Sky) and dramatic heavyweight (Above the Law, Raw, The First, the Last).

Ex Funeris (2018-Belgium) Directed by Alexandre Drouet Screenplay by Alexandre Drouet Casting : David Leclercq, Anne-Pascale Clairembourg, Erika Sainte,… Duration :80 minutes

A firm finds a revolutionary solution to an age-old problem: how to resuscitate the dead? But soon after, a cosmic disaster takes place and it’s back to year zero. Eight months later, a mysterious man wanders around amidst what’s left of society, while the survivors try and organize as best they can. Ex funeris by Walloon filmmaker Alexandre Drouet is not just a genre quickie. Rather than the umpteenth cheap zombie flick, this intelligently constructed film is a profound reflection on consumer society and the place of man in it. Thanks to Drouet’s lo-fi approach and no-nonsense black-and-white photography, his apocalyptic story ends up having more in common with The Road than with Mad Max or World War Z.

Joanne (2018-USA/Belgium) Directed by Christopher Morrison Screenplay by Christopher Morrison Casting : Alex Reid, Christopher Morrison, … Duration: 85 minutes

Picture a world where women have to face institutionalized conspiracy. Picture a world where they are kidnapped and brainwashed to make them docile and easy to manipulate. This time, Joanne has been kidnapped and held in an ancient chapel by the Conspiracy. Unbeknownst to the Conspiracy (and herself) Joanne harbours many secrets that will change the Conspiracy and herself forever. She has no idea what’s coming for her and she won’t be the only one to face the unexpected. The BIFFF presents the very first feminist “huis-clos” ever made! This reflection on a misogynist near- future society is brought to us by two Brussels’ expats, Ioana Mattei and Christopher Morrison. Intertwining and , Joanne, which was entirely shot in our beautiful capital, is driven by Alex Reid’s impressive performance. There are also some big names in the crew: Gabi Norland (Attack the Block) as DOP and Olivier Merckx (a notorious member of the Bifff Collectifff) as steadycam operator. Memento Mori (2018-Belgium) Directed by Michael Vermaercke Screenplay by Michael Vermaercke Casting : Charlotte De Wulf,Felix Meyer,Aaron Roggeman,... Duration : 72 minutes

A beautiful girl in a coma on a hospital bed. Inside her head, the traumatic events of the day before keep playing on and on. What began as a modern day Cinderella story turns into a Lynchean nightmare. Genre film lover Michaël Vermaercke (remember his two shorts Void and The Disturber), makes his feature film debut with Memento Mori. A birthday party by the swimming pool is the perfect to ventilate the anxieties of puberty through a trashy and often violent fantasy. The title says it all. It’s a Latin quote that roughly means "remember that you're going to die".

6.11 Fantastikids Sunday Movies & workshops for kids FR : 4.30 PM April the 15th ciné 2 - NL : 2 PM April the 15th ciné 2 For a marvelous end to the Easter holidays, we invite you to a double bill that the whole family will enjoy. Fantasti’Kids is an event entirely dedicated to our little cherubs. This year, The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear will be screened in a Dutch and French dubbed version. This will be the occasion for kids and parents to share a magic movie moment and to make them discover or rediscover genre cinema. You'll get to know the arts and crafts of cinema in the beautiful setting of BOZAR. At the end of the movie, every child will receive a tote bag full of surprises. There will also be a playing ground for toddlers with toys to play with before and after the screening. The BIFFF organizes this event in partnership with The Brussels Capital Region, de Vlaamse Overheid, The VAF, la Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles, La Ligue des Familles, OUFTiVi and Vivacité. Thanks to Bioviva, Playmais, Brussels Games Festival, Alice Editions, the 501st FanWars Garrison and Pastel Candy.

The Giant Pear (2017-Denmark) Directed by Amalie Naesby Fick, Jorgen Lerdam and Philip Einstein Lipski Screenplay by Bo Hr Hansen and Jakob Martin Strind Casting : Alfred Bjerre Larsen, Liva Elvira Magnussen, Peter Frödin, … Duration : 80 minutes

As usual, everything is calm and quiet in the small village of Solby. Sebastien the elephant and Mitcho the cat enjoy fishing on the pier when, suddenly, something bites at the end of the line. Intrigued, our two friends discover a bottle hooked to their hook. But not just any bottle! It contains a message from the mayor of Solby who has mysteriously disappeared. In it he explains that he’s on Mysterious Island and that he made an incredible discovery! Sebastian and Mitcho decide to rescue the mayor and embark on a crazy adventure, full of dangers, pirates, ghosts and dragons. But, on the way, they will discover something that may change their little quiet village forever: a giant pear!

The Giant Pear, inspired by Jakob Martin Strid's classic children's tale, marks the first collaboration between three Danish animation specialists, including Philip Einstein Lipski (Ronal the Barbarian, BIFFF 2012). Determined to escape aesthetics of animation, our trio of directors followed three key words: fun, imagination and joyful anarchy! This film, sold to more than 50 countries, will make our beloved toddlers very happy!

6.12 50 years of Belgian cinema: "Tueurs" by François Troukens

Snipers in sight, run for cover! On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of French-speaking Belgian cinema and the second edition of the Boulevard du Polar festival, we wanted to choose a film. But a classic by André Delvaux or an intimate portrait by Chantal Ackerman didn’t exactly seem like a good idea. Above the Law by François Troukens and Jean-François Hensgens, on the other hand, is an obvious choice. Not only does it revitalize a genre we tend to forget in this country, but its international success is a perfect alibi to program it once again! And on what better date than Friday the 13th?

Tueurs (2017-Belgium) Directed by François Troukens and Jean-François Hensgens Screenplay by François Troukens Casting : Olivier Gourmet, Bouli Lanners, , … Duration : 86 minutes

Frank Valken is a gangster who has always followed a strict moral code: no bodies and as less violence as possible. After what is supposed to be his last score, he already sees himself retiring under a palmtree. But what looked like a smooth robbery, turns into a nightmare when a much more violent gang reappears after decades of silence. The corpses are piling up, among whom a magistrate who uinvestigated the notorious affair of the Mad Shooters. Valken and his gang are now suddenly blamed for the bloody murders. The international media were quick to pick it up. Tueurs was as interesting behind the scenes as in front of the camera. François Troukens, scriptwriter and co-director with Jean-François Hensgens, was himself a notorious gangster in the 90ties. Tueurs is, of course, inspired by the (still unresolved) bloodbaths of the Brabant Killers in the 80ties and by the bombing on the Bologna train station in 1980. This ruthless crime thriller premiered at the before filling up seats in Belgian cinemas. And that’s something that can only make us proud.

6.13 Special Screening « I Kill Giants »

Afternoon movie: I Kill Giants at the 36th BIFFF What would a new edition of the BIFFF be without any novelties? This screening is for all young people between 12 and 16 and their youth and partner organizations that want to have a unique experience in one of the most breath-taking places to watch a movie: The Grand Salle Henry Le Boeuf at BOZAR. We offer each of you the chance to partake in this special screening of ‘I Kill Giants’, a tale mixing fantasy and the daily struggles of teenagers. It’s a bold coming of age story where dreams and reality get intertwined.

Date: 12th of April Time: 2pm Price: Free (if you come with your youth organization)

How do you register? Send us an email through your youth organization to to [email protected] with the number of participants and we will put you on the guest list. Entrance is free. You just need to get to BOZAR in Brussels to enjoy this one in a kind experience!

I kill giants (2017- UK/USA/Belgium) Directed by Anders Walter Screenplay by Joe Kelly Casting : Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots ,Jennifer Ehle, … Duration : 104 minutes In his first feature, Danish director Anders Walter, who won an Oscar for his short Helium in 2014, adapts the widely praised graphic novel I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura. In this Belgian co-production, partly shot in Flanders, he strikes a delicate balance between psychological and a fantastical dream world. Among the choice cast, we recognize Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar, Star Trek), Imogen Poots (Green Room, V for Vendetta), and Jennifer Ehle (Contagion).

7. THE MAIN COURSE 7.1 Opening / Closing : Theatre 1 - Opening:

Ghostland (2017 – France/Canada) Directed by Pascal Laugier Screenplay by Pascal Laugier Casting : Mylène Farmer, Rob Archer, Tony Braga, … Duration : 91 minutes

After the death of her aunt, Colleen and her two daughters Beth and Vera inherit a house in the heart of the American countryside. From the outside, it could easily be the location for the 14th remake of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And the interior’s a feast for rednecks. But the family will have little time to do some interior decorating. On their very first night, they’re invaded by a gang of bloodthirsty barbarians who’ve invited themselves to an improvised housewarming. The assault is extremely violent, with furniture shattering all over the place and blows and punches coming from everywhere. Colleen's maternal instinct transforms her into a tigress and she manages to save her offspring from the invaders. Sixteen years later, they are still marked by that horrific night. Beth has become a successful fantasy author, while Colleen still lives in the same house with Vera. And if the latter refuses to leave the nest, it's because she suffers from a destructive paranoia which makes her relive those traumatic events every night. As if nothing has ever ended. Ten years ago French director Pascal Laugier unleashed Martyrs upon the world, a modern genre classic whose unrelenting violence still leaves many reeling today. This year we open the festival with his latest terror feast. Ghostland is a visual and narrative tour de force, a true rollercoaster of jump scares. And what’s remarkable is that he managed to convince famous French singer Mylène Farmer to play a part that totally goes against her image. She’ll release her deepest demons in this nerve shattering horror pic.

Closing:

The Gringo (2018- Australia/USA) Directed by Nash Edgerton Screenplay by Anthony Tambakis and Matthew Stone Casting : David Oyelowo, Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron,… Duration : 110 minutes In a growing series of countries, the medicinal use of marijuana is legally permitted. We just had to wait for a few smart American (who else?) business sharks to put the stuff into a pill and market it. Harold Soyinka works for one such company and is sent to Mexico to handle the manufacturing of the product. He rather likes it in Mejico (what with tequila, good food, and easy chicks...), but one day he’s kidnapped by a drugs cartel that has an ax to grind with his bosses. The latter quickly hire a fixer to get Harold out of harm’s way but that proves to be a little more complicated than they had expected. The odd couple can only rely on each other and ends up having to survive one outrageous situation after another. Will they ever make it across the border before The Donald puts up his Great Wall of Defense against Illegal Aliens? For his first big studio project, Australian filmmaker Nash Edgerton succeeded in getting a dream cast. Or how do you fancy his brother Joel Edgerton (Red Sparrow), Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road), David Oyelowo (Selma, Reacher), Sharlto Copley (District 9, Free Fire), and Amanda Seyfried (Red Riding Hood)? They shine in this berserk comedy that draws inspiration from the work of crime writer Elmore Leonard, as adapted by the likes of Quentin Tarantino (Jackie Brown), Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight), and Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty).

Theatre 2 - Opening:

Marrowbone (2017-Spain) Directed by Sergio G. Sanchez Screenplay by Sergio G. Sanchez Casting : George MacKay, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, … Duration : 110 minutes A large British family attempts to escape the abuse brought upon them by their sadistic, monstrous father who has murdered scores of victims. Mother Rose’s idea of a fresh start involves moving her children back to her family home in America. Twenty-one-year-old Jack, 19-year-old Jane, 18-year-old Billy and five-year-old Sam try to keep going after Rose passes away, maintaining a low profile in their large, rural estate, with only a close friendship with the neighboring girl, Allie to keep them sane. And their sanity will be tested to the limits, as a monstrous presence start to make itself felt. Marrowbone might be Sergio C. Sanchez feature debut, but he’s far from being a novice in the film industry. He’s none other than the genius screenwriter of The Orphanage, The End and The Impossible. He presents us with a gothic horror tale worthy of Edgar Allen Poe, while infusing solid layers of mystery to create an unbearable atmosphere of tension. It’s no wonder that J.A. Bayona was eager to produce the film of his favorite scriptwriter, before tackling the dinosaurs of Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom! Closing:

Maquia : when the promised flower blooms (2018- Japan) Directed by Mari Okada and Toshiya Shinohara Screenplay by Mari Okada Casting : Manaka Iwami, Miyu Irino, Yûki Kaji, … Duration : 115 minutes

Maquia is from a clan where all the members stop aging in their mid teens. She has no parents and, although her days are peaceful, she feels lonely. The clan leads an isolated life on an island, passing their days weaving their lives into beautiful cloth. Their peace is shattered when an army invades, seeking the secret to her people's immortality. Leilia, the most beautiful girl in her clan, is taken away, and the boy Maquia has secret feelings for disappears. Maquia is able to escape, but she loses her friends and her home. Wandering alone in the forest, she finds a dead woman who clasps a newborn baby firmly in her arms. Maquia decided to save the child and raise him as her own son. She names him Erial. Years later, the baby has become a boy and he starts to ask questions about his mother’s eternal youth.

Mari Okada is one of the most famous screenwriters of Japanese : from SF to horror and live adaptations, she is a true genius who masters all genres, infusing them with a subtle analysis of human relationships. After the scripts for The Anthem of the Heart (2015), The Dark Maidens (2017) and My Teacher (2017), Okada finally debuts as a director with the magical, enchanting and very moving fantastic tale Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms. The score is courtesy of legendary composer Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Avalon, ).

7.2 Midnight X-Tremes

Boar (2017-Australia) Directed by Chris Sun Screenplay by Kirsty Dallas and Chris Sun Casting : Nathan Jones, Bill Moseley, John Jaratt, … Duration : 96 minutes

The Australian wilderness, what a sight! With a territory that could easily fit in Belgium 200 times and a population the size of Brussels, you’re right to say that it’s a god damn desert. You’ll probably see a few kangaroos but that quickly gets boring. So, all that’s left to do is farm cattle or drink your way through the heat. Ken and Blue decide to do both as they guard their sheep while gulping down some brewskis. Our jumping friends are no danger to their herd but dingoes certainly are and trhe duo have had it with the beasts. Encouraged by their beer consumption, they decide it’s time to teach the wild dogs a lesson and they set off into the desert. After a few miles they come across a polluted camping site and curse those stupid city folk who have no respect for nature. Seriously, who leaves a leg in the bushes, a head on a camping pole and blood all over the ground?! By the time they realize what they’re looking at and understand that no dingo could have done this, it’s already too late. A is coming and by the sound it’s making the only option left is to… run! Asking if Boar would be a good fit for the BIFFF was but a rhetorical question. Who wouldn’t want to? Especially when it comes from Chris Sun, the guy who sweetened up our appetites with Charlie’s Farm. (BIFFF 2015). Get ready for a creature feature that’ll give Russel Mulcahey’s legendary Razorback a run for its money!

Corbin Nash (2017-USA) Directed by Ben Jagger Screenplay by Ben Jagger, Dean S Jagger and Christopher P Taylor Casting : Corey Feldman, Malcolm McDowell, Rutger Hauer, … Duration : 95 minutes

Hard boiled Corbin Nash is having a time almost as tough as his jawline in sin city . The incorruptible cop never runs out of citizens to save or crimes to solve. And there’s his tragic past. Nash’s parents were mysteriously murdered years ago and the case has become his life-long obsession. All leads have turned into dead ends. Then, one fateful night, Corbin discovers that he comes from a long line of demon hunters. Queeny and Vince, two suspects with an unquenchable thirst for blood, could have something to do with him being an orphan. It’s time to follow in his parents’ footsteps. Corbin Nash, directed by Ben Jagger and co-written with his brother Dean S. Jagger (, Travelers), is a love letter to vintage B-movies, a clash between Death Wish and The Lost Boys. Todd Matthew Grossman (Mad Max: Fury Road, John Wick) held the production reins, while an entire legion of genre veterans make their appearance: Rutger Hauer, Malcolm Mc Dowell, Druce Davision and Corey Feldman, the latter in a succulent over-the-top performance as a transvestite bloodsucker. This world premiere is a bloody must see at the BIFFF!

Dead Ant (2017-USA) Directed by Ron Carlson Screenplay by Ron Carlson, Hank Braxtan and Dan Sinclair Casting : Tom Arnold, Sean Astin, Martin Blasick, … Duration : 87 minutes

A glam metal band that’s run out of hits and ideas is attending a music festival in the middle of the Californian desert. Before they get there, they make a quick stopover to buy “mind-altering substances” from a wise old Indian. He warns them not to harm any living creature as long as they are on the drug because the consequences would be disastrous. But when one of them wilfully hurts an ant, they get their comeuppance in the form of a non-stop attack by killer ants. And each time they kill one, his siblings come back bigger and deadlier. Before they know what’s what, they’re running for their dear life, while at the same time fighting off the cruel creatures. Till the bitter ant! Dead Ant is an entertaining, no-nonsense horror comedy that looks like an update of 1950s monster movies. Among the actors, we recognize some well-known faces from fun and recent TV series. Jake Busey (From Dusk till Dawn, Starship Troopers) is one of the band members and Michael Horse (Twin Peaks 1990 and 2017) is the peyote providing Indian, while good old Tom Arnold (True Lies, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare) as the band’s manager takes care of the business ant… I mean end.

Ruin me (2017-USA) Directed by Preston DeFrancis Screenplay by Preston DeFrancis and Trysta A. Bissett Casting : Marcienne Dwyer, Matt Dellapina, Chris Hill, … Duration :87 minutes

A scout camp for die-hard BIFFF fans, that’s what this film is all about. Wouldn’t you just love to go to Slasher Sleepout, a 36-hour fright experience with the mechanics of an escape room, slasher gore props and… a real psychopath on the loose? But before you enroll for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, let’s look at how the main get through the exercise. Recovering heroin addict Alexandra (Marcienne Dwyer) is participating, along with her boyfriend Nathan (Matt Dellapina). They are joined by four strangers eager to see if the Slasher Sleepout is as scary as people say. After just a few hours, the first blood is shed and panic takes over. Is this a game or the demonic plan of a serial killer? Who knows, but we’ll have lots of fun watching it enfold! Ruin Me is the perfect festival movie. It’s fast-paced, full of funny dialogues, and the setting is right on the nose. After experimenting with short films and TV movies Preston DeFrancis now makes his feature debut. Let’s hope he continues like this and maybe next time we’ll be able to show you a movie about a fast-food experience where you have to eat your dinner mates.

Selfie From Hell (2017-Canada/Germany) Directed by Erdal Ceylan Screenplay by Erdal Ceylan and Paul Burton Casting : Alyson Walker, Tony Giroux, Meelah Adams, … Duration :75 minutes

When German vlogger Julia visits her cousin Hannah in America, strange things start to happen. After falling ill, Hannah has a feeling that her cousin’s internet behavior could be the source of all evil (not in a Christian conservative, ban all porn kind of way, but still evil). She finds a gateway that opens towards the dark web, and from then on there is no turning back. After watching Selfie from Hell, the only thing you’ll be thinking of when making a duck face or a dab is: it’s just a selfie, it’s just a selfie, it’s just a selfie… Finally, the millennials have their own horror movie. This feature film is actually a follow-up to a two- minute short internet buzz by the same director, made in 2015. It got more than 25 million views and made director Erdal Ceylan a viral sensation. We were pleased to hear it got the feature film it deserved: the jump scares are all over the place and the atmosphere is right on the nose. After watching this movie, you can always go back to a 3310 if you don’t trust your phone anymore.

Soccer Killer (2017-/China) Directed by Jeffrey Lau Screenplay by Jeffrey Lau Casting: Jiong He, Gillian Chung, , … Duration :100 minutes

China and surrounding countries during the Song dynasty, sometime between the tenth and the thirteenth century: a Mongolian football team made up of freaks with superpowers challenges teams from neighboring countries to a soccer game. The defeated are systematically forced to give up their land (a nice alternative for wars of conquest, don’t you think?). One day, the Mongolians publicly challenge the Song to a match. The Song Emperor, not willing to lose face, is left with no choice but to accept the challenge. A nationwide competition is held to scout for the best players. The patriotic princess Chang Ping leaves the safe environment of the imperial palace to form a squad comprising the eight greatest martial arts sects. Finally, the first international football match on Chinese soil can take place… “Football is the extension of war by other means,” that seems to be the motto of the historical football comedy Soccer Killer. Hong Kong director Jeffrey Lau (better known for his Chinese Odyssey franchise) stages the comic tricks of his star players… I mean actors as if he were the of and shooting a remake of Shaolin Soccer!

Sunny (2017-Japan) Directed by Screenplay by Izumi Takahashi Casting : Rie Kitahara, , Mugi Kadowaki …

Some are fascinated by beer coasters or stamps. But Kashiwabara and Oda are completely obsessed with Sunny, the cutest killer ever. When she was 14 years old she murdered her classmate right after taking a selfie with her. And that image has become one of the most famous and notorious images on the internet. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the birth of their muse, our two lads decide to kidnap her and take her to a cabin in the woods. It’s certainly remote, but it has a high speed wi-fi connection to stream everything live for Sunny’s many fans. She will soon realize her power. Far from being a vulgar prisoner, she is a true goddess, and her followers are at her mercy. That is until another woman claims to be the real Sunny. What first starts as a pitched battle on social networks, soon turns to carnage. You might think that director Kazuya Shiraishi (The Devil’s path) wants to teach us a lesson about our social media obsessed society, but nothing could be further from the truth. What you get is mind boggling psychedelic , which puts him on the same par with en , who also couldn’t care less about cinematic or social conventions.

The Tag Along 2 (2017-) Directed by Wei-Hao Cheng Screenplay by Shih-Keng Chien Casting : Rainie Yang,Wei-Ning Hsu, Francesca Kao, … Duration : 107 minutes

In 2016 we brought you Tag Along, a movie so scary the director of the film had to have a witch doctor on set to comfort the actors. Based on the Taiwanese urban legend The Girl in Red, this second part continuous the story about demon babies, enchanted forests, and obsessed moms. Something every baby shower needs, no? Tag Along 2 starts with a missing pregnant daughter. Her mother, social worker Shu-Fen, knows something weird is going on and sets out to find her child. While searching, she encounters Mei-hua, a mysterious woman who has imprisoned her own daughter in a house haunted by demonic spells. As if that wasn’t weird enough, the dynamic duo meets a third musketeer: a pregnant teenager living in an abandoned hospital. A real dream team to fight the evil spirits haunting their lives! Cheng Wei-hao made his name in the Asian horror scene with Tag Along. We’re not at all surprised that he made this follow-up, yet to be rebooted by the Americans (potential franchise)! It contains all the elements of a first class scary movie. Abandoned locations, possessed protagonists, demonic children: you name it and he brings it on to haunt your wildest nightmares!

Taste of Life (2017-Germany) Directed by Roland Reber and Mira Gittner Screenplay by Roland Reber, Mira Gittner and Antje Mönning Casting : Antje Mönning, Andreas Pegler, Wolfgang Seidenberg, … Duration :88 minutes

What if the meaning of life was as simple as mixing up sperm with pineapple juice? That’s what Nikki, a German independent vlogger, has found out. The media, who of course are “fake news”, work for the deep state and big pharma (the pharmaceutical companies only interested in selling antidepressants). The only way to spread the word about her findings is to go down on as many guys as possible. Religion, social injustice, economic crisis… it’s all a form of opium to hide the truth from the masses. Even feminism is just a means of castrating men and rendering women who wish to be submissive powerless. So what is the solution to save the world from damnation? Get yourself butt naked and kiss patriarchy goodbye! Roland Reber, German cinema’s eternal outsider, has fought from the start to keep his independence. Time and again, he breaks conventions and makes you rethink societal premises. We didn’t expect anything else from Taste of Life, and he delivered, oh my God did he deliver! This non-narrative experiment, which was shot with the help of co-director Mira Gittner, shatters every social convention. It’s a libertarian pamphlet, with at its center the well-known face of Marina Anna, one of our jury members in 2013. But because 2018 isn’t exactly the 70s, you will need to be born before 2000 to enjoy this bacchanal feast.

Trauma (2017- Chile/New Zealand) Directed by Lucio Rojas Screenplay by Lucio Rojas Casting : Catalina Martin, Macarena Carrere, Ximena del Solar, … Duration : 106 minutes

When four female friends decide to take a holiday trip to the Chilean countryside, things do not go as planned. The week-end starts fine. It’s sunny, the place is gorgeous and to top it all, there's plenty of wine to kick-off the girls-only party. But there's something dark lurking in this peaceful setting. As the party heats up, two unwelcome visitors arrive. A man and his son transform this fiesta into a nightmare. The next morning, what’s left of the group desperately searches for help in the nearby village, not knowing that their perpetrators are products of the most brutal period of Chile's dark, dictatorial past. And the worst part, for them it has never ended. This is probably the most violent and deranging movie since A Serbian Film. Director and writer Lucio A. Rojas (Sendero) transcribes the horror unleashed by Pinochet and his minions during the dictatorship. He frames the relentless and shocking violence of Trauma as a product of the barbaric practices from those dark days. It goes without saying that this screening is off-limits to those under 18 (R-rated) and sensitive souls should better abstain from watching.

Vidar The Vampire (2017-) Directed by Thomas Aske Berg and Fredrik Waldeland Screenplay by Thomas Aske Berg and Fredrik Waldeland Casting : Thomas Aske Berg, Brigt Skrettingland, Kim Sonderholm, … Duration :83 minutes

“This story won’t make no fucking sense,” we are warned at the beginning but don’t worry; you’ll be able to laugh your ass off. Vidar is 33 – the age at which Christ became a superstar. This sturdy farm boy still lives and works with his strictly religious mother. But he’s fed up with country life and dreams of wild rolls in the hay with voluptuous women. In a moment of despair, he prays to God to release him. After a nightly vision, during which he meets a babe with horns and a Christ figure with vampire teeth, he wakes up with a hangover. All of a sudden he’s become allergic to sunlight, so he outsources the farm and moves to the city, where he indulges in a life of debauchery. Maybe a session with a therapist will finally bring redemption? Ever since his childhood, Thomas Aske Berg has had only one wish: to play in a vampire movie. Unfortunately, there’s no such tradition in Norway, so what did he do? He wrote, produced and directed Vidar the Vampire, the very first one, and while he was at it he also played the leading part and wrote the soundtrack. The result is a wacky horror comedy which pokes fun at sex, religion, and the Norway of life.

7.3 Fantastic Night

Victor Crowley (2017-USA) Directed by Adam Green Screenplay by Adam Green Casting : Parry Shen, Kane Hodder, Laura Ortiz,… Duration : 93 minutes

True horror fans know the name of their favourite fictional serial killers: Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Norman Bates, Damien Thorn, and … Victor Crowley. After the Hatchet trilogy (2006-2014), this crossbreed between Toxic Avenger and Swamp Thing comes back to life to kill once more! Based in spooky Louisiana, this instalment goes back to the origin of the Victor Crowley legend. Before becoming a supernatural monster Victor was quietly living with his dad, till a prank-gone-wrong changed his life dramatically. Burned alive in his house while his dad was trying to save him, Victor is now hell-bent on only one thing: getting revenge every time he is resuscitated. You guessed it: you’ll see a lot of gore, a lot of kills and one heck of a killer climbing up the cult ladder to get a seat next to Hellraiser, Jason and other killer buddies. Started as a small and independent horror movie, Hatchet became a fast growing cult phenomenon. In 2006, horror fans where eager to have a new serial killer to love/hate and Adam Green, being a horror buff himself, gave them just that. With this fourth instalment, he continues to demonstrate his talent as a director. He knows what the audience wants: a monster that doesn’t stop after a few kills or lets his mom do the dirty work. Yes, I’m looking at you, Leatherface!

Game of Death (2017-France / Canada / USA) Directed by Sebastien Landry and Lawrence Morais-Lange Screenplay by Edouard H Bond, Sebastien Landry and Lawrence Morais-Lange Casting : Sam Earle, Victoria Diamond, Emelia Hellman, … Duration :73 minutes

Kill or be killed is the golden rule of the innocent-looking board game Game of Death, which sucks for seven decent-looking millennials who decide to play one sunny day. They quickly realize that if they don’t murder people, their heads will explode like ripe tomatoes. Hence, they go on a killing spree which would make Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer look like amateurs. The killer- instinct in each of them bubbles to the surface and without remorse, they take the lives of anyone they meet in their middle-of-nowhere town. But when they run out of victims they hit rock bottom. Divided, terrified and confronted with their own mortality, their drive to survive blurs with their desire to win the game. Will they or won’t they turn on each other? Don’t get confused! We’re not talking about kung fu legend Bruce Lee’s last film (1972) or the eponymous Wesley Snipes vehicle (2011) by Giorgio Serafini (see also Flashburn). Game of Death is the first joint effort by young French Canadians Sebastien Landry and Laurence Morais-Lagace. With their brutally funny shocker, a clever cross between Jumanji, Battle Royale, Natural Born Killers, and Scanners, they picked up two prizes at the Brooklyn Festival and they seem definitely destined for greater things. It’s enough to blow your mind! Cannibals and Carpet Fitters (2017-UK) Directed by James Bushe Screenplay by Richard Lee O’Donnell Casting : Darren Sean Enright, Richard Lee O’Donnell, Zara Phytian, … Duration : 83 minutes

Ah, carpets! Those woolen or mohair rugs which welcome your bare feet so comfortably… It generates all kinds of fuzzy feelings, but of course, these things have to be sold as well. And apparently, business isn’t exactly booming with British carpet retailers. When Cupid Carpets (what’s in a name?) are given a new assignment, the manager jumps at it as a horny hound at a bitch in heat. Unsuspectingly he sends his team to a remote country house, the home of an amiable matron and her sons, all of whom are ugly as sin. They don’t receive a lot of visitors as they're in the habit of lliterally throwing themselves at their guests. It takes a while before the carpet fitters put two and two together, but when they finally realize they’re dealing with degenerate man- eaters, the countdown has already started… For Cannibals and Carpet Fitters, James Bushe remade his eponymous short from 2014 as a feature film. You might have seen similar stories in Shaun of the Dead, Cabin in the Woods etc. Yet this is still a finger-licking good . At least if you savor lots of blood, sadistic violence, sardonic humor, and silly characters who blindly rush towards their destiny!

Framed (2017-Spain) Directed by Marc Martinez Jordan Screenplay by Jaume Cuspinera and Marc Martinez Jordan Casting : Catalina Martin, Macarena Carrere, Ximena del Solar, … Duration : 106 minutes

People can make fun of youtubers as much as they want, linear TV is slowly dying. Especially since ‘Framed’ entered the equation. This live-streaming platform allows everything! Wanna check out an obese man sitting on a crane while eating a pizza-kebab for the eighth time? Or watch Granny stuff the neck of the turkey with home-made stuffings, without gloves? Please yourself: ‘Framed’ is the ultimate everyday Chatroulette and puts Netflix' algorithm under pressure. Nonetheless, excesses have been witnessed worldwide, and Spain has to face its very first live-stream murder… And the author of the gruesome and overly exposed video feels he could become the next big thing. To quote the great poets that are Daft Punk, he wants to go “harder, better, faster, stronger”. He wants to blow up the views ranking with a brand new concept: a house and a bunch of young friends who want to party, to have fun, to enjoy a killer moment.... An actual one. Broadcasted live and with no ads… Framed, from the brand new production company Creatures From the Dark, transcends traditional home- invasion movies with its eloquent critique on social media. In this day and age, Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame come with terrifying opportunities in a hyperconnected world. Marc Martinez Jordan’s first feature hits hard without warning: gory, violent, unbearable, but also encouraging us, voyeurs that we are, to bitter-sweet laughs.

7.4 7th Orbit Competition Jury: PASCAL VANDELANOITTE Pascal Vandelanoitte is a film historian. He obtained a Ph. D. in Social Sciences – Film Studies at the University of Leuven in 2012. He joined DocNomads at LUCA School of Arts (Brussels) as lecturer in History in 2014 and from 2016 on he also teaches on Film History at LUCA Genk. Furthermore, he has been working for more than a decade as an advisor within the Flemish regional government (VGC), with responsibilities for the Brussels arts scene. He has published on films by directors such as Pasolini, Tarkovsky, Visconti, and Kubrick. His main interests are arthouse movies, , and an eclectic variety of music. His recent research focuses mostly on the intertextual use of existing music in film, such as the innovative use of Mahler’s music in Ken Russell’s biopic Mahler, or the use and perception of jazz in . GAETAN DELFERIERE Gaetan Delferiere is a scriptwriter for TV-series (Champion, Fils de, Les enfants de la forêt), a comedian and a radio presenter on la Première. He infuses each of these three jobs with his own particular brand of crazy. In 2016 he graduates from the IAD film school, after which he starts working on several series for French speaking public broadcaster RTBF. Fiction is his passion and an absolute necessity. It was only logical then that he grew up with the BIFFF. By becoming a member of our 7th Orbit Jury, he realizes a childhood dream!

MATHIEU MORTELMANS Mathieu Mortelmans (1985°) is a bilingual Belgian film director. Besides his internationally awarded shorts Chambre Double (2013) and Complices (2016), he directed more than 40 episodes for several Flemish TV-series (De Kroongetuigen, Vermist, De Bunker, Gent-West). At the moment he's editing Bastaard, his first feature, which will hit the theaters in November 2018.

KOEN MONSEREZ Koen Monserez (1968) is a Flemish actor and director. Since February 2017 he’s also a programmer for Cinema ZED, Leuven. Koen graduated in 1996 from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (now Rits). He then studied Schauspiel for one year at the Hochshule der Künste in Berlin. He worked for 15 years as an actor for Ensemble Leporello, a theater company of which he was also artistic and business leader for 3 years. He worked for 3 years on KVS projects with the city of Brussels.He directed the production A Sleeping Elephant, a performance with 20 young boxers from Brussels about boxing icon Muhammad Ali with as main inspiration the young participants themselves and the documentary When we were Kings (1996). At fABULEUS he also directed the theater production Game Rules (2004), the musical Candide (2006) and Nothing is what it seems (2011) and he played and realized "Het Zondagavondgevoel" (2013). He’s one of the driving forces behind the Max Last vzw art group and likes to teach (including Luca, School of Arts, Drama Department). Since 2014 he also forms the comical duo "Beersmans and Monserez" who went on the road with two shows, One Man Show (2015) and Gewogen en te licht bevonden (2017). For music theater Transparant and the Flemish Opera he re-worked / directed " Koningin van de Nacht " by W.A. Mozart, in an adaptation by Jan Van Outryve. For “Jeugd en Muziek” and the Bruges Concert hall, he also created The Bach Moment, together with Capriola di Gioia. He could be seen on television and in short films in numerous guest roles. Rosemary's Baby, The Lair of the White worm, Grave, Häxan, Drag me to Hell & The Exorcist are among his favorite horror films ... And he’s never been on a film festival jury!

Bees make honey (2017-UK) Directed by Jack Eve Screenplay by Jack Eve Casting : Alice Eve, Hermione Corfield, Joshua McGuire, … Duration: 90 minutes

The English countryside, 1934. Halloween night. Honey, a young but very wealthy widow, organizes her celebrated yearly costumed ball. The most distinguished figures of local high society are present, sipping expensive champagne while exchanging exotic holiday stories. This year, Honey has invited a special guest. Inspector Shoerope, the British version of our Hercule Poirot, is charged with a very delicate mission. A year ago, Honey's husband was brutally murdered at the same ball. With the crime being unresolved, our charming hostess has reinvited everybody who was present at the crime. Once the last guest arrives, the clock starts ticking. Shoerope now has to blend in and interrogate all potential suspects before they fall wasted on the ground.

You might think you’re getting a new version of Cluedo, but Jack Eve’s second film can not be reduced to just an adaptation. Bees Make Honey is wildly original and visually sumptuous, as if Baz Luhrmann had his way with Agatha Christie. It’s a lyrical ode to the whodunnit film, a feast of narrative and visual styles. And it’s a movie by the entire family… Eve, because Jack sister, Alice (The Raven, Men in Black 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness) plays Honey while father Trevor (Troy, Dracula) plays the commissioner.

Blue my mind (2017-Switzerland) Directed by Lisa Brühlmann Screenplay by Lisa Brühlmann Casting : Luna Weddler, Zoe Pastelle Holthuizen, Regula Grauwiller, … Duration :97 minutes

Your first day at a new school is never easy. Fifteen-year-old Mia is dying to be accepted by her new classmates and after a rough start she succeeds in becoming friends with Gianna and her teenage gang. But then her body starts changing, a painful process characterized by hallucinations and bizarre binge-eating spells. A visit to the doctor only makes things worse. The relationship with her bourgeois parents goes from bad to worse and she even starts suspecting she’s been adopted. To cope with her overwhelming sense of loneliness she seeks solace in booze and sexual experiments. And where do those dreams of water and oceans keep coming from? In the dreamlike Blue My Mind, first-time Swiss director Lisa Brühlmann works with an impressive teen cast. The film, full of teenage angst and feelings of melancholy and isolation, seems to have been dyed in blue ink. The realistic story takes on increasingly fantastic shades and turns into an audiovisual trip the likes of which you haven’t seen before.

Dhogs (2017-Spain) Directed by Andres Goteira Screenplay by Andres Goteira Casting : Carlos Blanco, Alejandro Carro, Maria Costas, … Duration : 85 minutes

A taxi driver with the face of a beaten-up dog drives through the streets of a desolate city, like he does every night. This time he picks up a businessman who’s having an argument with his wife. But when he drops him off at the hotel, lives will be changed forever. Whether we like it or not, we must follow the untangling of the story, powerless and astonished at what we’re seeing. Dear BIFFF enthusiasts, the reason your writer is so lyrical is that Dhogs should be seen as a trip through ‘horror’ lane, just like Alejandro González Iñárritu’s and Leos Carax’s Holy Motors. The film is raw, astonishing, and complex. It is guaranteed to be the “love it or hate it” movie of the festival! Andres Goteira’s debut will not go unnoticed. Loved at a bunch of other festivals, Dhogs is a UFO (Undefined Film Object) from Galicia. That Spanish region is home to some of Europe’s most intriguing genre films of the moment, like Ignacio Vilar’s A esmorga and Fernando Cortizo’s criminally underrated jewel O apóstolo

Freehold (2017-UK) Directed by Dominic Bridges Screenplay by Dominic Bridges and Rae Burton Casting : Javier Botet, Mandeep Dhillon, Kola Bokkini, … Duration : 80 minutes

“Karma can’t harm ya if it can’t catch up” says Hussain, a young estate agent who has a date with destiny, no matter what he claims. He shares a comfy one-room apartment with his cute girlfriend. Every morning he dresses in London’s loudest suit and sets off for the office in the best of spirits. After selling houses all day he goes back home to smoke weed with his pals or roll in the proverbial hay with his girl. Little does he know that his every move is being watched by the third inhabitant of the apartment: a shady man who unbeknownst to him shares his living space and wants to plot his downfall. Might he have something to do with the slick sales practices of smooth-talking Hussain? Because when his mind is set on getting a commission he’s capable of just about anything… The hilarious black horror comedy Freehold is the first feature film of two naturals. TV director Dominic Bridges successfully crosses over to the silver screen, whereas actor Mim Shaikh brilliantly portrays the alternately foulmouthed and bootlicking whose life is slowly falling apart. They get help from the frightfully good Spanish actor Javier Botet (It, The Mummy, Crimson Peak, [Rec], Witching and Bitching…) as the enigmatic home invader. The man with the magic box (2017-Poland/Italia) Directed by Bodo Kox Screenplay by Bodo Kox and Paulina Krajnik Casting : Olga Boladz, Piotr Polak, Sebastian Stankiewicz, … Duration : 103 minutes

A man wakes up in the year 2030 without any memory of his previous life. He’s given a job as a cleaner in a corporate building, where he falls for the stunning office manager Goria. Even though their worlds couldn’t be more opposite, being amnesic gives Adam a bit more charm and sparks fly between them. Despite the romance, Adam is still haunted by his lost past. When he comes across a box with a radio in it playing 1950s music, he immediately connects with his past life. He starts questioning everything he sees in this dystopian future where he has no role to play. In 2013 Polish director Bodo Kox made the enigmatic The Girl from the Wardrobe. This time he brings us another gem: The Man with the Magic Box, magnificently shot by cinematographer Dominik Danilczyk. While no doubt inspired by retro futurist movies like Blade Runner or Brazil, it brings Polish sci-fi to an international level. Fans of the time-traveling subgenre will love the new take Bodo Kox has to offer.

Marjorie Prime (2017-USA) Directed by Michael Almereyda Screenplay by Michael Almereyda Casting : Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, … Duration :99 minutes

Marjorie has a lot of life behind her. Her memory begins to fail her, but she still has fond memories of her late husband Walter. But then there is this computer program which allows you to bring the dead back to life through holographic recreation. That way she can have nice chats in her living room with a younger version of Walter. Her daughter and son-in-law don’t always agree with the procedure, but one advantage of these holograms is that they’re constantly improving and becoming more realistic. And as an added bonus, they don’t age… Who knows, maybe Marjorie’s offspring will one day crave their own prime version of a deceased loved one? Marjorie Prime was a Pulitzer Prize-winning play before being turned into a Sundance prized film. Veteran director Michael Almereyda (Trance, Nadja, Twister) is a familiar name for the BIFFF audience. In his hands, the thought-provoking philosophical premise becomes an entertaining audiovisual experience. The impressive cast includes John Hamm (Baby Driver, Mad Men), Geena Davis (Grey’s Anatomy, Thelma & Louise, The Fly), and Tim Robbins (Green Lantern, Mystic River, The Shawshank Redemption). Mica Levi (Under the Skin, Jackie) provides the enthralling music.

The Nightmare (2017- South Korea) Directed by Jay Song Screenplay by Lee Moo-ryoung Casting : Ji-ho Oh Duration : 99 minutes

Film director Yeon-woo has had a hard time ever since his little daughter died a few years ago. Unable to forget her, he decides to write a screenplay about her. After much sweat and toil, the screenplay, titled The Nightmare, is finally ready for shooting. In the meantime, he suspects his wife of having an affair and his own sleep patterns get all tangled up. A mysterious, siren-like woman constantly appears in his dreams and claims she can bring his daughter back. When he wakes up from his nightmare, reality has totally changed. His daughter, suddenly alive and well, advises him to keep away from the dream woman, claiming she is the one who caused her death. Soon, Yeon-woo can no longer distinguish between dreams and reality, between his memories and his own movie… There’s no better medicine against melancholy than immersing oneself in fantasy. But what if you get caught by a seductive succubus and, once the game is over, you don’t seem to be able to get back to level 1 (reality)? The answer is to be found in this intriguing Korean mix of Under the Skin, Inception, In Dreams, and Mulholland Drive, a world premiere for the BIFFF

The Place (2017-Italia) Directed by Paolo Genovese Screenplay by Paolo Genovese and Isabella Aguilar Casting : Valerio Mastandrea, Marco Giallini, Alessandro Borghi, … Duration: 105 minutes

Every day, a mysterious man sits at the same table in a bar called, of all places, The Place... Let’s call him the Man. People come and go, but this gentleman has ten steady customers who visit him at regular intervals. Might he be a drug dealer? That’s highly unlikely in such a public place. They’re ordinary people, all of whom share a secret desire and the belief that the Man can help them make it come true. Their wishes are widely divergent: one of them wants physical beauty, someone else wants their child to heal, a third wants to be able to see again... In exchange for his help, the Man wants a small favor in return. Turns out that, in their burning desire to finally attain the ever elusive happiness, these desperate citizens are willing to pay a high prize and completely ignore even the most basic moral principles. But how far can you go?

Italian filmmaker Paolo Genovese made a huge impression with his Perfect Strangers (2016). This time, he draws inspiration from the Canadian phantasy series The Booth at the End, which he adapts into a feature film. It’s quite a wager, a story in a single location, but Genovese pulls it off thanks to his talented ensemble cast and lots of psychological tension. As to the Man: is he God, the devil incarnate or the personification of

Wrath Of Silence (2017- China) Directed by Yukun Xin Screenplay by Yukun Xin Casting : Wu Jiang, Yang Song, Wenkang Yuan, … Duration :120 minutes

When Zhang Baomin returns to his native village in the arid north of China, he immediately notices that something is wrong. His son has disappeared and life in the village has come to a standstill. It looks like one of those forgotten places in spaghetti westerns where men only find solace in drinking at the local saloon. When he starts investigating he crosses the path of a man as evil as the devil in person. Chang Wannian (played by Jiang Wu, seen in Jia Zhangke’s epic A Touch of Sin) is a man with a plan: he wants to control all the coalmines in the region, by any means necessary… Life will bring these two men together in a duel without a happy end. We are very excited to bring you the third movie by director Xin Yukun, who’s already won Best Actor and Jury prizes at the very first Chinese Film Festival. In spite of his tender age he’s made a name for himself with The Coffin in the Mountain, presented at the Venice Film Festival. With Wrath of Silence he proves to be one of the most interesting contemporary filmmakers in Asia. He combines the visual mastery of Park Chan-wook and with a critical take on contemporary China, just like Jia Zhangke and Hou Hsiao-Hsien before him.

Yurigokoro (2017- Japan) Directed by Naoto Kumazawa Screenplay by Naoto Kumazawa Casting : Yuriko Yoshitaka, , Kaya Kihoyara, … Duration :115 minutes

Ryosuke has a bright future. He just opened a successful restaurant and hopes to tie the knot soon with his alluring girlfriend. But then his father declares he has pancreatic cancer and his betrothed vanishes without a trace. In his father’s belongings, he discovers a secret diary, which starts with an ominous sentence: “Without remorse, I take a life …” Ryosuke is completely spellbound and reads on, discovering that the document is actually the confession of someone he’s supposed to know quite well: his very own mother. Years ago, she disappeared just like his girlfriend and hasn’t been heard of since. The eerie murder mystery Yurigokoro is based on a 2011 Japanese bestseller. With 200 000 sold copies, author Mahokaru Numata joined the league of the big guys in literature land (Haruki Murakami and the like). Director Naoto Kumazawa (Vanished, Noir) signs for the inevitable adaptation. Among the actors, we recognize some well-known faces of Japanese cinema: Ken'ichi Matsuyama (the Death Note franchise, Norwegian Wood) and Yuriko Yoshitaka (Robo-G, Gantz) among others.

7.5 Thriller Competition Jury : FRANÇOIS TROUKENS

François Troukens' life resembles that of a crime novel. He's about twenty years old when he becomes a gangster. He'll encounter all the clichés of the 'profession': prison, recidivism, escapes, car chases, shoot-outs and... redemption. In prison, he gets a bachelor's degree in Modern Literature and starts writing his first scripts. When he gets out, he's already an accomplished artist. He writes comics (Forbans), is an activist with his association Chrysalibre (which uses culture to fight radicalization in jail), works for radio and TV on RTL and writes books (his novel Resilience Army was released last November). And now he also directs. Tueurs (Killers) is a riveting crime thriller with a five-star cast which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Troukens has definitely completed his transformation. His past as a gangster feeds his future as an artist. He has turned the page, as they say. FILMO : Tueurs (2017) ANTOINE BOURS

After film studies at the IAD, Antoine Bours mainly devotes himself to writing. This takes him first to the theater with a paranoid and feminist adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula presented at Le Public Theatre in 2011. It’s a show without Dracula or hemoglobin, where the horror is rooted in human behavior. He then returns to television with other IAD graduates for Public Enemy, the hit TV-series of the RTBF that won the Coup de Coeur Award at the 2016 MIP in Cannes and Best Actor Award at the Series Mania Festival in Paris. The series was sold to some fifteen international channels including AMC and TF1. He’s now finished the second season of Public Enemy, which will be aired on our screens in September 2018. Antoine’s future projects include a series based on the novels of Jean Ray.

KOEN MORTIER Despite being busy with the post-production of Angel and the pre- production of Rotterdam, I Love You, Koen Mortier agreed to take a break to join our thriller jury. This controversial and atypical figure of Belgian cinema already marked the 7th Art with two raw features: Ex Drummer and 22nd of May. As a fervent defender of pluralistic cinema, he also co-produced Toon Aerts’ multi-awarded short Perfect Drug, The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears from our friends Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, Alex Van Warmerdam's Borgman and Dick Maas’ Prey, screened last year at the BIFFF! FILMO: Ex-Drummer (2007) – 22 Mei (2010)

Crooked House (2017- UK) Directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner Screenplay by Julian Fellowes, Gilles Paquet-Brenner and Tim Rose Price Casting : Glenn Close, Terence Stamp, Gillian Anderson … Duration : 128 minutes

Private investigator Charles Hayward met Sophie de Haviland while he was stationed in Cairo for the secret service. Their brief affair has long faded away when she enlists his urgent services for a small matter: the death of her stinking rich grandfather Aristide Leonides. This Greek immigrant made his fortune with his own business empire (which has nothing whatsoever to do with chocolate - Belgian, Greek, or otherwise). One day he’s found quite dead in the luxurious country estate where he holds court with his extended family. According to the will, his trophy wife stands to inherit everything, but Sophie smells a rat. It turns out that just about every family member has their own personal reason for offing granddad… Our Sherlock will have an uphill task in finding the real culprit! We have known French filmmaker Gilles Paquet-Brenner ever since his murderously efficient horror thriller Walled In (BIFFF 2009). In Crooked House, he adapts the ever so British Agatha Christie. He attacks the convoluted plot with lots of style and an impressive list of acting talents, including Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Max Irons (The Host), Terence Stamp (The Adjustment Bureau), Gillian Anderson (The X Files), and Julian Sands (Warlock).

Downrange (2017-USA) Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura Screenplay by Ryuhei Kitamura and Joey O’Bryan Casting : Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson, Rodd Hernandez,… Duration : 90 minutes

A car slams its breaks at the pop of a flat. Inside are Todd (Rod Hernandez) and Sara (Alexa Yeames), a young couple toting around a bunch of strangers who pitched in gas money to reach everyone’s shared destination. When trying to repair the flat tire, the friendly and helpful Jeff gets shot, but no shooter is in sight. Panic breaks out in this group of people who barely know each other’s names. At such a time you can trust no one! For a couple of years now, we’ve been trying to tell you cars aren’t your best friends. Remember Monolith (2017)? Well, once more we have a desert, a car, and some people who possibly will die! And you still want to do that road trip in the Sierra Nevada? Behind the camera is an old friend of the festival. Ryuhei Kitamura won a Silver Raven in 2003 with Aragami, a sublime tale about samurais revealing their true identity. He is also well-known for Azumi (2003) and the slasher The Midnight Meat Train (2008). In this minimalistic thriller, he once again reveals his sublime talent for suspense and mise-en-scène.

Hunting Emma (2017-South Africa) Directed by Byron Davis Screenplay by Deon Meyer Casting : Bouwer Bosch, Leandi De Randt, Luan Jacobs,… Duration : 102 minutes

Emma looks like a gentle, peace-loving, and caring woman. But when danger occurs, she gets possessed by the ghost of Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson’s character in Taken). “Danger” here means a group of six lunatic drug sellers, whom she saw killing a cop on duty. There remains but one thing to do: kill that poor little helpless girl. What they haven’t bargained for is that Emma has seen all the Kill Bill movies and is in for some good ol’ ultra violence. Hunting Emma, the first movie by South African director Byron Davis, is based on a novel by Deon Meyer. The film doesn’t have the budget of its examples, but it makes up for that by a resourceful way of filming, with omnipresent violence, a breathtaking rhythm, and an impressive Leandie De Randt. Neill Blomkamp, you are no longer South Africa’s only genre film director!

Memoir of a murderer (2017- South Korea) Directed by Shin-yun Won Screenplay by Jo-yun Hwang Casting : Kyung-gu Sol, Nam-gil Kim, Seol-hyun Kim, … Duration : 118 minutes

It’s a well-known fact that fathers can be quite defensive when a daughter presents her new boyfriend. But what if the father recognizes his own killer instinct in the guy? Byeong-soo is a veterinarian who for 15 years has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Since then he has given up his hobby: getting rid of society’s scum. But as to his daughter’s boyfriend, with his murderer’s face and sanctimonious grin... he doesn’t trust him for one bit. In order to get to the bottom of this, he will have to deal with his failing memory, which has more holes in it than a ripe Swiss cheese. And all the things he remembers from his past, did they really happen? In South Korea, Memoir of a Murderer attracted more than two million spectators in less than two weeks. The success is no doubt due to the dynamic direction by Won Shin-yun, who forces you to see the world through the eyes of a serial killer. But the excellent performances certainly add to the effect. Among the actors, we recognize Kyung-gu Sol from Cold Eyes (BIFFF 2014), whereas Dal-su Oh played in Tunnel (BIFFF 2017), Veteran (BIFFF 2016), and the instant classic Oldboy.

New trial (2017-South Korea) Directed by Tae-yun Kim Screenplay by Tae-yun Kim Casting : Jung-eun Lee, Jae-young Han, Min Jin-woong, … Duration: 119 minutes

The year 2000. Jo Hyun-Woo is 15. He is a good kid, who may no longer believe in Santa but does believe in justice. That's bad luck for him, as good cops decide to arrest him for the murder of a taxi driver. He might be innocent, but a few punches in the face from the arm of the law make him confess to anything. 16 years later, Jo Hyun-Woo has done his time in jail, but he’s damaged goods. No one wants to hire him, his mother has become blind and is having trouble putting food on the table and insurances companies want to rob him blind for victim compensation. That’s when he meets Lee Jun-Young, a lawyer who used to plead pro bono, who dreams of a more lucrative professional future. But the more the lawyer digs into the case, the more he realizes that he's drowning in a sea of corruption. Kim Tae-Yun promised he would never deal with stories based on true events that stigmatize injustice and corruption in Korea after his 2014 movie Another Family. Nonetheless, the filmmaker couldn’t resist. Not only is New Trial based on real events, the trial is still ongoing! Cleverly, Kim does not look into the trial itself, but he untangles the web of a legal system that is rotten to the core. In the end, the Korean director offers a breath-taking thriller which will want you to make the world a better place.

Shock Wave (2017-Hong Kong/China) Directed by Screenplay by Erica Lee and Herman Yau Casting : , Wu Jiang, Jia Song, … Duration: 119 minutes

J.S. Cheung is one of Hong Kong’s best policemen. He fearlessly infiltrates the gang of the merciless gangster Blast (what’s in a name?) who has made an art form of relieving local banks of their cash. Seven years later, Cheung has retrained as a demining expert. When a series of bomb attacks spark fear among Hong Kong’s citizens, the clever policeman quickly smells a rat. Blast is challenging him to a cat-and-mouse game: will you be able to deactivate this bomb before innocent people get hurt? And he still has his biggest trick up his sleeve… With a gang of no-goods, Blast takes hold of a major underground tunnel, including a hundred or so hostages, and he threatens to blast everything to smithereens if his demands aren’t met. Will our bold-hearted hero succeed in defusing the situation in time? Andy Lau needs no further introduction for the BIFFF public. The star of House of Flying Daggers and Infernal Affairs 1 and 3 is the unmistakable center of gravity in this energetic and tightly paced thriller. Director Herman Yau is no unknown quantity either because we previously saw his Gong Tau (BIFFF 2008), Ghost Within (BIFFF 2006), and Troublesome Night (BIFFF 2000). A fine piece of workmanship made in Hong Kong!

A Special Lady (2017-South-Korea) Directed by An-kyu Lee Screenplay by An-kyu Lee Casting: Hye-su Kim, Sun-kyun Lee, Hee-joon Lee, … Duration : 91 minutes

It’s a man’s world, but it would be nothing without a woman. Apply that to Seoul’s criminal underworld and never a truer word was spoken. A crime syndicate specializes in blackmailing prominent citizens by secretly taping their sexual affairs. Platinum blonde Hyun-Jung is the gang’s factotum. She not only advises the big boss but if push comes to shove she also kicks a mean ass and to top things off she has an uncanny sense of looming danger. Just when the syndicate wants to reinvent itself as a bona fide company, its designated killer is no longer willing to play second fiddle, which threatens the whole organization. The boss’s son, who’s just been expelled from school for bad behaviour, doesn’t want to heed her good advice either. And what to do about the public prosecutor, who has vowed to bring the gangsters down because they don’t want to return his sex tape? A Special Lady is a hard-boiled crime drama, a genre which the Koreans seem to have monopolized these last 15 years. It boasts enough plot developments to fill ten movies, impressive performances, stylish direction, a pulsating rhythm… Lee An-gyu used to assist Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil, A Bittersweet Life, A Tale of Two Sisters) and now delivers a first feature in his own name. For the leading lady, he succeeded in getting tough cookie Kim Hye-Soo, known for a.o. Coin-Locker Girl.

Who Killed Cock Robin (2017-Taiwan) Directed by Wei-hao Cheng Screenplay by Yen Chi-Chen, Yu Shan Chen, Yuli Chen and Wei-Hao Cheng Casting : Wei-Ning Hsu, Kaiser Chuang, Chia-Yen Ko, … Duration : 118 minutes

Investigative journalist Wang Yi-chi is a real charmer. Everyone instantly likes him and he can get away with almost anything. But then he makes the mistake of selling a scoop without checking the facts first. The juicy extramarital affair he wanted to expose turns out to be a fluke because the senator is legally married to the buxom babe he was seen with… On top of that, Wang wrecks his brand new wheels. Upon investigating, he finds out his shiny sports car isn’t so new after all and that it was involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident some years ago. When he delves into the case, things get murky and before you know it he discovers a dark web of secrets, scandals, and corruption that goes to the heart of the system. Meanwhile, he gets fired by his newspaper because of the fake scandal. At his most vulnerable he’ll have to go at it alone to uncover the dirty truth. Who Killed Cock Robin? is the second film by Taiwanese director Wei-Hao Cheng in this year’s program. But don’t expect Tag-Along 3, because he has crafted a crime drama with a persistent film noir atmosphere. Among the impressive performers, we recognize Wei-Ning Hsu from the Tag-Along franchise and a certain Mason Lee (son of Ang “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” Lee

7.6 European Competition Jury :

PHILIPPE LOGIE

Since 2001, Philippe Logie has been running the Acquisitions Department of the Belgian pay-channel Be TV (formerly Canal + Belgium), where he was secretary general and legal counselor from 1995 till 2001. He now selects and negotiates the rights for features, TV-series and documentaries with Belgian and international studios, producers and distributors for VOO and Be TV. Since 2010, he has been a board member of André Delvaux Academy and he functions as Be TV’s artistic producer for the organization of the Magritte Award ceremonies. In 2014, he began working as an associate producer, managing the investments of VOO and Be TV for the co-production of films and documentaries (more than 80 to this day).

OLIVIER IMFELD

Olivier Imfeld, born in Switzerland from a Swiss mother and a Dutch father, left his native country after finished his BA., as he wanted to discover the world. He ended up in Arles, France. There, he studied photography at the Ecole Nationale de la Photographie and then moved to Nice for studies in contemporary art at the National School of Art. His first real contact with cinema in Switzerland (after seeing Mary Poppins as a kid) is when he works at an underground cinema, on the weekends. The free tickets he gets from this job are used for total immersion in the 7th Art. Then, during his photography studies, he's asked to take pictures on a film set, which definitely gets him hooked on cinema. After his studies, he works on productions in the south of France, where he meets people like Armin Müller Stahl, Max von Sidow and Roman Coppola (scriptwriter of Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic). Olivier is chief operator and second team DOP on Ricky Bates Jr’s slasher Excision, shot in Los Angeles. His most recent feat is DOP on Jerome Vandewattyne’s Spit 'n' Split, which had its world premiere at the BIFFF and was nominated for the 2018 Magritte Awards.

MARIE MANZAH

Born in Paris of a Spanish mother and a Cameroonian father, Marie moved to Belgium in 2012.After studying Spanish, she was attracted to the airline sector. She began her career at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, after which she became a supervisor at Air Europa, the Spanish airline specializing in Latin America. In 2005, she started working as a sales representative in Air Europe’s Marketing and Sales department in Paris. For fun, she got involved in the world of media, for example as co-author of commercials, to which she also lent her voice on Radio Latina 99FM.At the end of 2012, Air Europa asked her to open the company’s Belgian office in the European capital, and Marie accepted the challenge! Since then, she has been very active in the Belgian business world and, as part of the sales team based in the company’s offices in Brussels, she does not intend to leave ever again. MICHEL NABOKOFF

Belgian actor Michel Nabokoff (1973°) is indeed the great-nephew of Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov. The latter is, of course, much better known, but much less alive. Which gives Michel the advantage! In 2007, he decided to pursue his dream to become an actor. He first appeared in commercials, before obtaining his first part in 2009 in a French TV-movie! Since then, he hasn't stopped shooting: La chance de ma vie with , Un heureux événement with Louise Bourgoin, La Tour 2 Contrôle Infernale and more recently one of the best comedies of 2017, Problemos by Eric Judor. Currently being stuck on the set with Cécile de France and Fabrice Luchini, Michel Nabokoff asked the BIFFF to give him a break so that he could participate to our Europen Jury. Consider it done, Michel!

JEAN-YVES ROUBIN

Jean-Yves Roubin founded FraKas Productions in 2007. The company is active in development and international co-productions. In its catalog, you can find recent films such as Repair the Living by Katell Quillévéré (2016), Je suis à toi by David Lambert, Grave by Julia Ducournau (2016), Ms. Hyde by Serge Bozon, Daguerrotype by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, La Fidèle by Michaël R. Roskam and Muse by Jaume Balaguero. Jean-Yves Roubin is committed to working with young Belgian or international filmmakers, capable of taking a critical look at society, with a preference for genre cinema. 2018 promises to be a rich year for FraKas Productions, as the company has chosen to co-produce Lorcan Finnegan's Vivarium, Neasa Hardiman's Sea Fever, Gavin Rothery's Archive and La fille au bracelet by Stéphane Demoustier. On its Belgian slate are David Lambert's Third Wedding, Alone to My Marriage by Marta Bergman and will especially Inexorable, the new feature by Fabrice du Welz.

Charismata (2017- UK) Directed by Andy Collier and Toor Mian Screenplay by Andy Collier and Toor Mian Casting : Sarah Beck Matter, Jamie Satterthwaite, Andonis Anthony, … Duration : 96 minutes

It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. Easier said than done for rookie police inspector Rebecca, who has to pry into the sleaziest crimes. As if that weren’t enough, she has to put up with her male chauvinist pig colleagues and their sick sense of humor. Especially the other half of her detective duo enjoys making fun of her. When they stumble upon a series of ritually murdered victims, they succeed in apprehending a possible perpetrator. But this slick bastard doesn’t flinch an inch and on top of that, he shows up as an uninvited guest in her dreams–or should we say “nightmares”? Soon she starts questioning her own mental sanity, which wasn’t rock solid to begin with… Brits Andy Collier and Tor Mian won a bunch of prizes at American genre festivals with their first feature as a duo. And for good reason, because Charismata is an intelligent mix of crime drama and satanic horror. Just like in Manhunter (the first cinematic sighting of our favorite creep, Hannibal Lecter), heavy emphasis is put on the uncanny similarities between detectives and serial killers. Add to that a creepy atmosphere in the vein of Polanski and you’re all set for a first-rate fright night!

Cold Skin (2017- France/Spain) Directed by Xavier Gens Screenplay by Jesus Olmo and Eron Sheean Casting : Ray Stevenson, David Oakes, Aura Garrido, … Duration : 108 minutes

1914. A ship drops off a weather official at a remote island in Arctic waters. He’s supposed to stay for a year to do meteorological research. The man he replaces is reported to have succumbed to typhoid fever. At least that’s what the island’s sole other inhabitant, the grumpy lighthouse-keeper, claims. He’s not exactly a charming man and he tries to make his new neighbor’s stay as uncomfortable as possible. And why does his lighthouse look like a fortress, including an armor-plated door and razor-sharp spears? It seems they’re not the only inhabitants of the tiny island. Night after night they’re being visited by malicious creatures that rise from the sea and want to kill them with a vengeance. Or maybe the monsters are being lured by their next of kin, who lives with the lighthouse-keeper like a tamed animal? Cold Skin, based on a Catalan bestseller, is a stimulating breed of horror thriller and philosophical tale. We know filmmaker Xavier Gens (The Hitman) from The Divide (BIFFF 2012) and Frontiers (BIFFF 2008). With the help of Ray Stevenson (Thor-trilogy, The Big Game, Divergent) as the misanthropic lighthouse-keeper and eye-watering visual effects, he pins you to your chair for two hours straight.

The Cured (2017-Ireland) Directed by David Freyne Screenplay by David Freyne Casting : Ellen Page, Sam Keeley, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, … Duration : 95 minutes

Four years after a viral epidemic turned the infected into rabid brain-eaters, a cure has finally been found. 75% of patients are in complete remission and can re-enter civil society. Senan is one of them. He is relieved to be reunited with his sister-in- law and his nephew without wanting to eat their limbs. However, it’s not really a happy end. He might be cured, but he has not forgotten the atrocious acts he’s committed. Moreover, in addition to a difficult reintegration, the ex-infected have to face hatred and discrimination. Some even want to intern them in camps. And then there are the 25% who can not be cured. While the army starts to impose a final solution, some of the cured turn to violence to be heard.

In his debut feature, director David Freyne uses the of the infected as a for social discrimination. It reminds you of The Revenants, but here the filmmaker adds a political layer. His subtext is quite flexible and allows him to give xenophobes, neo-liberals and eurosceptics the finger. As you will have understood by now, The Cured is far from being an ordinary zombie-flick. Carried by the incredible Ellen Page (Inception, Hard Candy) and acclaimed by international critics, it is almost your duty to come and watch it at the BIFFF!

Ederlezi Rising (2018-Serbia) Directed by Lazar Bodroza Screenplay by Dimitrije Vojnov Casting : Sebastian Cavazza, Stoya, Marusa Majer, … Duration: 85 minutes

2148. Milutin is a skilled astronaut working for the Ederlezi Corporation. He just finished his training to participate in the most dangerous mission ever; an expedition to Alpha Centauri, the only planet suitable for human life. As the journey is going to be very long, the astronaut might risk getting bored. The Ederlezi Corporation has provided a partner for Milutin. Nimani is an android adapted to the astronaut’s psychological profile. Because of Milutin’s misogynist nature, his sexualized tamagochi is in serious risk of breaking down before they reach their destination. Thousand light years away from Earth, Milutin feels like a god with his remote controlling Nimani’s desires. She evolves from colleague to lover and from lover to sexual slave. As boundaries are being broken, Milutin’s lust for domination can no longer be fulfilled by a piece of software. He decides to reboot Nimani and to implant the final touch: real emotions! Ederlezi Rising, aesthetically reminding us of Tarkovski’s Solaris, is a bold science-fiction movie from Serbia. Our Serbian friends are not known to hold back when it comes to cinema (A Serbian Film, anyone!?) and in Ederlezi Rising they live up to their reputation. Lazar Bodroza’s first feature delves deeply into our most primal desires. It also evokes fellow countrywoman and renowned shock-artist Marina Abramovic’s 1974 performance, where she let herself be abused by the audience. Adult movie enthusiasts will recognize Stoya, who has put her porn career aside to put us men firmly in our place.

Errementari (2017-Spain) Directed by Paul Urkijo Alijo Screenplay by Paul Urkijo Alijo and Asier Guerricaechevarría Casting : Kandido Uranga, Eneko Sagardoy, Uma Bracaglia, … Duration : 98minutes

Sure, we all have our demons to contend with but Patxi, a blacksmith in a Basque village in the early 19th century, has quite a special demon. For years, he’s been fighting off a low-level devil to whom he once pledged his soul and who wants to present him with a one-way ticket to hell. In order to buy time, Patxi has locked up the horned creature in his smithy, which is as dark as night and as hot as a furnace. The pious and superstitious village where he lives shuns the smith as if he were a leper, but then Usue enters the scene. As the young daughter of a woman who killed herself, she too is being snubbed by the closed community. Usue becomes the bone of contention between the smith, the demon, and the villagers. Maybe she will succeed in keeping the gates of hell closed for just a while longer… A horror story in the Basque country and spoken in Euskera (the Basque language), that’s something we don’t get to see every day. This production by BIFFF regulars Álex de la Iglesia and is the first full-fledged film by writer-director Paul Urkijo Alijo. His Errementari (“blacksmith”) is an entertaining mix of gothic horror, folklore, and satanic shenanigans told with a great sense of style.

La femme la plus assassinée du monde (2017- Belgium/USA/UK) Directed by Franck Ribière Screenplay by James Charkow, Vérane Frédiani, David Murdoch and Franck Ribière Casting : Anna Mouglalis, Niels Schneider, Eric Godon, … Duration : 102 minutes Who was the most assassinated woman in the world? This dubious honor befell Paula Maxa, the star of the Grand Guignol Theater in the Pigalle district of Paris at the beginning of the 1930s. On stage, she was murdered more than 10,000 times in at least 60 different ways and raped at least 3,000 times. In the dramatized film version, we meet an imperturbable woman who hides a terrible family secret. Writer and director André de Lorde, nicknamed “The Prince of Terror”, practically keeps her under lock and key with the help of a psychiatrist. Until one day, a young journalist pays a visit for an article he’s writing and he starts suspecting the famous theatre is somehow involved with a series of gruesome murders. Upon meeting Paula, he falls head over heels in love and he also learns about her painful past. Will he be able to save her from the clutches of the shady characters surrounding her?

The name Franck Ribière may not ring a bell, but what if we told you he’s the producer of Álex de la Iglesia (Witching and Bitching, The Perfect Crime, The Oxford Murders, The Last Circus) and a string of other Spanish movies (Cell 211, Extinction, El niño)? His fiction debut, freely inspired by historical events, is a suspenseful theatre thriller in the vein of The Illusionist and The Prestige. Frontier (2018-Russia) Directed by Dmitriy Tyurin Screenplay by Aleksandr Shvetsov Casting : Kristina Brodskaya, Alexander Korshunov, Elena Lyadova, … Duration :100 minutes

Mikhail Chourov is a young, cynical and ruthless businessman. He works for an unscrupulous real estate agent, managing the grounds for future housing estates in St. Petersburg. But one of his projects has stalled since activists accuse him of wanting to destroy a historical site. Chourov doesn’t give a damn about the remains of Red Army soldiers. Determined to subdue this rebellion, he decides to confront the activists. But a sudden landslide on the spot throws him into a temporal vortex. Chourov is still at the same historical site… but in 1943 during the siege of Leningrad. The banks of the Neva are about to become an open tomb for more than two hundred thousand soldiers and Chourov is in the middle of it. Frontier, dedicated to Operation Iskra, about the breaking of the siege of Leningrad, is a gigantic project that took ten years to complete. It’s a patriotic homage to the sacrifice of Russian soldiers and a fantastic blockbuster about time jumps. Dmitriy Tyurin’s film is a maze of stories, from the most intimate to the most epic. This visually astounding adventure (with a budget of 300 Rubles, you do the math) could count on a crack team of sfx artists (responsible for a.o. Logan, Nightwatch and Chronicle). Get swept away by a spectacular story about one of the biggest bloodbaths of the 20th century.

How To Talk To Girl At Parties (2017- UK/USA) Directed by John Cameron Mitchell Screenplay by Philippa Goslett and John Cameron Mitchell Casting : Alex Sharp, Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, … Duration : 102 minutes

If you’re an outcast, your teenage years are the dark ages of your personal history. Especially talking to girls can turn out to be an insurmountable challenge. Enn is right in the middle of his dark ages, until he meets Zan at the wrong party. Wrong party? Convinced they are going to the after-party of a punk rock show, they stumble upon an alien infested “introduction to earth” gathering, where they learn that cannibal aliens are trying to conquer planet earth. The only solution is to rally the punk troops led by designer Boadicia (Nicole Kidman no less) and fight back! In the middle of all these shenanigans Enn and Zan (most definitely an alien ... or not?) need to find a moment to “consume” the night. And you thought punk was dead? It’s been a long time since we heard something from John Cameron Mitchell, who made the amazing Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the weird Rabbit Hole, but we weren’t expecting this high-class movie. Starring Elle Fanning (groundbreaking in The Neon Demon), repeat offender Nicole Kidman (who played a major role in Rabbit Hole), and newcomer Alex Sharp, this sci-fi comedy provides two hours of pure joy in the vein of Scott Pilgrim and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That’s entertainment! Killing God (2017-Spain) Directed by Caye Casas and Albert Pintó Screenplay by Caye Casas and Albert Pintó Casting : Eduardo Antuña, Itziar Castro, Emilio Gavira, … Duration : 92 minutes

A remote country house in a mountainous region sounds like the perfect place for a New Year’s Eve family dinner, right? There’s quite a bit of tension between the different family members, but when an uninvited guest shows up, all hell breaks loose. Disguised as a homeless midget, none other than God himself comes on the scene. And this time he brings bad tidings: when the sun rises, all of humanity will be wiped out. The “good news” is they can choose two people who will survive the ordeal. Things quickly get out of hand and soon the cozy family get-together turns into a sinister version of And Then There Were None … Killing God, which won the Audience Award at the latest Sitges film festival, is the first feature by young Catalan filmmakers Caye Casas and Albert Pintó. It’s a pitch black comedy with a religious alibi, in the vein of Álex de la Iglesia’s (BIFFF 1996). Among the actors we recognize well- known faces of Spanish cinema: Emilio Gavira (Blancanieves, Mortadelo and Filemón), Eduardo Antuña (De la Iglesia’s 800 bullets, Torrente 4) en Itziar Castro ([REC] 3: Genesis).

Painkillers (2018- Belgium) Directed by Roxy Shih Screenplay by Giles Daoust Casting : Madeline Zima, Mischa Barton, Naomi Grossman, … Duration : 84 minutes

After a car accident that killed his son, John is suffering from an extremely rare form of post-traumatic stress disorder: constant tremors, raw nerves and terrible headaches. This is now the daily cocktail of this renowned surgeon. Obviously, no one lets him go near a scalpel. John tries everything to calm his pain: drugs, horse tranquilizers, the collected works of Leonard Cohen, but nothing works. Until the day he accidentally wounds his hand and decides to suck on the wound. To his astonishment, he discovers that this dose of hemoglobin makes all his pains disappear. But if John thought that a glass of A+ every morning will end his suffering, he quickly realizes that drinking his own blood is not enough. He’ll also have to feed on other humans. And it has to be fresh! Giles Daoust, the director of and the producer of Soulmate and Starry Eyes, is a familiar guest at the BIFFF. This time, he’s back, together with co-producer Catherine Dumonceaux, as the screenwriter and producer of Painkillers, a modern twist on the vampire tale that ask poignant ethical questions. Shot entirely in California, with Roxy Shih (The Tribe) at the helm, this Belgian production could count on a terrific cast with Madeline Zima (The Collector, Twin Peaks), Grant Bowler (Killer Elite, Defiance) and Mischa Barton (Lawn Dogs, The O.C.).

Party hard, Die young (2018-Austria) Directed by Dominik Hartl Screenplay by Robert Buchschwenter and Karin Lomot Casting : Edita Malovcic, Michael Ostrowski, Michael Glanschnig, … Duration : 90 minutes

Finally, graduation! No more high school! In order to celebrate Julia, her classmates and thousands of fellow graduates are on their way to an island resort in Croatia. It’s supposed to be the party of their lives. The harmless fun, however, soon turns dead serious. When a friend is killed in a tragic accident, the party people’s euphoria is crushed. Moreover, Julia’s best friend Jessica has been missing and she is the only one who believes in a connection between the two incidents. Unfortunately soon after, her suspicion is confirmed when Jessica’s lifeless body is washed up on the shore. Now the trip is about sheer survival, as Julia realizes that she’s probably the next victim. Could it all be connected to a long buried incident from the clique’s past? We don’t often get to see films from Austria, so two years ago we were pleasantly surprised by Dominik Hartl’s whacky Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies, which was nominated for a Golden Raven and was awarded two prizes by our Fantaspoa friends. In Party Hard, Die Young, the young filmmaker renews the familiar genre tropes of the slasher genre (Scream, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street…) with a whiff of Spring Breakers and a dash of The Beach.

Snowflake (2017-Germany) Directed by Adolfo Kolmerer and William James Screenplay by Arend Remmers Casting : Reza Brojerdi, Erkan Acar, Xenia Assenza, … Duration : 120 minutes

The near future: German society is in the doldrums and Berlin is the scene of street battles. Tan and Javid get into a fight with the manager of a kebab joint and swiftly send him to the netherworld. Also killed are some innocent bystanders, including the parents of Eliana, who retaliates by sending a series of whacky contract killers after them. In fact, Tan and Javid were looking for the leader of a fascist organization who’s responsible for wiping out their entire family. They then find a screenplay in which their every adventure is described in great detail, including their untimely demise. While they go on a desperate search and destroy mission for the script’s author, they meet guardian angel Snowflake. And what the dickens does Hyper Electro Man have to do with all this? Snowflake’s slogan is “the most beautiful German since the Brothers Grimm,” but don’t take that too literally! This mindfuck if ever there was one takes the unsuspecting viewer on a thrill ride, with crazy characters, satiric jibes at German politics, a story that bites its own tail, and dialogues Tarantino would relish. The winner of a Silver Méliès in Lund was shot guerrilla style and the result is a bombshell of a movie.

7.7 Critics' Prize

The Film Critics Award, launched at the BIFFF in 2013 and was attributed to the Best Belgian Short Film during the first four years. Since last year it moved to the feature film category, with the current titleholder being the South Korean film The Tunnel by Kim Seong-hoon. The award is a collaboration between two national media associations (the Film Critics Union and the Union of the Belgian Movie Press). This prestigious prize is supported by the Univerciné platform.

BJORN GABRIELS Bjorn Gabriels studied languages and literature at the University of Antwerp. This discreet and lucid thirty-year-old began his career at Cinémagie, the predecessor of Filmmagie, of which he's now editor-in-chief. He has a voracious appetite for movies since discovering the work of David Lynch and Quentin Tarntino as an adolescent. He also writes for Flanders Today and Sabzian, among others. If there's a festival somewhere, you'll find him there. This member of the Union of the Belgian Movie Press joins for the first time the Film Critics jury at the BIFFF.

DIDIER STIERS This familiar face at the festival has been covering the BIFFF for many years now for Le Soir. He's also a regular collaborator for L’Echo. This ULB graduate might look detached, but he is actually very rigorous and professional. His passions are cinema as well as music and there are not many festivals in Belgian that escape his radar. This 'old skool' reporter was a member of our 7th Orbit jury in 2009. He became a member of Union of the Belgian Movie Press in 2017.

ERIC VAN CUTSEM This independent journalist (since 1989) has always wondered whether he's a journalist, a computer scientist, a biologist ... or an alien ... Maybe he's a bit of everything !

Bees make honey (2017-UK) Directed by Jack Eve Screenplay by Jack Eve Casting : Alice Eve, Hermione Corfield, Joshua McGuire,… Duration: 90 minutes

The English countryside, 1934. Halloween night. Honey, a young but very wealthy widow, organizes her celebrated yearly costumed ball. The most distinguished figures of local high society are present, sipping expensive champagne while exchanging exotic holiday stories. This year, Honey has invited a special guest. Inspector Shoerope, the British version of our Hercule Poirot, is charged with a very delicate mission. A year ago, Honey's husband was brutally murdered at the same ball. With the crime being unresolved, our charming hostess has reinvited everybody who was present at the crime. Once the last guest arrives, the clock starts ticking. Shoerope now has to blend in and interrogate all potential suspects before they fall wasted on the ground.

You might think you’re getting a new version of Cluedo, but Jack Eve’s second film can not be reduced to just an adaptation. Bees Make Honey is wildly original and visually sumptuous, as if Baz Luhrmann had his way with Agatha Christie. It’s a lyrical ode to the whodunnit film, a feast of narrative and visual styles. And it’s a movie by the entire family… Eve, because Jack sister, Alice (The Raven, Men in Black 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness) plays Honey while father Trevor (Troy, Dracula) plays the commissioner.

Charismata (2017- UK) Directed by Andy Collier and Toor Mian Screenplay by Andy Collier and Toor Mian Casting : Sarah Beck Matter, Jamie Satterthwaite, Andonis Anthony, … Duration : 96 minutes

It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. Easier said than done for rookie police inspector Rebecca, who has to pry into the sleaziest crimes. As if that weren’t enough, she has to put up with her male chauvinist pig colleagues and their sick sense of humor. Especially the other half of her detective duo enjoys making fun of her. When they stumble upon a series of ritually murdered victims, they succeed in apprehending a possible perpetrator. But this slick bastard doesn’t flinch an inch and on top of that, he shows up as an uninvited guest in her dreams–or should we say “nightmares”? Soon she starts questioning her own mental sanity, which wasn’t rock solid to begin with… Brits Andy Collier and Tor Mian won a bunch of prizes at American genre festivals with their first feature as a duo. And for good reason, because Charismata is an intelligent mix of crime drama and satanic horror. Just like in Manhunter (the first cinematic sighting of our favorite creep, Hannibal Lecter), heavy emphasis is put on the uncanny similarities between detectives and serial killers. Add to that a creepy atmosphere in the vein of Polanski and you’re all set for a first-rate fright night.

Dhogs (2017-Spain) Directed by Andres Goteira Screenplay by Andres Goteira Casting : Carlos Blanco, Alejandro Carro, Maria Costas, … Duration : 85 minutes

A taxi driver with the face of a beaten-up dog drives through the streets of a desolate city, like he does every night. This time he picks up a businessman who’s having an argument with his wife. But when he drops him off at the hotel, lives will be changed forever. Whether we like it or not, we must follow the untangling of the story, powerless and astonished at what we’re seeing. Dear BIFFF enthusiasts, the reason your writer is so lyrical is that Dhogs should be seen as a trip through ‘horror’ lane, just like Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores perros and Leos Carax’s Holy Motors. The film is raw, astonishing, and complex. It is guaranteed to be the “love it or hate it” movie of the festival! Andres Goteira’s debut will not go unnoticed. Loved at a bunch of other festivals, Dhogs is a UFO (Undefined Film Object) from Galicia. That Spanish region is home to some of Europe’s most intriguing genre films of the moment, like Ignacio Vilar’s A esmorga and Fernando Cortizo’s criminally underrated stop motion jewel O apóstolo

Hunting Emma (2017-South Africa) Directed by Byron Davis Screenplay by Deon Meyer Casting : Bouwer Bosch, Leandi De Randt, Luan Jacobs, … Duration : 102 minutes

Emma looks like a gentle, peace-loving, and caring woman. But when danger occurs, she gets possessed by the ghost of Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson’s character in Taken). “Danger” here means a group of six lunatic drug sellers, whom she saw killing a cop on duty. There remains but one thing to do: kill that poor little helpless girl. What they haven’t bargained for is that Emma has seen all the Kill Bill movies and is in for some good ol’ ultra violence. Hunting Emma, the first movie by South African director Byron Davis, is based on a novel by Deon Meyer. The film doesn’t have the budget of its examples, but it makes up for that by a resourceful way of filming, with omnipresent violence, a breathtaking rhythm, and an impressive Leandie De Randt. Neill Blomkamp, you are no longer South Africa’s only genre film director!

Man Divided (2017-Sweden / Finland/ Denmark) Directed by Max Kestner Screenplay by Dungan Gry Jensen Casting: Carsten Bjornlund, Sofia Helin, Marijana Jankovic,… Duration : 87 minutes

Ever heard of the butterfly effect? In chaos theory (and of course in science fiction flicks) it refers to the fact that minimal changes in a given situation can later cause gigantic problems. In 2095, the world is overrun with salt water and all forms of life are in danger of extinction. Fang Rung, head of the secret intelligence service, has himself cloned by molecular fission and sends his double to the past to go and find a solution for the impending ecological disaster. But then a slight problem arises: his double refuses to come back and his extended stay causes a great deal of trouble back home. Fang Rung has but one option: go back to 2017 and retract his lost half before irreparable damage is done… Man Divided is a prime example of intelligent science fiction. The ecological doom scenario is totally believable and looks stunning on the silver screen (thanks to Rasmus Videbæk, the visual poet behind Nikolaj Arcel’s The Dark Tower and A Royal Affair). For his lifelike characters, Danish director Max Kestner can count on top performers: his compatriot Carsten Bjørnlund and Swedish Sofia Helin are well-known from The Killing and other Scandinavian marvels (Ragnarok, Metropia etc.).

New trial (2017-South Korea) Directed by Tae-yun Kim Screenplay by Tae-yun Kim Casting : Jung-eun Lee, Jae-young Han, Min Jin-woong, … Duration: 119 minutes

The year 2000. Jo Hyun-Woo is 15. He is a good kid, who may no longer believe in Santa but does believe in justice. That's bad luck for him, as good cops decide to arrest him for the murder of a taxi driver. He might be innocent, but a few punches in the face from the arm of the law make him confess to anything. 16 years later, Jo Hyun-Woo has done his time in jail, but he’s damaged goods. No one wants to hire him, his mother has become blind and is having trouble putting food on the table and insurances companies want to rob him blind for victim compensation. That’s when he meets Lee Jun-Young, a lawyer who used to plead pro bono, who dreams of a more lucrative professional future. But the more the lawyer digs into the case, the more he realizes that he's drowning in a sea of corruption. Kim Tae-Yun promised he would never deal with stories based on true events that stigmatize injustice and corruption in Korea after his 2014 movie Another Family. Nonetheless, the filmmaker couldn’t resist. Not only is New Trial based on real events, the trial is still ongoing! Cleverly, Kim does not look into the trial itself, but he untangles the web of a legal system that is rotten to the core. In the end, the Korean director offers a breath-taking thriller which will want you to make the world a better place. Snowflake (2017-Germany) Directed by Adolfo Kolmerer and William James Screenplay by Arend Remmers Casting: Reza Brojerdi, Erkan Acar, Xenia Assenza,… Duration : 120 minutes

The near future: German society is in the doldrums and Berlin is the scene of street battles. Tan and Javid get into a fight with the manager of a kebab joint and swiftly send him to the netherworld. Also killed are some innocent bystanders, including the parents of Eliana, who retaliates by sending a series of whacky contract killers after them. In fact, Tan and Javid were looking for the leader of a fascist organization who’s responsible for wiping out their entire family. They then find a screenplay in which their every adventure is described in great detail, including their untimely demise. While they go on a desperate search and destroy mission for the script’s author, they meet guardian angel Snowflake. And what the dickens does Hyper Electro Man have to do with all this? Snowflake’s slogan is “the most beautiful German fairy tale since the Brothers Grimm,” but don’t take that too literally! This mindfuck if ever there was one takes the unsuspecting viewer on a thrill ride, with crazy characters, satiric jibes at German politics, a story that bites its own tail, and dialogues Tarantino would relish. The winner of a Silver Méliès in Lund was shot guerrilla style and the result is a bombshell of a movie.

Terrified (2017-Argentina) Directed by Demian Rugna Screenplay by Demian Rugna Casting : Ariel Chavarria, Maximiliano Ghione, Norberto Gonzalo, … Duration : 90 minutes Imagine for a moment: you are peacefully asleep, your wife quietly gets up to do what she has to do on the toilet and, suddenly, you hear a thunderous pounding on the other side of the wall. Furious at your neighbour for hammering at three in the morning, you knock at his door, determined to make him swallow his toolbox, but he doesn’t answer. Back home, you notice that these sounds actually come from your own bathroom. And when you finally open the door, you discover your wife, turned into a bloody pinball and eating all the tiles in the room... Imagine now that your entire neighborhood has become a giant paranormal freak show and all your neighbours are subjected to the worst of the worst regarding unexplained phenomena. Even the cops dare not set foot. Only a couple of special investigators decide to lock themselves in to study the phenomena. What they discover is really terrifying... Here is an excerpt from an e-mail sent to James Wan with regard to Terrified: “Hi James, we know you’re quite busy with Aquaman and we don’t want to be demoralizing but ... there is a certain Demian Rugna who’s just finished a film that makes yours look like a seventies BBC production. Furthermore, it has jump scares like the turns of an endless roller coaster!” With Terrified, Argentina has just found its maestro of the freak...

7.8 International Competition Jury : LLOYD KAUFMAN In 1971, Kaufman met his future partner at Yale. The Troma Universe was born in 1974 with a series of highly original, raunchy comedies. These movies, independent precursors to such later smash hits as National Lampoon’s Animal House and Porky’s, did well financially, although Kaufman continued to work on such outside productions as and . Kaufman’s relationship with mainstream Hollywood would not last long. In 1984, Lloyd gets finally his breakthrough movie, The Toxic Avenger. The success of The Toxic Avenger was followed by a string of commercial and artistic triumphs in a similar vein, blending fantasy, heavy action, comedy, and eroticism in a style that can only be described as “Tromatic”. These films, including the Class of Nuke ‘Em High trilogy, Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD, and Troma’s War, were often ignored or scorned by the intelligentsia of the time but spoke to an entire generation of young people who rejected the pandering, commercial films of the mid-to-late 80’s. Some of these Troma fans went on to become filmmakers themselves, including Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Mike Judge, Peter Jackson, and . Thanks to these admirers, Kaufman has been asked to make cameo appearances in films like Trey Parker’s Orgazmo, Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever and 's Guardians of the Galaxy. FILMO : The Toxic Avenger (1984) – Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986) - Troma's War (1988) – The Toxic Avenger : Part II (1989) – The Toxic Avenger III : The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989) – Sgt Kabukiman NYPD (1990) – Class of Nuk'Em High II : Subhumanoid Meltdown (1991) – Tromeo and Juliet (1996) – (1999) – Citizen Toxie : The Toxic Avenger IV (2000) – Poultrygeist : Night of the Chicken Dead (2006) – Return to Nuke'Em High Volume 1 (2013) – Return to Return to Nuke'Em High AKAK vol.2 (2017) JULIA DUCOURNAU

It's fascinating to follow Julia Ducournau’s trajectory which led to her feature debut Grave. As the daughter of a gynecologist and a dermatologist, she became familiar with all possible transformations of the human body at an early age. Her favorite director is David Cronenberg and especially his movie Crash about the sexuality of mutilated corpses, a theme which fascinates her. She studies literature, starts writing scripts and develops a love for genre cinema. In 2015 she visits the Frontières coproduction market at the BIFFF with a project called Grave. The rest is history. Grave is the revelation of the and makes people faint at the screening in Toronto. The critics adore the film and awards start piling up. And now this great promise of genre cinema is a member of our International Jury. FILMO: Grave (2016)

STEPHANIE CRAYENCOUR Not only is she from Brussels, she’s alto multi-talented. This niece of Marguerite Yourcenar was only 20 when she decided to leave Belgium for a career in Paris. Her decision finally paid off when, three years later, she managed to get her first part in Eric Rohmer’s Les Amours d’Astrée et de Céladon. Not wanting to be labeled, Stéphanie Crayencour showed her versatility as a singer wity the hit La Fille qui sourit de chagrin, followed by an album composed with popular French singer Saule. She made us laugh in the comedy Les Mythos (2011), which got her a nomination for Best Female Promise at the Magrittes. She then starred in Tom le Cancre and the TV-series Les Hommes de l’Ombre. In 2016 she played in the short film Ice Scream (shown at the BIFFF) and Les Visiteurs 3 (not shown at the BIFFF). Since then she played in Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont, Un Petit Boulot, Faut pas lui dire and Un Profil sur Deux alongside the legendary Pierre Richard. FILMO : Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon (2009) – Oscar et la Dame Rose (2009) – Kill Me Please (2010) – Les Mythos (2011) – Tom le Cancre (2012) – Les Visiteurs 3 (2016) – Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont (2016) – Un Petit Boulot (2016) – Faut pas lui dire (2016) – Un Profil sur Deux (2017) LAURENT LUCAS After attending a one-man show in Paris, Laurent Lucas got addicted to theatre. It didn’t take long for him to get drawn in by French cinema. In 2000, he was nominated for the Césars as Best Male Promise for Haut les Coeurs. He then went on tour with theatre pieces by Marivaux and Harold Pinter, directed by Bertrand Bonello and Leos Carax. But he exploded on the big screen in With a Friend Like Harry, alongside Sergi Lopez. On a roll, he gave strong performances in Marina de Van’s In My Skin and Gilles Marchand’s Who Killed Bambi? before running into our friend Fabrice du Welz. They’ll embark on the famous Ardennes trilogy Calvaire, Alleluia and Adoration (in preparation). More recently, he also caught the TV-series virus with parts in The Returned and Le Bureau des Légendes. That doesn’t stop him from appearing in outstanding genre fiction, as we could see from his performance in Julia Ducournau’s shocker Raw.

FILMO: (1999) – Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (2000) – Le Pornographe (2001) – Dans ma peau (2002) – Qui a tué Bambi? (2003) – Calvaire (2004) – Lemming (2005) – Contre-

Ajin : demi-human (2017-Japan) Directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro Screenplay by Masahiro Yamaura and Hiroshi Seko Casting : Mamoru Yimano, , Tetsuji Tamayama, … Duration: 109 minutes

Very good news for Kei Nagai! The teenager survived after being run over by a five-ton truck. Bad news: it’s not because luck is on his side, but because he turns out to be an Ajin. In other words, he’s immortal. This particularity frightens the Japanese government so much that they decide to imprison Kei. He becomes a guinea pig of the state. Every day his limbs are cut off, only to grow back again. Kei gets liberated by Sato, another Ajin, who’s fed up with seeing his peers chopped up like lizard tails. Sato wants to enroll Kei in his crusade against mankind. Who cares if this involves hijacking planes and flying them into Tokyo’s skyscrapers? After all, all that Sato wants is a piece of land where he can live in peace, even if this takes millions of dead. Kei will put his immortality at the service of his enemies, those puny mortals, to stop his mentor. When X-Men met Highlander, this is how you could summarize this Japanese blockbuster. Ajin Demi- Human is the long awaited live-adaptation of Gamon Sakurai’s eponymous manga. With Katsuyuki Motohiro (Bayside Shakedown trilogy) in the director’s seat, Ajin: Demi-Human smashed the Japanese box office as soon as it got released. This big budget extravaganza, with amazing SFX by the team of Ghost in the Shell and Logan, begs to be seen on the biggest possible screen.

Along with the gods (2017-South Korea) Directed by Yong-hwa Kim Screenplay by Ho-min Ju and Yong-hwa Kim Casting : Jung-woo Ha, Tae-hyun Cha, Ji-hun Ju, … Duration : 139 minutes

Firefighter Kim Jo-hong falls out a burning building after rescuing a little girl. He dies on the spot. There are no angels, no requiem and no white light at the end of the tunnel. Kim’s welcoming committee consists of two guys who look like undertakers. They introduce themselves as his lawyers in the hereafter. In order to get his green card to paradise and reincarnation, Kim's soul will have to go through the seven circles of hell and as many celestial lawsuits. All of this in order to prove his worth for each of the sins on the agenda; namely: treason, violence, murder, filial piety, deception, injustice and indolence. It takes just one sin for eternal hell, which is customized according to the sinner. And you thought life was hard! Along With The Gods, based on a popular Korean , can only be defined in superlatives. This Taoist reinterpretation of Dante, the third highest-grossing movie at the Korean box office, is definitely not kidding when it comes to pulling out all the stops. Kim Yong-hwa's (Mr Go) new film is a visual aphrodisiac of action and emotion that puts one money shot after another at a breathtaking . We can’t wait to screen the second part at next year’s BIFFF.

House of the disappeared (2017-South Korea) Directed by Dae-woong Lim Screenplay by Jae-hyun Jang and Alejandro Hidalgo Casting : Do-bin Baek, Jae-yoon Jo, Yunjin Kim,… Duration : 100 minutes

After serving 25 years in prison for killing her husband and son, Mi-hee returns to her derelict home. A young priest visits her and asks what really happened on the day she supposedly murdered her family. She tells him: “They killed my husband and took my child.” When the priest digs into the archives he finds several strange articles dating back 75 years ago. He notices a bizarre pattern in which every 25 years on November 11th, people go missing in Mi-hee’s house. That same night is November 11th and she is convinced strangers are in the house once again … If this plot outline sounds familiar, you’re damn right because House of the Disappeared is the South Korean remake of the Venezuelan film The House at the End of Time (Silver Raven at the 2015 BIFFF). Ever since Horror Stories (BIFFF 2013), we’ve known that director Dae-wung Lim knows the tricks of the trade. In the starring role of this macabre haunted house film, we recognize Yunjin Kim (from the legendary television series Lost), whereas her co-star Taecyeon is more widely known for being a rapper and a member of the Korean One Direction.

Inuyashiki (2018-Japan) Directed by Scénario of Hiroshi Hashimoto Casting : Noritake Kinashi, Takeru Satoh, Yûsuke Iseya, …

Ichiro Inuyashiki is pushing sixty. With his dull office job and a family that treats him like a leper, you could hardly call his existence on our Blue Planet very exciting. Dur- ing a medical check-up, he’s told a cancer is eating his insides and he’s got little time left in this world. Completely dejected, he drags himself to a park to cry on a bench. But then suddenly, an alien spaceship stops right above him and Ichiro conks out. When he comes to, it feels like he has concentrated Red Bull molasses running through his veins instead of blood! Without asking his opinion, the extraterrestrials have turned him into a bionic killing machine. Ichiro is over the moon and decides to become the that nobody has ever seen in him. But then someone else who suffered the same fate goes on a crazy killing spree. Inevitably, the two are heading for a showdown...

A nincompoop might be forgiven for thinking this is a remake of Kick-Ass for the elderly by the Shinya Tsukamoto of Tetsuo. But that’s overlooking BIFFF-regular Shinsuke Sato. In 2016, the Japanese filmmaker was awarded the Golden Raven for I Am a Hero and the following year, he presented Death Note: Light Up the New World. For this adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s manga, he can count on Noritake Kinashi, world famous at home as one half of a singing comedy duo. His co-star is Takeru Satoh, well- known for the Rurouni Kenshin-films (BIFFF 2013 + 2015), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Real (BIFFF 2014), and … Ajin: Demi-Human (BIFFF 2018)!

Legend of the Naga Pearls (2017-Hong Kong/China) Directed by Yang Lei Screenplay by Tan Cheung and Xu Zhaoqing Casting : Darren Wang, Tian Ai’Zhang, Simon Yam, … Duration:108 minutes

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, the mythical city of Uranopolis went through a decisive battle between humans and the Winged Tribe. It was pretty much the same as Real Madrid vs PSG, except that this time humans played in Zidane’s team. Almost extinct, the Winged Tribe is finding it difficult to survive. Xue Lie, the Tribe’s royal descendant, is eagerly waiting for the return match. In order to avenge his clan, the ambitious king desperately needs the Naga Pearls. The latter are the Asian version of the Avenger’s Tessertact. They would ensure the total eradication of those pesky humans. However, there’s one small issue. Said pearls are in Ni Kongkong’s possession. And Ni is a small-time crook who doesn’t realize his new balls have such destructive power. In the early 2000s, inspired by Lord of the Rings, seven Chinese writers created a new fantasy world. Novoland was born, an imaginary, elaborate and very detailed universe. It’s a clever mix between traditional and heroic fantasy. Surely, Novoland is a dream come true for all fantasy buffs. It didn’t take long for written to be transformed into visual prose. Legend of the Naga Pearls is the feature debut of Yang Lei. And he could count on Gordon Chan (Painted Skin, The Medallion, The Four) to take the production reigns. The dazzling sfx were taken care of by the entire Star Trek team. Last but definitely not least, it’s Simon Yam (PTU, Lara Croft, Ip Man, Iceman) who plays the bad guy in this highly-anticipated blockbuster.

Man Divided (2017- Sweden / Finland / Denmark) Directed by Max Kestner Screenplay by Dungan Gry Jensen Casting : Carsten Bjornlund, Sofia Helin, Marijana Jankovic, … Duration : 87 minutes

Ever heard of the butterfly effect? In chaos theory (and of course in science fiction flicks) it refers to the fact that minimal changes in a given situation can later cause gigantic problems. In 2095, the world is overrun with salt water and all forms of life are in danger of extinction. Fang Rung, head of the secret intelligence service, has himself cloned by molecular fission and sends his double to the past to go and find a solution for the impending ecological disaster. But then a slight problem arises: his double refuses to come back and his extended stay causes a great deal of trouble back home. Fang Rung has but one option: go back to 2017 and retract his lost half before irreparable damage is done… Man Divided is a prime example of intelligent science fiction. The ecological doom scenario is totally believable and looks stunning on the silver screen (thanks to Rasmus Videbæk, the visual poet behind Nikolaj Arcel’s The Dark Tower and A Royal Affair). For his lifelike characters, Danish director Max Kestner can count on top performers: his compatriot Carsten Bjørnlund and Swedish Sofia Helin are well-known from The Killing and other Scandinavian marvels (Ragnarok, Metropia etc.).

Mon Mon Mon Monster (2017-Taiwan) Directed by Giddens Ko Screenplay by Giddens Ko Casting : Eugenie Liu, Kent Tsai, Yu-Kai Teng, … Duration :113 minutes

Ah, adolescence! That beautiful age when youngsters explore their personalities and take their first steps in the grown-up world, supported by their loving parents and teachers… Not so for Lin Shu-wei. Although quite a good student, the Taiwanese adolescent is the laughing stock of his classmates, especially the tough guys. They steal the money for their school trip and blame it on him. Their teacher’s reaction is unexpected: the wimp and his bullies must perform “voluntary” community service (the kind for which they don’t ask your advice). In a housing block for old people, they run into a filthy, flesh-gobbling monster. The tormenting teenagers make her a captive and subject her to a series of sadistic games. But then the creature’s older sister sets out on a desperate quest for her sibling, targeting those wearing a squeaky clean blue and white school uniform … Mon Mon Mon Monsters (winner of the Audience Award at the Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea) is a film by Giddens Ko. In his home country, this Taiwanese wonder boy is an acclaimed author and lately, he’s also successfully ventured into film making. His latest is a powerful indictment of the global social phenomenon of school bullying. Fortunately, he tells his tale like a clever, wickedly funny mix of a vampire flick and a teen high school comedy.

Parallel (2018-Canada) Directed by Isaac Ezban Screenplay by Scott Blaszak Casting : Kathleen Quinlan, Georgia King, Aml Ameen, … Duration : 104 minutes

As long as we can remember, time travel and parallel dimensions have been staples of classical science fiction. But what would happen if you were to apply them to our contemporary world of advanced technology, social media, and start-ups? The result would probably look something like this. A group of young app entrepreneurs discovers a mirror in the attic of their rental house. It turns out to be a portal to a series of parallel universes, which they can access and mine for specific details to bring back home. And that’s exactly what they do in pursuit of personal gain and success. But if you play with fire, you risk getting your fingers burned! Soon, the techies find out that what they’re doing has dangerous consequences… Mexican filmmaker Isaac Ezban is the new wunderkind of science fiction. The Incident and The Similars were intelligent, allegorical fantasy films that we proudly presented at the 2015 and 2016 editions of the BIFFF. For Parallel, his English-language debut, he can count on a talented cast including Kathleen Quinlan (The Hills Have Eyes), Martin Wallström (Mr. Robot), Aml Ameen (The Maze Runner), and Mark O'Brien (Arrival).

The Scythian (2017-Russia) Directed by Rustam Mosafir Screenplay by Vadim Golomanov and Rustam Mosafir Casting : Aleksey Fadeev, Vitaly Kravchenko, Saido Kurbanov, … Duration : 105 minutes

Centuries before our Lord and Saviour taught men to turn the other cheek, great warriors were using the Central Asian steppes as their playground. Civilizations were eaten alive one after the other. This time, the Scythians are going to bite the dust. From brave nomad warriors, they've been reduced to ruthless mercenaries, willing to kill anyone for a fistful of coins. Their last job is pretty impressive. A king needs to be sent to the great beyond. And they've chosen the perfect scapegoat; Lutobor, the king’s right arm. The conspiracy works like a charm. The king dies and Lutobor goes straight to jail. That is, until the king doesn't seem to be dead at all. Lutobor gets the chance to find out who's behind this high treason. His investigation turns into a bloodbath when he finds out that his child and wife have been kidnapped by the Scythians.

This epic movie is one of the big Russian hits of 2018. Surrounded by critical acclaim, The Scythian wasn’t even completed when it got sold internationally. Some think of Apocalypto, others regard it as a worthy successor of Gladiator. We at the BIFFF see it as a pagan Mad Max, a visual fantasy from a Russian distant past, when skull splitting was every man's favorite hobby. Get ready for a blood drenched extravaganza that will want you to hit the gym!

Terrified (2017-Argentina) Directed by Demian Rugna Screenplay by Demian Rugna Casting : Ariel Chavarria, Maximiliano Ghione, Norberto Gonzalo, … Duration : 90 minutes

Imagine for a moment: you are peacefully asleep, your wife quietly gets up to do what she has to do on the toilet and, suddenly, you hear a thunderous pounding on the other side of the wall. Furious at your neighbour for hammering at three in the morning, you knock at his door, determined to make him swallow his toolbox, but he doesn’t answer. Back home, you notice that these sounds actually come from your own bathroom. And when you finally open the door, you discover your wife, turned into a bloody pinball and eating all the tiles in the room... Imagine now that your entire neighborhood has become a giant paranormal freak show and all your neighbours are subjected to the worst of the worst regarding unexplained phenomena. Even the cops dare not set foot. Only a couple of special investigators decide to lock themselves in to study the phenomena. What they discover is really terrifying... Here is an excerpt from an e-mail sent to James Wan with regard to Terrified: “Hi James, we know you’re quite busy with Aquaman and we don’t want to be demoralizing but ... there is a certain Demian Rugna who’s just finished a film that makes yours look like a seventies BBC production. Furthermore, it has jump scares like the turns of an endless roller coaster!” With Terrified, Argentina has just found its maestro of the freak... Tigers are not Afraid (2017- Mexico) Directed by Issa Lopez Screenplay by Issa Lopez Casting : Paola Lara, Hanssel Casillas, Rodrigo Cortes, … Duration : 83 minutes

You’d rather not be a street child in Mexico City. You can’t count on your parents anymore because they’ve been kidnapped/killed/disappeared (delete where not applicable). You also need to put some considerable distance between yourself and the drug cartels that kill orphans for fun. Ten-year-old Estrella seeks shelter with tough-looking Shine and his gang of street urchins, who are on the run just like her. Luckily she can always rely on her fantastic friends. Because those tigers that follow her around, they’re real, no? And the three wishes she was granted by her teacher, they do come true, right? With the help (or not) of supernatural beings, Estrella and her friends try to elude the fangs of El Chino and his band of sinister sicarios. Tigers Are Not Afraid is like a remake of Luis Buñuel’s Mexican masterpiece Los olvidados by Guillermo del Toro. These days the street children carry smartphones, but as for the rest precious little has changed. Writer-director Issa López takes you on a fantastic thrill ride through Mexico’s urban jungle, with impressive child actors, terrific digital effects, and a fair share of horror

7.9 Out of competition

The 1000 Faces of Dunjia (2017-China / Hong Kong) Directed by Woo-Ping Huen Screenplay by Tsui Hark Casting : Chengpeng Dong, Ni Ni, Arif Rahman, … Duration : 113 minutes

Dao, the new sheriff of the peaceful city of Kaifeng, thinks he has found the perfect hideout. Besides a few illegally parked carriages and some bulls exceeding the speed limit, he’s not expecting a lot of work. Alas, he couldn’t be more wrong, a titanic battle is brewing. The innocent looking peasants that Dao sees every day are actually hidden members of the Wuyin clan. They’re alien hunters who have been discreetly saving the Earth for centuries. And the recent meteor strike is especially worrying, since this intergalactic Kinder Surprise hides the worst kind of threat for mankind. The discovery of a red fish that is the size of a white shark in Kaifeng will erase all doubts for Dao. No more afternoons siesta’s in the sun. Let’s save the planet!

Some combinations are just irresistible. Here we have the joining of forces of the mythical Tsui Hark (A Chinese Ghost Story, Detective Dee) and the no less legendary Yuen Woo-Ping, the choreographer of Kill Bill, The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The 1000 Faces of Dunjia, the first part of a trilogy, cleverly mixes traditional wuxia with the big scale extravaganza that you usually find in the blockbusters of Steven Spielberg or Michael Bay. To say that the result is satisfactory would be a gross understatement.

Baahubali : the conclusion (2017-) Directed by SS Rajamouli Screenplay by Vijayendra Prasad, S.S. Rajamouli, C.H. Vijay Kumar, Ajay Kumar and Madhan Karky Casting : Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, … Duration : 167 minutes

Before you start looking for the Mahishmati kingdom on the map: it’s unclear whether it has ever existed. But don’t let that spoil the fun because when it comes to mythology, few can rival with the Indians. Take for instance Baahubali: The Conclusion, the continuation of Baahubali: The Beginning (logical, ain’t it?). When the royal prince Mahendra discovers the truth about his murdered father, he vows revenge against the tyrannical ruler of the kingdom, his own uncle. In between all this, we learn how things got that far. It’s a tale full of family feuds, pitched battles, and romance told with the world-renowned Indian sense of quiet minimalism… Got you there! The gods will be whizzing past your ears in this spectacular mythological epic from Tollywood, the Indian film industry in Telugu (75 million speakers!) that can compete with Bollywood. Beautiful photography, eye-watering effects, impressive locations, dazzling martial arts, overwhelming mass scenes, lovely choreographies, flawless camera work, sentimental romance…. You could use an extra pair of eyes and ears to take it all in. S.S. Rajamouli, known for Baahubali: The Beginning (BIFFF 2016) and Eega (BIFFF 2014), is the man behind this extravaganza, already the biggest box office hit in Indian film history.

Before we vanish (2017-Japan) Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa Screenplay by Tomohiro Maekawa, Sachiko Tanaka and Kiyoshi Kurosawa Casting : , Ryuhei Matsuda, , Duration : 129 minutes

There’s something rotten in the state of Japan. A mild-mannered man has a close encounter with an alien, who thanks him kindly by taking possession of his body. His wife is not amused and she can’t fathom why he quits his job and bumbles about with a hollow stare and a stupid grin. Something is profoundly wrong, that much is clear. Meanwhile, we meet a freelance journalist investigating a murder case. He makes the acquaintance of a bizarre young man and a teenage girl, but soon realizes they’re extraterrestrials. It turns out they’re the advance guard of a large-scale invasion which will see Planet Earth completely colonized. The journalist now has the biggest scoop of the millennium, but what to do with it? Should he inform the authorities or rather seek his own glory by taking sides with the aliens? Introducing Kiyoshi Kurosawa is like throwing water into the sea. With films like Cure, Charisma, and Pulse, the Japanese filmmaker helped make J-Horror a worldwide phenomenon. In , which is hilarious and tragic in equal measure, he leaves his comfort zone and ventures into science fiction for the first time. But not without infusing the genre with his trademark eerie look and feel!

Belzebuth (2017-Mexico) Directed by Emilio Portes Screenplay by Luis Carlos Fuentes and Emilio Portes Casting : Tobin Bell, Tate Ellington, Joaquín Cosio,… Duration : 113 minutes

While he was dying on the cross, Jesus promised to return to Earth. A thousand years later, he gives it a first try. But Evil succeeds in blackening the Pope’s soul, who decides to launch the first crusade, killing the risen Messiah in the process. JC decides to wait another millennium before making a new appearance. No one knows about it, but some warning signs can not be ignored. In Mexico a possessed nurse slaughters an entire maternity ward. Five years later, a kid wipes out his classmates with a gun. A few days later, an employee of the municipal pool jumps with electric wires into a pool full of innocent kids. No doubt about it, Jesus is back! And, given the corpses that are piling up, it’s his eternal enemy, Beelzebub, who takes care of the welcoming committee. In 2013, we presented Pastorela, a wonderfully weird picture where Good and Evil clashed with each other during a Christmas nativity play. The eternal opposites are back again in Emilio Portes’ newest film, but humor has taken a backseat to pure horror. Joaquin Cosio (Pastorela, Quantum of Solace) plays the lead, alongside Tobin Bell, for ever associated with the Saw franchise, in this blasphemous shocker from Mexico.

Beyond Skyline (2017-U K/China/Canada/Indonesia/Singapore/USA) Directed by Liam O’Donnell Screenplay by Liam O’Donnell Casting : Frank Grillo, Bojana Novakovic, Iko Uwais, … Duration : 106 minutes

Following up the alien invasion that occurred in Skyline (2010), this spin-off/sequel tells the story of Mark, a grizzled LAPD cop (played by Frank Grillo) who is taking his son home after a night in jail. Little do they know that while sitting in the subway an alien attack will take place… Long story short: the son gets sucked up by the aliens’ ship in an old-school kind of way and in order to get his son back dad is willing to kill every little c*cks*cking alien. What follows is a feast for the action-loving filmgoer, with guest appearances by two actors from The Raid (Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhain). Let’s be honest about it, you don’t watch this kind of movie for the plot, but for the spectacle. And boy does this one deliver! Beyond Skyline wasn’t filmed with a big Hollywood budget but it still looks stunning, thanks to lots of classic effects in the slimy interiors of the cavernous spaceship and the H.R. Giger-inspired, skeletal-looking alien monsters, all of this mixed up with crafty CGI. Director Liam O’Donnell, who wrote and produced the first Skyline, put all his skills on the table. Having worked on the visual effects of movies like Iron Man 2 and Alien vs Predator, this guy sets the bar pretty high when it comes to mixing CGI with classic effects.

Cop Baby (2017-Russia) Directed by Alexander Andrushenko Screenplay by Andrey Zolotarev Casting : Elizaveta Arzamasova, Sergey Garmash, Yang Ge,… Duration : 90 minutes

Igor Khromov has just spent a year undercover in the prison cells of Vladivostok. Obviously, to make friends with the local triads you can’t really chose the setting and it’s not by picking up the soap from the shower floor that you’re gonna earn their respect. Supposedly on parole, Khromov continues his mission in the outside world. But just as he is close to his goal a godforsaken fortune teller throws him a curse. A few gun wounds later he falls asleep in the hospital only to wake up… in the body of a new born! Cursing his bodily limitations and his mushy parents he has to wait a year before he is ready to reopen the case. And now that he can finally speak and doesn’t shit his pants anymore, he is unstoppable! It’s with the voice of an old that he reveals himself to his adoptive father Oleg, a policeman also. Although he seems impressive, compared to his son snuggled into a maxy cosy, he’s the Punisher of petty crimes. But he’s our ex-special forces agent only hope. has no choice but to guide Oleg into the world of treacherous whores, hard drugs and daily executions. Since Freaky Friday, body swapping has almost become a genre of its own. But this time our Russian friends have spiced it up a little with a pinch of Baby Boss and Lethal Weapon. The result is a feel good- fantasy movie with a Vladivostok twist.

Double Date (2017-UK) Directed by Benjamin Barfoot Screenplay by Danny Morgan Casting : Danny Morgan, Georgia Groome, Michael Socha, … Duration: 89 minutes

Alex might be unbearably self-assured and irritatingly cocksure, his loyalty to his dearest friend Jim is beyond question. With the latter’s 30th birthday on the horizon, Alex promises to help his best friend to get laid so he won’t reach this unwelcome milestone as a virgin. They muster up the courage to organize a double date with sisters Kitty and Lulu, but little do the boys know that their company for the evening are twisted serial killers and that they have other plans for their night ahead. When Jim and Lulu strike up a genuine bond, their future rests entirely on her conscience and whether or not she'll betray her sister and warn Jim and Alex of their nefarious intentions. For his first feature, filmmaker Benjamin Barfoot has to perform a difficult balancing act between horror and comedy, familiar terrain from Shaun of the Dead and other Sightseers. He tries it with an inventive visual style and he can also count on the clever, playful screenplay by male lead Danny Morgan (On the Road). The film made it to various top 10 lists and was even nominated for a British Award. Mission accomplished!

The End? (2017-Italia) Directed by Daniele Misischia Screenplay by Cristina Ciccotti and Daniele Misischia Casting : Alessandro Roja, Carolina Crescentini, Claudio Camili, … Duration: 100 minutes

Businessman Claudio is the living embodiment of the wily capitalist who lets nothing stand in his way. On a routine working day, he first behaves like a douchebag towards his driver and then starts hitting on a naive trainee. When he takes the elevator with the female colleague he previously seduced, the lady shows him what she thinks of a renewed acquaintance by coldly crushing his crown jewels and leaving him literally hanging on... because the elevator is stuck between floors and won’t budge. At the same time, Rome succumbs to acute zombie fever and before long Claudio has to witness how his colleagues perish by the dozen at the hands of bloodthirsty monsters. Soon they set their sights on him too and he has to fend off the hellish horde of half-dead monsters in the metal cage that could well turn into his grave. It’s enough to send a guy up the wall… The End? was produced by the Manetti Bros. Antonio and Marco are no strangers to the BIFFF crowd because previously we showed Paura 3D (2013), The Arrival of Wang (2012), and Zora the Vampire (2002). As the foul-mouthed protagonist, we recognize Alessandro Roja, known from television series like Romanzo criminale and 1992. Director Daniele Misischia gets the most out of his claustrophobic location in this infectious contemporary zombie tale, told with the raw energy of a B movie

The envelope (2017-Russia) Directed by Vladimir Markov Screenplay by Ilya Kulikov Casting : Yuliya Peresild, Igor Lizengevich, Olga Medynich, … Duration :76 minutes

A strange envelope is delivered to an architectural film by mistake. Igor, a driver, is charged with bringing it back to the right address. From that fateful moment on, his life becomes a string of paranormal events. The cursed letter invades Igor’s life and leads him to a mysterious addressee. Russian horror cinema is not new and at the BIFFF we’re aware that it’s up and coming. But The Envelope creates a unique setting through strong cinematographic images. Svyatoslav Podgaevskiy’s The Bride, shown at the festival last year, was bought by the Americans for a remake. We hope The Envelope will have the same fate. This might be Vladimir Markov’s first movie, but he certainly has a nose for acting talent. Standing out in this bewitching horror thriller are Yuliya Peresild and Olga Medynich, two actresses who are well-known in their country, but still have to be discovered over here. Will Mother Russia share some of her talent with the international scene.

Five Fingers For Marseilles (2017-South Africa) Directed by Michael Matthews Screenplay by Sean Drummond Casting : Zetho Dlomo, Garth Breythenbach, Kenneth Fok, … Duration : 120 minutes

They were five innocent kids, living in a township stuck to the city of Marseilles (South Africa). Fed up with police oppression in the middle of Apartheid, they had daily a hard time and defended themselves with harmless slingshots. Until the fatal day when one of them took a weapon and sent two white cops six feet underground. His name was Tau and nobody has ever seen him since... Twenty years later, Tau is back in town. Incognito. Keeping a very low profile. His friends are still there, they became mayor, cop and priest. The fifth one is at the cemetery. Nobody forgot what Tau did and nobody forgave him either. The city has changed, however: Even after the dreadful white colonialists have left the place, corruption is still well established and Ghost, the new self-proclaimed sheriff, has put everyone on a regime of terror... Tau only seeks the calm and redemption of his friends. Over the last twenty years, he has piled up enough bullshit, not only to fill an entire prison but also to receive a nickname that shudders the entire country: the "Lion of Marseilles". And nobody wants to wake the beast... A clearly tribute to classical westerns, Five Fingers for Marseilles transposes Sergio Leone's mythical universe in post-colonial South Africa with its majestic landscapes. Cheeky for a first film, Michael Matthews can be proud of his work: complete immersion in the field, archetypes very present, polished plans that are waiting to hear a fragment of a harmonica to enter the legend; this modern version of the lonely cowboy is made in the image of The A-Team with Stetsons, where everyone would like that the plan unfolds without a hitch! Flashburn (2017- USA) Directed by Giorgio Serafini Screenplay by Gary Charles and Giorgio Serafini Casting : Sean Patrick Flanery, Cameron Richardson, Romen L McPherson, … Duration : 89 minutes

A man wakes up behind the wheel of an SUV. He has a hell of a hangover and there’s a trickle of blood running down his forehead. He can’t recall anything. Did he hit the bottle a bit too hard? And how did he end up in an empty warehouse, with an electronic ankle bracelet and a face he doesn’t recognize? Turns out he’s a microbiologist who has to find an antidote against the Ebola virus that’s threatening to wipe out mankind. Every so often he blacks out and has to relaunch his investigations from scratch. Luckily there’s Lazarus, the mysterious female voice that guides him through the process but never materializes. Is she really who she pretends to be? Flashburn deals with the implications of deadly viruses that spread globally like wildfires. But don’t expect a dry doom and gloom scenario, rather a taut existential thriller about a man racing against time. A few years ago, the Belgian-American filmmaker Giorgio Serafini surprised the BIFFF audience with The Between (2013) and he’s also collaborated with stars like Wesley Snipes (Game of Death), William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd (Senior Moment). This time around he can count on Sean Patrick Flannery (Dexter, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter) as the who gradually comes to his senses.

Gintama (2017-Japan) Directed by Yuichi Fukuda Screenplay by Yuichi Fukuda Casting : Shun Oguri ,Masami Nagasawa, Takayuji Yamada, … Duration : 131 minutes

And now for a piece of alternative history. In the nineteenth century, Tokyo has been invaded by the amanto (sky people). All of a sudden, samurai (you know: those valiant warriors we like to see on the silver screen) have become second-class citizens. The white-haired Gintoki has traded his steel sword for a wooden one and now runs a detective agency. His assistants are a bespectacled nerd and a hot-tempered red-haired beauty with a soft spot for rhinoceros beetles. One day they get a strange new assignment: go and look for the super-sword Benizakura, which has fallen into the wrong hands. They pick up the trail of the rebel group Kiheitai. Out of the blue, one of them, a blind man with Bono-style sunglasses, attacks Gintoki… Still following? The immensely popular manga Gintama has already been turned into animation twice, but this is the first live-action adaptation. The whacky plot, a postmodern mix of period and science fiction, was entrusted to director Yuichi Fukuda ( Kamen 2). He keeps up a punishing pace and also plays off the absurdist humor and psychedelic atmosphere. The protagonist is none other than Shun Oguri, known for his work with Takashi Miike (Sukiyaki Western Django, Crows Zero 1 & 2).

El Habitante (2017-Mexico/Chile) Directed by Guillermo Amoedo Screenplay by Guillermo Amoedo Casting : Maria Evoli, Vanesa Restrepo, Carla Adell, … Duration : 93 minutes

When three sisters decide to go out for the evening, it’s not because they want to party. They've decided to break into a corrupt senator’s house to stuff their pockets. Getting in was so easy that they joked about it on the way to the safe. But prying it open isn’t as simple as they thought it would be. They have to drag the senator and his wife out of their bed and scare them into spilling the beans. But there are these strange noises coming from the cellar. When the girls go down to investigate, they discover not a squeaking boiler, but their victims' paraplegic daughter. She's tied up and looks to have been tortured. Their parents express no sign of guilt or remorse but only pure fear. They cry: “Whatever you do, don’t untie her!”. Is exorcism your thing? Then “El Habitante” is the perfect horror movie for you. Guillermo Amoedo, a close collaborator of Eli Roth, has written scripts such as “The Green Inferno” and “Knock Knock”. You might also remember “The Stranger”, screened at the BIFFF 2015. El Habitante proves again that he masters the horror genre with ease.

Human, space, time and human (2017-South Korea) Directed by Ki-duk Kim Screenplay by Ki-duk Kim Casting : Keun-suk Jang, Sung-ki Anh, Seung-bum Ryoo,… Duration : 118 minutes

A hundred people embark on an old warship converted into a huge summer liner. It was supposed to be a relaxed cruise with happy tourists. However, if you put a microcosm of human society into confined spaces with tons of drug and alcohol, you get a Sodom and Gomorrah at sea. After an eventful night of orgies, murders and extreme violence, the passengers finally fall asleep, exhausted by all this atrocious debauchery. Upon awakening, the surviving passengers will not only have to deal with their pounding hangovers but also with a mind boggling new situation. Their cruise liner is now floating in the air, among the clouds. And food stocks are shrinking by the hour.

For his 23rd film, Ki-duk Kim had a clear message: "I made this film to stop hating humans". Having said that, the most audacious Korean filmmaker completely threw all politically correct caution in the wind. It didn’t take long for reactions to flood in. The world premiere of Human Space, Time and Human at the Berlin Film Festival caused an uproar, polarizing the audience both shocked by the lack of filters and blown away by this allegory of human fascism. Are you ready to give your opinion?

I kill giants (2017- UK/USA/Belgium) Directed by Anders Walter Screenplay by Joe Kelly Casting : Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots and Jennifer Ehle Duration : 104 minutes

Barbara Thorson is a clever teenager who doesn’t behave like her peers. On her head, she wears rabbit’s ears, she doesn’t watch television, and she couldn’t care less which boy band is this week’s number one. Actually, she’s at loggerheads with just about everyone. Her schooldays are mostly spent going back and forth between the principal’s office and the in-house psychologist. The latter truly wants to help her but time and again she’s met by a wall of utter hostility. Why do all the grown-ups in her life worry so much then? It’s because of Barbara’s obsession with the Giants, a race of fantastical creatures who sow death and destruction. Armed with her war hammer Coveleski, after baseball player Harry Coveleski, she sets out on an epic crusade against the monsters who want to destroy her world. In his first feature, Danish director Anders Walter, who won an Oscar for his short Helium in 2014, adapts the widely praised graphic novel I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura. In this Belgian co-production, partly shot in Flanders, he strikes a delicate balance between psychological drama and a fantastical dream world. Among the choice cast, we recognize Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar, Star Trek), Imogen Poots (Green Room, V for Vendetta), and Jennifer Ehle (Contagion).

Jungle (2017- Australia/Colombia) Directed by Greg McLean Screenplay by Justin Monjo Casting : Daniel Radcliffe, Thomas Kretschmann, Alex Russell, … Duration :115 minutes

You’re young and dynamic. You’ve just finished your military service. You’ve decided you want an adventurous life because you don’t want to get bogged down in the quagmire of daily routines. You’re travelling through South America for a year and now you’re in Bolivia. You bump into a guy who tells you about an Indian tribe that’s still living like at the dawn of history. Do you feel like a trip through the unspoiled jungle, away from corrupt civilization? Yes, of course, answers young Israeli Yossi. With two travel buddies and their mysterious guide, he sets forth on a quest for true adventure. But that turns out to be a nightmare when he gets separated from his companions. All alone in a hostile environment, surrounded by wild animals, without any equipment to speak of, Yossi has to find a way to survive. And the rainy season is only just beginning… Seeing is believing! After Swiss Army Man, Daniel Radcliffe (do we even have to mention Harry Potter), goes one step further in reinventing himself. In this ordeal based on a true story, he’s literally all skin and bones. The jungle is the scene for a life-and-death struggle in this hellish survival thriller by Australian filmmaker Greg McLean (Wolf Creek 1 & 2)

The Lodgers (2017-Ireland) Directed by Brian O’Malley Screenplay by David Turpin Casting : Charlotte Vega, Eugene Simon, Bill Milner, … Duration: 92 minutes

Having a curfew set by your parents is a burden, but having one set by haunted ghosts is just plain evil! Set in Ireland in the early 1920s, The Lodgers tells the story of living in a house controlled by “lodgers”, evil spirits that give them three rules: be in bed before midnight, never bring strangers home, and don’t try to escape because you’ll put your sibling’s life in danger. And you thought your parents where too strict when you were a kid? Of course one of the twins gets a crush on a brave soldier returning from combat and things start getting out of hand. The rules aren’t being observed and her brother’s lifespan is getting shorter… This is a Cinderella story, but told with the right purpose: to scare children! The Lodgers is the newest feature by acclaimed director Brian O’Malley, who with Let Us Prey won the Silver Méliès at the BIFFF 2014. Once more he proves that the haunting meadows of Scotland and Ireland provide an ideal location for frightening horror

Luciferina (Christened by the devil) (2018-Argentina) Directed by Gonzalo Calzada Screenplay by Gonzalo Calzada Casting : Sofía Del Tuffo, Pedro Merlo, Martas Lubos,… Duration :114 minutes

At 19, Natalia can see a powerful aura surrounding her friends and family. This so-called gift frightens her above anything else, for she knows that it is part of a curse which befell her family some time ago. Trying by all means to stay as far away from the curse as possible, she takes refuge in a convent where she is ready to renounce the pleasures of the flesh. But that all falls apart when she learns that her mother has committed suicide. Back home she must face her unbalanced sister, who has decided that they must embark on a journey together. But this isn’t a bonding trip for siblings. It’s much more peculiar than that. They must enter the heart of the jungle and ingest an ancestral hallucinogen to purge their souls. The drug has drastic side effects when it unleashes the demons within the sisters. Gonzalo Calzada, one of Argentina's most prominent genre directors, has proven himself once again. Only two years after “Resurrection” (2016), the most watched horror movie in his home country, he delights us with his most recent feature. “Luciferina” is the first entry of what is to become “the virgin trilogy”, a treat for horror fans all around the world. The film provides ancestral drugs, pagan rites and a perverted version of the eternal battle between Good and Evil.

Mercy Christmas (2017-USA) Directed by Ryan Nelson Screenplay by Beth Levy Nelson and Ryan Nelson Casting : David Rupprecht, Mackenzie Coffman, Gwen Van Dam, … Duration : 83minutes

Michael Briskett’s has many gifts, but social savvy isn’t one of them. While his co- workers enjoy the Christmas party, this nerd is crunching numbers in his tiny office. When his boss asks his help with an urgent year-end report, Michael is flattered. Just one catch – it needs to be done by Christmas. The stack of research arrives with his boss’ beautiful assistant Cindy. Michael is smitten and when she invites him to join her family for a traditional Christmas celebration, he is simply over the moon. While there, a spiked glass of eggnog lands Michael in the family’s basement with his hands and feet bound. He is presented with an ultimatum: deliver the year-end report or suffer the way those before him have suffered. If he doesn’t escape, Cindy’s family will be having him for Christmas dinner! It took screenwriter-producer-director Ryan Nelson seven years to turn his short Mercy Christmas into a full-length feature, but it was worth the wait. This unusual addition to the all-American Christmas movie genre (think How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Polar Express or A Christmas Carol) charms the viewer with its unique mix of spine-tingling scares and hilarious humor.

Monster Hunt 2 (2018-Hong Kong /China) Directed by Raman Hui Screenplay by Peter Cilella Casting : Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Baihe Bai,Boran Jing, … Duration :110 minutes

Wuba, a little monster in human lands, decides to leave the warm family nest to live on his own. Tian and Lan, his adoptive parents, will surely miss their tentacled radish, but they are far from suspecting the new perils awaiting their offspring. Because Wuba is the one who’ll restore peace to the Monster Kingdom and such destiny coming with a whole lot of danger. Pursued by both the Monster Bureau and unscrupulous bounty hunters, Wuba will not be able to face all his enemies. Fortunately for him, Wuba meets BenBen, an adult version of his own species, who’ll protect him and will do everything to get him back to his parents. After taking over the Chinese box office with the first episode, Raman Hui, who earned his stripes at Dreamworks, does it again. But rather than copy-pasting the first part, Hui introduces new and exciting characters to the mix, helped by a legion of 33 special effects wizards, who’ve proved their worth in interplanetary hits such as Star Wars and Pacific Rim. He shows incredible skill in mixing cgi characters and , creating a fantastic adventure for the entire family.

Montreal Dead End (2018-Canada) Directed by Hugo Belhassen, Audric Cussigh, Julie De Lafrenière, Tiphaine DeReyer, Eve Dufaud, Rémi Fréchette, Mara Joly, Quentin Lecoc, Charles Massicotte, Mickael N'Dour, Jimmy G. Pettigrew, Priscillia Piccoli, Gaëlle Quemener, Loïc Surprenant, Frederick Neegan Trudel, Catherine Villeminot and David Émond-Ferrat Screenplay by Yohann Thiou Casting : Guy Jodoin, Marco Collin, Mirianne Brûlé, … Duration : 90 minutes

Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Green smoke starts emanating from the sewers. At first, people don’t really mind. It is probably someone else’s undigested poutine. Unfortunately, the smoke begins to spread to all areas of the city, at a speed that would make the fastest Deliveroo courier cry. The jaded inhabitants, sick of the clogged sewers, are slowly getting caught by the evil-smelling scent. Some are transforming into cannibal zombies. Others are subject to terrifying hallucinations, or are getting violently attacked by baskets of organic vegetables! From the gay village to Mont Royal, the Quebec metropolis is going to live through 24 terrifying hours. There’s no way out. Welcome to Montreal! He came to the BIFFF in 2015, to present Les Jaunes. Rémi Fréchette got hooked on our hospitality, the atmosphere and the free spirit of our beloved festival. So he decided to do everything he could to come back. And this time, he’s not alone. Montreal Dead End is an anthology feature composed of fifteen shorts. One short film per district. One district per filmmaker. Eighteen directors, who grew up on a diet of George Romero and John Carpenter, contributed to this horror fresco. Montreal Dead End gleefully distorts the concept of promotional movies such as Paris je t’aime or New York, I love you. In world premiere at the BIFFF!

Muse (2017-Spain/Ireland/Belgium/UK) Directed by Jaume Balagueró Screenplay by Jaume Balagueró, Fernando Navarro and José Carlos Somoza Casting : Elliot Cowan, Christopher Lloyd, Joanne Whalley, … Duration : 107 minutes

How’s your knowledge of Greek mythology? The Muses are those goddesses that all creative minds worship because an artist without inspiration is like a headless chicken. But what if these divine creatures were maleficent? Writer and literature professor Samuel Salomon has barely come to terms with the suicide of his sexy young girlfriend, when he is plagued by a series of nightmares, in which a woman is ritually sacrificed. Upon learning that his dreams have become reality, he visits the scene of the crime, where he meets another woman who’s had the very same nightmares. Together they find evidence of a secret society investigating divine inspiration. Their members are few, because most of them died under suspicious circumstances. Verses by famous poets were found on their bodies, burned into their flesh by a tattoo artist who didn’t particularly care for fine craftsmanship! The literary horror thriller Muse is signed by Jaume Balagueró, Catalan genre maestro and a regular visitor to the BIFFF. Just think of the [REC]-tetralogy, Sleep Tight, and Darkness. For this Belgian co- production, he relies on a sublime cast, with among others Franka Potente (Anatomy 1 & 2, Jason Bourne 1 & 2), Leonor Watling (The Oxford Murders, Hable con ella), and the indestructible Christopher Lloyd (The Addams Family, Back to the Future-trilogy)

Rendel (2017-Finland) Directed by Jesse Haaja Screenplay by Pekka Lehtosaari, Miika J. Norvanto and Timo Pusstinen Casting : Bianca Bradey, Alina Tomnikov, Sheila Shah, … Duration : 105 minutes

In Mikkeli, a small town in southern Finland, there are plenty of mosquitoes in the summer and plenty of snow in the winter. Mikkeli is also home to Eero Lehtonen, a leading Finnish pentathlon athlete. Last but not least, Mikkeli is the headquarters of Vala, a big pharmaceutical company that praises the life-saving virtues of its vaccines. The problem is that the company is run like a crime syndicate. And they are about to flood the African continent with some very harmful vaccines. Anyone who dares to lift a finger, ends up with said finger and the rest of his body in an acid bath. So, in Mikkeli, people only talk about mosquitoes and snow. Then, one day, a certain Rendel decides to clean things up. He’s vicious, brutal, ruthless and incredibly violent. The masked avenger causes so much damage to Vala’s more muscled employees, that they hire an elite squad of international killers to finish off Rendel. After all, the company has to make sure people keep talking about mosquitoes and snow. It has been a rumor for years, but now it’s finally happening: the very first Finnish superhero! Written, produced and directed by Jesse Haaja, Rendel is obviously influenced by The Punisher, Darkman and Christopher Nolan’s Batman. This first Scandinavian excursion into masked avengers territory is bloody and disturbing but full of dark humor. Please allows us, because we feel you'll be very vocal during the screening, to give you a quick language course. “Shut up" means "Turpa kiinni" in Finnish!

Return to Return to Nuke’em High vol 2 (2017- USA) Directed by Lloyd Kaufman Screenplay by Travis Campbell, Derek Dressler, Lloyd Kaufman and Gabriel Friedman Casting : Asta Paredes, Catherine Corcoran,Zac Amico, … Duration : 72minutes

Welcome back to Tromaville High School where, unfortunately, the glee club has mutated into a vicious gang of Cretins. Chrissy and Lauren, two innocent lesbian lovers, must not only fight the Cretins, mutants and monsters but also the evil Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate. Can they and Kevin the Wonder Duck save Tromaville High School and the world? Uncle Lloyd is back at the BIFFF, four years after treating us to to the insane, provocative and outrageous, boobs, pus and blood fest that was Return to Nuke ‘Em High: volume 1. This time he returns with a thoughtful, politically correct intimate drama about a man, a harmonica and an inflatable cat trapped in a public toilet during the holidays. No, just kidding. As Toxie shouted when he kicked the Donald down the well: “This is Troma!”. Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High aka Vol 2 is a movie with a message about the contamination and degradation of the world’s food supply, rampant bullying and LGBTQ love triumphing over prejudice and violence, but that will not stop you from screaming, hollering and howling. And did we already mention that Lloyd Kaufman’s back at the BIFFF!

RV: Ressurected Victims (2017- South Korea) Directed by Kyung-taek Kwak Screenplay by Kyung-taek Kwak Casting : Rae-won Kim, Hae-suk Kim, Dong-il Sung, … Duration : 91minutes

There was a time when RV stood for “recreational vehicle” (remember the eponymous little flick with Robin Williams a while back?). Forget about that, now it means “resurrected victim”: a murder victim who returns among the living because he or she isn’t satisfied with the punishment that was meted out to their assassin. What you call an undead, right? It seems that in South Korea they can’t get rid of them… Seo is an ambitious young prosecutor who’s got it all worked out, until his mother, killed in a robbery some years ago, turns up again and attacks him with a knife. Because he rather cherishes his life, he sets out to find out what really happened. Gradually he discovers unpleasant things about his own past, obscured by the alcohol fumes of his graduation party years ago. Nothing is quite what it seems in the nail-biting horror thriller RV: Resurrected Victims, which plays an intricate game with different time layers. Director Kyung-taek Kwak (Friend, Doctor K) is an old hand of the Korean film industry. For his latest film, he has assembled a dream cast. We recognize Rae-won Kim from The Prison (BIFFF 2017) and Hye-jin Jeon from The Terror Live (BIFFF 2015). The part of the avenging mother is being played by none other than Korea’s leading lady Hae-suk Kim (see also New Trial), who featured in Park Chan-wook’s and a host of other movies

Survival family (2017-Japan) Directed by Shinobu Yaguchi Screenplay by Shinobu Yaguchi Casting :Fumiyo Kohinata, ,Yuki Izumisawa, … Duration :117 minutes

It’s hard to imagine a more run-of-the-mill Japanese family. Daddy is a grey salaryman, self-effacing mom takes care of the household, junior only takes off his headphones when he goes to sleep, and his sister is completely engrossed in the virtual world of Facebook likes and WhatsApp messages. But then something strange happens: all electrical and mechanical appliances stop functioning. Tokyo comes to a stand-still and the first few days everyone tries to adapt as much as possible. But when the food runs out, a huge exodus sets in motion and our little family also leaves for the countryside. The city slickers are completely at a loss and in order to survive, they have to make contact with their inner primordial man. It will turn out to be a very instructive trip, including lots of interesting encounters with bipeds and quadrupeds. Because a friend in need is a friend indeed! In 2013, we already had Shinobu Yaguchi’s clever-cute Robo-G and now he brings his take on the end of the world (as we know it). But instead of a doom and gloom scenario like I Am Legend or The Road, he turns his tale into a good-natured and funny tragicomedy for the entire family. Fumiyo Kohinata as the paterfamilias (with a hairpiece) is a well-known face from ’s Outrage and a bunch of other nifty Nippon movies (Dark Water, Casshern, Ring 2, Audition …). Tokyo Ghoul (2017-Japan) Directed by Kentaro Hagiwara Screenplay by Ichiro Kusuno Casting :Masataka Kubota, Fumika Shimizu, Nobuyuki Suzuki, … Duration :119 minutes

Bookish Ken Kaneki can’t believe his luck when he succeeds in getting a date with a deliciously shy female fellow-student. But during their first encounter, she shows her true self, because out of her back pop giant tentacles with which she attacks the stunned Ken. He survives the ordeal, but from now on he’ll have to lead the life of a half-caste: half man, half ghoul (or flesh-eating monster). Speaking of a split personality! As he tests out his new look (including an eye- patch and a kinky leather mask) he must appease his old friends and provide for his daily portion of meat. All the time while being chased by the silver-haired government-appointed ghoul hunter who has to eliminate these lovely little creatures… In Japan, Tokyo Ghoul is a true phenomenon. The manga first appeared in a magazine and when it was published as a book it sold twenty (20!) million copies. A film adaptation was inevitable and no expense was spared for the dazzling special effects. Director Kentaro Hagiwara succeeded in getting some fine actors. Masataka Kubota was in Takashi Miike’s Thirteen Assassins and Yu Aoi in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Penance and . Don Davis (The Matrix-trilogy) provides the thrilling soundtrack.

Trench 11 (2017-Canada) Directed by Leo Scherman Screenplay by Matt Booi and Leo Scherman Casting : Karine Vanasse, Rossif Sutherland, Rob Archer, … Duration: 90 minutes

After four years of war and 18 million corpses, the First World War is about to end. The German troops are retreating like frightened rabbits, making their campsites look like the aftermath of a particularly bloody party. This is a unique opportunity for the Allies to go rummaging through the mythical trench 11, which is the subject of horrifying rumors that make all the hairs on your body stand up. Berton, a Canadian sapper, is in charge of guiding a squad of soldiers through this underground labyrinth that the Germans didn’t manage to destroy before leaving. They expect something bad lurking here, but nothing could have prepared them for the horde of mutant soldiers created by a twisted visionary of the future 3rd Reich. You smell it, that sweet smell of Dead Snow: Red VS Dead and Frankenstein's Army, don’t you? Well, Leo Scherman has created a similar atmosphere in his latest film. This former trainee of David Cronenberg treats us to a claustrophobic experience stuffed with hungry mutants. Welcome to Trench 11, where The Great Escape meets The Descent! You’d better play some Wolfenstein first to prepare you for what’s ahead.

Tragedy Girls (2017-USA) Directed by Tyler MacIntyre Screenplay by Tyler MacIntyre, Chris Lee Hill and Justin Olson Casting : Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp, Jack Quaid ,… Speelduur : 98 minuten

Sadie and McKayla may be the most popular girls in school, but they are missing one thing to become the next Kim Kardashian. They need thousands, even millions of followers on their social networks. In order to achieve that goal, they need a trending topic, something more exciting than make-up or dating tips. When they discover that a serial killer has made his nest in the neighborhood, they decide to kidnap him. With this free tutorial on how to be a murderer, they’ve got their trending topic. As a bonus, Sadie and McKayla will not only be able to feed their blogs with breaking news on the criminal, but they’ll also be able to slaughter as many innocent people as possible. They just need to incriminate the killer, so they can remain the new social media darlings.

Tragedy Girls, a bloody satire on contemporary youth with a bite, is the perfect mix between Heathers and Scream. Tyler MacIntyre’s newest (Patchwork, BIFFF 2016) made many a viewer holler in American theaters. It’s also a treat to genre fans, with its many winks to the work of John Carpenter, or Ruggero Deodato. This lovely dose of sarcastic gore is driven by the energetic performances of its two leads Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool) and Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse).

Veronica (2017-Spain) Directed by Paco Plaza Screenplay by Paco Plaza and Fernando Navarro Casting : Sandra Escacena, Bruna González, Claudia Pacer, … Duration : 105 minutes

Nothing like a board game to make things nice and cozy. But damn you if you dare play it during a solar eclipse! Verónica (Vero for her friends) is having a rough time. Her father is long gone and since her mother works impossible shifts in a bar she has to play mommy to her sisters and bed-wetting little brother. At her strict nun school (it’s the 1980s in a still very religious Spain) she sneaks off with two friends while everybody else is on the roof staring at the sun. Via a Ouija board the girls try and make contact with the deceased and lo and behold, they have a supernatural visitor. But the guest outstays his welcome and during the next few days, he plays a destructive game with his new-found friend Vero… Paco Plaza needs no introduction because ever since his first effort Second Name (2002) he’s been a BIFFF regular. Verónica, based on a true story, is his follow-up to the legendary REC movies, shot in collaboration with his Catalan blood brother Jaime Balagueró. Once more he serves a masterful cocktail of demonic possession and nail-biting suspense, seasoned with just the right amount of religious hysteria. The impressive young actors are joined by Anna Torrent (Thesis, The Beckoning).

What The Waters Left Behind (2017-Argentina) Directed by Luciano and Nicolás Onetti Screenplay by Luciano and Nicolás Onetti and Carlos Goitia Casting : German Baudino, Paula Brasca, Mirta Busnelli, … Duration :98 minutes

It was a bright idea at the time: a bunch of twentysomethings heads to an abandoned village in the vicinity of the Buenos Aires. It used to be a cozy vacation resort until it got submerged by flood waters and was completely abandoned. The youngsters want to shoot a documentary in the eerie ghost town, where one of them used to live as a young girl. But things quickly get out of hand when their van breaks down and they discover that they’re not exactly alone. A family of primitive sadists (the living embodiment of centuries of incest and inbreeding) have decided they want to have a bit of fun at their expense. Stashed away in their headquarters El Matadero (Spanish for “slaughterhouse”) sit all kinds of torture devices, which they can finally test on these first- rate laboratory rabbits. Before long the hip city-dwellers wonder why for fuck’s sake they didn’t stay at home. The Onetti Brothers are the new wonder boys of the Argentinian horror scene. And they keep everything in the family: screenwriting, directing, producing, editing, and composing. In Sonno profondo and Francesca they explored the genre (honoring their Italian roots) and now they sink their teeth in slasher fare like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Among the actors, we recognize Argentinian scream queen Victoria Maurette and horror fave “El Chucho” Fernández. The saturated colors in delicious scope make the psycho killers’ debauchery even more succulent!

White chamber (2017-UK) Directed by Paul Raschid Screenplay by Paul Raschid Casting : Shauna Macdonald, Oded Fehr, Amrita Acharia, … Duration : 89 minutes

The United Kingdom. Soon. Britain is in a civil war as the State battles rebel militia for power. A woman wakes up in a blindingly white cuboid room: the White Chamber. A voice from the outside demands information, but she claims to have none. To gain the answers he seeks, her captor utilises the gruesome functionality of the White Chamber as an instrument of torture. The temperature within the space shifts between the extremes; water, acid and even electricity fire out of the floor and ceiling. The woman's mind, body and soul are pushed to their limit. The woman begins to captor… but is she just surviving or does she know more? The dystopian White Chamber is an elevated genre hybrid combining sci-fi, thriller, horror and drama elements, while taking Milgram’s controversial social psychology experiments to a new level. White Chamber is 25-year-old Paul Rashid’s second movie after Servants’ Quarters from 2016. As your , we give you no one other than Shauna Macdonald (The Descent, Howl, Nails) trapped in one of the most stressful contraptions ever.

The year of the plague (2018-Spain / Belgium) Directed by C. Martín Ferrera Screenplay by Ángeles Hernández, Miguel Ibáñez Monroy, David Matamoros and Marc Pastor Casting : Miriam Giovanelli, Ana Seradilla, Brays Efe, … Duration :96 minutes

Víctor is what they call a “friki,” in Spain, that is a nerd who compares everything in his uneventful life with the movies he’s seen. Since his girlfriend left him for a more “mature” man he’s just going through the motions. His colleagues try to set him up with a new significant other, but to no avail, because he turns everyone down. That is, until the charming Lola seems to be able to lure him into a new relationship. But then he gets a phone call from his panicky ex: the people in her surroundings are suddenly behaving like emotionless robots. Might all this have something to do with the latest craze for ginseng plants that everyone is dying to have in their homes? Víctor doesn’t know what’s what anymore, but counting on his ample film memory, he sets out to save his old flame, firmly set on becoming a superhero. The Spanish-Mexican-Belgian coproduction The Year of the Plague doesn’t take itself too seriously. Despite the countless references to famous horror movies, this adaptation of a bestseller by Catalan author Marc Pastor is first and foremost a funny remake of the cult classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Among the actors, we recognize Ivan Massagué (Pan’s Labyrinth), Miriam Giovanelli (Dracula 3D), and Sílvia Abril (Ghost Graduation). 7.10 Schedule of BIFFF 2018

8. KNIGHTS OF THE ORDER OF THE RAVEN

Barbara Steele Lloyd Kaufman Caroline Munro

Joe Dante Lance Henriksen Neil Jordan

John Landis Dario Argento Luc Besson

Larry Cohen Christopher Lloyd Jurgen Prochnow

Terry Gilliam Jean-Pierre Jeunet Stuart Gordon

Alexandre Aja Harry Kümel John Hough

Jaume Balaguero Alejandro Amenabar Park Chan-wook

9. KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF THE RAVEN 2018

Guillermo del Toro

He's the man of the moment. The Shape of Water won 4 of those mythical statues, including Best Movie and Best Director. That makes The Shape of Water the first “” that gets bestowed with this honor and that also makes Guillermo del Toro a member of the club of Mexican Oscar winners that includes Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro G. Iñarritu. And that's about time. Since Cronos (Silver Raven at the BIFFF 1994) del Toro makes one unique genre feature after another. He made an excursion to the Marvel universe with Blade 2, he shot two adaptations of the legendary Dark Horse comic Hellboy and dissected the Franco Regime in The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. Guillermo del Toro is not only a true visionary, but also the living proof that a Mexican immigrant can enter the pantheon of cinema greats, as he said so himself in his acceptance speech. FILMO : Cronos (1993) – Mimic (1997) – The Devil's Backbone (2001) – Blade 2 (2002) – Hellboy (2004) – Pan's Labyrinth (2006) – Hellboy 2 (2008) – Pacific Rim (2013) – Crimson Peak (2015) – The Shape of Water (2017)

10. PRACTICAL INFORMATION PRESS CONTACT Public information: 02/204.00.00.13 or www.bifff.net Press Information: Jonathan Lenaerts 8 Rue de la Comtesse de Flandre, 1020 Brussels Tel: 02.204.00.14; Fax: 020.201.14.69 Email: [email protected] The photos in the press kit are subject to copyright! The accreditation forms are already available on our website. Please complete it online by March 31,2018. After this date, you will be asked for an administrative fee of 25€ to obtain accreditation. We will keep you informed by e-mail of the acceptance of your accreditation request and the type of accreditation you will be offered. Please note that accreditation does not give automatic access to the festival sessions. It is imperative that you book the sessions you want to attend at least one day in advance. As the number of places available for accredited participants is limited, we cannot guarantee the availability of places for all sessions. Press and professional space A space is at your disposal throughout the festival. The press desk is located on the ground floor of the PBA, in the COUNCIL HALL, next to Ravenstein Street (see map). An Internet access will be available for badge holders, but it is advisable to bring your own laptop. All the BIFFF space is covered by a Wifi provided by BeCyber. Press visions A list of press visions will be available later on our website or upon request to the above contacts. Please note that this list may still be subject to change. Video space (for the press and professionals) Video screens will be available for press and professional accreditation holders. Most of the films in the program can be viewed on a secure server. However, as the number of screens is limited, a reservation is required and the press service retains the right to determine who has priority access to them. We would like to make it clear that the list of guests as well as the list of the different juries is provisional and can be modified at any time.

Palais des Beaux-Arts Ravenstein street 23 1000 Brussels

Public transportation Train: Brussels-Central train station Subway: Line 1 & 5: Gare Centrale/Central Station & Parc - Line 1,2,5 & 6: Arts-Loi Tram: 92 - 94, Palais stop Bus: 27 - 29 - 34 - 34 - 38 - 63 - 65 - 66 - 71 - 71N - 95, Bozar stop Carpooling: www.djengo.be Car sharing: www.cambio.be By bike: www.villo.be

Car parks Albertine car park Entrances: 16 Place de la justice and Rue des Sols 3 Preferential rate in the evening Every day from 7 AM to 1 AM 2-5 minutes walk Grand Place Parking Entrances: Rue du marché aux Herbes 104 and Boulevard de l' impératrice 104 Open 24 hours a day 5-10 minutes on foot Sablon-Poelaert car park Poelaert Square Preferential rate in the evening Monday to Saturday: 7 AM to midnight Sunday: 10 AM to midnight 15 to 20 minutes on foot

11. THE PARTNERS With the support of

Our Top, Majors and Institutional Sponsors La Région BruxellesCapitale / Het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest La RTBF, Classic 21 & La Trois (along with La Première, Vivacité, Pure FM, La Une and La Deux) La Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles Het Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds De Stad Brussel / La Ville de Bruxelles La COCOF De Vlaamse Overheid : Coördinatie Brussel Visit Brussels / Brussels Film Office / Screen.brussels Wallonie - Bruxelles International Wallimage

Our main sponsors Euromillions Le Palais des Beaux Arts de Bruxelles The Best Western Hotel Royal Centre

Our sponsors La Cuvée des Trolls (Brasserie Dubuisson) Be TV Metro time BeCyber Koko Syfy Bx1 Air Europa

Our executives sponsors Mikim FX Fedex BrightFish Clip Display Rent A Car / Enterprise Ricoh SNCB Europe / NMBS Europe KU Leuven Sabam for Culture Redsports.be Belgians producers Frakas Productions Fontana Productions Title Films De Hofleveranciers bvba Le Projet Crytopsie Gypsy Productions Stempel Topcare Production

Our partners Boulevard du Polar Le Géant des Beaux Arts La Galerie Pieter Pauwel Brussels Games Festival S.A.E. Institute Arte Pub / Igoto Courant 3D Pixelixir Bruzz Clari-Screen Séma Editions Sharing Box Skull Auvicom And also, LE MINISTERE DE L’EMPLOI DE LA REGION BRUXELLES CAPITALE, LE FOND MARIBEL SOCIAL DES SECTEURS SOCIOCULTURELS ET SPORTIFS DES COMMUNAUTES FRANCAISE ET GERMANOPHONE, LE SERVICE GENERAL DE L’AUDIOVISUEL ET DES MULTIMEDIAS DE LA COMMUNAUTE FRANCAISE DE BELGIQUE, SERVICE OUTDOOR & INDOOR – OPERATION TRANSPORT DE LA VILLE DE BRUXELLES, LE CENTRE DE PRÊT DE MATERIEL DE LA COMMUNAUTE FRANCAISE DE BELGIQUE, LE CENTRE DE PRÊT DE LA COMMISSION COMMUNAUTAIRE FRANCAISE DE LA REGION BRUXELLES CAPITALE, LE SERVICE GENERAL DE LA CULTURE DE LA COMMUNAUTE FRANCAISE DE BELGIQUE. Thanks to FIRMS OF DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION OF FILMS OF BELGIUM BE FOR FILMS, THE SEARCHERS, IMAGINE FILM DISTRIBUTION, SEPTEMBER FILM, PARADISO FILMED ENTERTAINMENT, BELGA FILMS, UMEDIA HELP OF EMBASSIES KOREAN CULTURAL CENTER TO THE EUROPEAN UNION EMBASSY OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC KINGDOM OF BELGIUM INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE CINE Y ARTES AUDIOVISUALES ARGENTINA BLOOD WINDOW / LATIN AMERICA FANTASTIC FILM MARKET JAPAN FOUNDATION TAIPEI REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN THE EU AND BELGIUM EMBAJADA DE ESPANA EN EL REINO DE BELGICA HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICE / BELGIUM HONG KONG SOCIETY EMBAJADA DE MEXICO ANTE EL REINO DE BELGICA Y EL GRAND DUCADO DE LUXEMBURGO, Y MISSION DE MEXICO ANTE LA UNION EUROPEA ALL COMPAGNIES, INTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO HELPED US FOR THIS 36TH EDITION La confederation parascolaire, Point Culture (ulb), La Ligue des Droits de l’Homme, Arkel, Optique Viqueray, Hair Club, L’ecole de maquillage Jean Pierre Finotto, Georges stevens cie., Ucm cafes conseils, Avi Belgium, Cityclash, Propa, IPM printing, Twin Pics, Zeno Pictures, UCM, 501st Fanwars Garrison, Blood Window, La Cerm faculté de traduction et d’interpretation de l’universite de , Dreamscreen, Talencentrum & Ondertiteling KU Leuven Campus Brussel, ULB Bruxelles, departement de traduction et interpretation, Dragon, Dcinex, Blending a game jam, Brotaru,Ludus Academy, Panoptic, Black land studio, Futurist, Belgium Beer Race, Virtual Words, ASA, Squidlab, Jean-Luc Maitrank, l'Institut Jeanne Toussaint, La Puck Company, Le Géant des Beaux-Arts.

AND FOR THE BIF MARKET Wallimage, Creative Media Desk Belgium, taxshelter.be, Umedia, SPF - Fiscal Department for Foreign Investments, Jérôme Di Egidio, Les sociétés de post-productions belges