Regional investment fund screen.brussels is supporting two filmmakers who are synonymous with the Belgian capital in the production of their upcoming feature films, alongside another 12 projects which promise to generate close to 23 million euros’ worth of audiovisual expenditure in the region.

Jostling among the supported projects is the new film by Nabil Ben Yadir, who, 15 years on from the release of Les Barons [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], is getting ready to shoot Les Baronnes, a movie he’ll co-direct with his mother Mokhtaria Badaoui. And mothers’ voices are the focus of this film, as opposed to the previous movie’s focus on sons. In this sense, the film marks a return to the filmmaker’s roots, after his foray into the many and varied fields of fiction, historical drama (by way of La Marche [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]. He’s also returning to a somewhat lighter tone, telling the story of 65-year-old Fatima, who learns that her husband has been leading a double life in Morocco for over ten years, complete with a younger woman, children and a lovely house. Inès, Mériem and Romaissa, her best friends from the Molenbeek neighbourhood, urge her to react and are ready and willing to stick with her through to the bitter end. Lots of new faces feature in the credits, alongside the brilliant Saadia Bentaieb (Ghost Tropic [+leggi anche:
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Another project enjoying support is Joachim Lafosse’s new film, which is scheduled to be shot in the spring, off the back of his latest film A Silence [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] which has only just been released. Les Petits Voleurs sees him continuing his collaboration with Brussels firm Stenola Productions, in co-production with Menuetto (Belgium), Samsa Film (Luxembourg) and Les Films du Losange (France). The film’s focus is being kept under wraps at this stage, but we do know that it’s set to be toplined by French actress Eye Haïdara.

The fund is also supporting imminent filming on another Belgian title, which is the first feature film by actor and director Jean-Benoît Ugeux, who’s already well-known for his short fiction and documentary films, including Arbres (awarded the Magritte for Best Short Documentary in 2023) and La Musique (awarded the Bayard d’Or at the 2019 Namur Film Festival). It tells the story of Ludovic, a forty-year-old architect who has a golden touch and who embarks on an idyllic relationship with Nathalie, a mother of two young daughters. As their love blossoms, Ludovic is introduced to these two teens and develops close, unprecedented relationships with them. But when Nathalie decides to distance herself from Ludovic, the latter feels he’s losing something far bigger: a feeling of fatherhood which has made him so happy and serene. Produced by Wrong Men (Belgique) in co-production with Piano Sans Films (France), the cast of this movie features the director himself alongside Ruth Becquart, Laurent Capelluto and Catherine Salée.

The fund is also backing All the Time, which is Amélie Derlon Cordina’s debut feature film (produced by Belgium’s Beluga Tree), and David Charhon’s Le Jardinier (produced by Rose Productions in France, and co-produced by Umedia in Belgium). Three animated feature films are also set to be assisted (the sequel to Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness by Belgian studio nWave, French movie Le Corset by Louis Clichy, and Spanish work Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake by Irène Iborra). The fund is likewise supporting animated series Ewilan’s Quest (Vivi Films and Andarta Pictures).

Last but not least, Elisa Vandekerckhove’s feature-length documentary Famille choisie (Rayuela Productions), the two documentary series Timeline by Robin Knudsen and Thomas Duprel (Abyssal and Jugaad) and The Deal with Iran by Maarten Stuyck and Lennart Stuyck (Diplodokus), and the two fiction series Ethernel (Hélicotronc) and Pays Noir (Sequel Prod) will also benefit from screen.brussels’ backing.