PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 2014

Philomena, by Stephen Frears

The European Film Academy's (EFA) People’s Choice Award enables film fans across Europe to elect their favourite film. Whereas the EFA invites Europe’s greatest film stars, directors, actors and actresses, to attend the annual European Film Awards, the People’s Choice Award sheds a spotlight on the audience's choice of films. 

The voting for this year’s award has started, with a chance to join winners and nominees for the awards ceremony in Riga!

Winners in the past have included films such as Pedro Almodóvar’s VOLVER, Roberto Benigni’s LA VITA E BELLA, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s AMÉLIE, Fatih Akin’s HEAD-ON, and Danny Boyle’s SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. In 2013, the EFA People's Choice Award went to THE GILDED CAGE by Ruben Alves .

Film fans can cast their vote on the official website and possibly win a trip to the 27th European Film Awards on Saturday, 13 December 2014, in Riga, European Capital of Culture 2014.

Nominated films

BEAUTY AND THE BEASTLA BELLE ET LA BÊTE

DIRECTED BY: Christophe Gans
WRITTEN BY : Christophe Gans & Sandra Vo-Anh
MAIN CAST: Vincent Cassel, Lea Seydoux, André Dussolier

IDA
DIRECTED BY: Pawel Pawlikowski
WRITTEN BY: Pawel Pawlikowski & Rebecca Linkiewicz
MAIN CAST: Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Dawid Ogrodnik, Jerzy Trela 

NYMPHOMANIAC
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Lars von Trier
MAIN CAST: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf

PHILOMENA (photo)
DIRECTED BY: Stephen Frears
WRITTEN BY: Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope
MAIN CAST: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark

THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED HUNDRAÅRINGEN SOM KLEV UT GENOM FÖNSTRET OCH FÖRSVANN

DIRECTED BY: Felix Herngren
WRITTEN BY: Felix Herngren (screenplay), Hans Ingemansson (screenplay), Jonas Jonasson (novel)
MAIN CAST: Robert Gustafsson, Mia Skäringer, Alan Ford

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
MAIN CAST: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione

The winner of the EFA People’s Choice Award 2014 will be announced on stage during the European Film Awards Ceremony on 13 December in Riga.

Brussels Film Festival opens with Chambre Bleue

La chambre bleue

After showcasing his "Tournée" in 2010, the Brussels Film Festival is opening its 2014 edition with Mathieu Amalric's "Chambre Bleue" (Blue Room). The film premiered at Cannes and is being sold under the logline, "In a room, a man and a woman live their passion in secret. Their desire is intense. But one day Julien has to explain himself to the police". It's a deep and disturbing exploration of a man facing his intricate relationships with women.

The Brussels Film Festival (June 6-14) built its reputation on first and second features by European directors, and now claims to show the best of European cinema. Located in the impressive Art Deco Flagey building in Brussels, it features exclusive screenings (a total of 70), open-air shows, encounters and masterclasses.

Foremost amongst these will be a session with Alan Parker, who is also the subject of a big-screen retrospective.

Notable films in competition include "The Enemy Within", "Miss Violence", "The Double" and "Los Angeles". The festival closes with Hossein Amini's thriller "The Two Faces of January".

For details, visit the Brussels Film Festival.

UPDATE: Two screenwriting masterclasses have been announced.  On Tuesday June 10, Pierre Salvadori (Dans la cour") will talk about a recurrent theme in his work: depression. Using extracts of his films such as "Les apprentis" and "Après vous", he will talk about character weaknesses as a source of comedy, the state of comedy and the virtue of lying.

Pascal Bonitzer

In a different register, Pascal Bonitzer (La belle noiseuese) will talk about the link between intimacy and politics, seen through a comedian's eyes, and what happens when the grotesque meets the tragic. Friday June 13 from 4-6pm.

Entrance free upon reservation at +32/2/762 08 98.

Happy, Happy picks up script award in Brussels

The 9th Brussels Film Festival wrapped up last night in Brussels. The festival focuses on European cinema, paying particular attention to first and second films.

The best screenplay award offered by the ASA (Francophone Association of Belgian Screenwriters and the SABAM) went to

BEST SCREENPLAY AWARD

2.000€ offered by the ASA (Francophone Association of Belgian Screenwriters) and SABAM (Belgian Association of Authors, Composers and Publishers).

Jury : Frédéric Castadot, Annie Carels, Julie Bertrand, Jean-Baptiste Delaunoy

HAPPY HAPPY (Sykt lykkelig)

by Anne Sewitsky (Norway)

The Award was received by Ragnhild Tronvoll, screenwriter of the film.

THOMAS BIDEGAIN TO GIVE MASTERCLASS AT BRUSSELS FILM FEST

Thomas Bidegain

The 10th edition of the Brussels Film Festival is about to kick off on June 8, 2012. The festival has historically favoured first films from European directors. This year's event will have special Polish, Italian, Spanish and Walloon (the French-speaking half of Belgium) evenings.

The festival also has a series of masterclasses lined up that include Peter Aalbaek, the producer of Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg (director of "The Hunt"), Jean-Michel Bernard (Michel Gondry's composer) and directors Peter Greenaway and Lucas Belvaux. Scriptwriters should block June 10, as Thomas Bidegain, writer of two exceptional films at this year's Cannes - "De Rouille et d'Os" (Rust & Bone) by Jacques Audiard and "A perdre la raison" by Joachim Lafosse, will be giving a 4-hour masterclass from 2pm at the Flagey centre.

The official competition features 12 European films competing for a total amount of €45,500, among which €10,000 for the Golden Iris Award for best film. The jury is composed of Frédéric Fonteyne (director), Tania Garbarski (actress), Peter Greenaway (director), Edouard Molinaro (director), Koen Mortier (director), Mireille Perrier (actress) and Bernard Yerles (actor).

For details, visit Brussels Film Festival.  List of films in competition.

Daerden Brothers pick up European screenplay award

At its 24th awards ceremony in Berlin, the European Film Academy handed out its awards for 2011. As is often the case, their choice of films is strictly - almost fanatically - art-house, with Lars Von Trier's "Melancholia" picking up Best Film and "Le gamin au vélo/The Kid With the Bike" the rather unusual choice for the screenplay award. Mads Mikkelsen, Stephen Frears and Michel Piccoli were also given awards.
Von Trier skipped the event, sending his wife to pick up the award instead. The academy has 2,500 members.

• EUROPEAN FILM 2011: MELANCHOLIA, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Lars von Trier PRODUCED BY: Meta Louise Foldager & Louise Vesth 
• EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2011: Susanne Bier for HÆVNEN (In a Better World) 
• EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2011: Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN 
• EUROPEAN ACTOR 2011: Colin Firth in THE KING’S SPEECH 
• EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2011: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for LE GAMIN AU VELO (The Kid with a Bike) 
• CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2011: Manuel Alberto Claro for MELANCHOLIA 
• EUROPEAN EDITOR 2011: Tariq Anwar for THE KING’S SPEECH EUROPEAN 
• PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2011: Jette Lehmann for MELANCHOLIA EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2011: Ludovic Bource for THE ARTIST 
• EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2011: ADEM (Oxygen) by Hans Van Nuffel, Belgium/theNetherlands 
• EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2011 - Prix ARTE: PINA by Wim Wenders, Germany EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2011: CHICO & RITA by Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal & Fernando Trueba 
• EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2011: THE WHOLLY FAMILY by Terry Gilliam, Italy EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD 2011 - Prix EURIMAGES: Mariela Besuievsky, Spain 
• EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2011: Mads Mikkelsen, Denmark 
• EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Stephen Frears, UK 
• EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SPECIAL HONORARY AWARD: Michel Piccoli, France 
• THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 2011: THE KING’S SPEECH by Tom Hooper, UK

More info: European Film Awards

Who would you have voted for as Best European Screenplay  in 2011?

FIFF scriptwriting award goes to "La Mosquée"

For its 25th edition, the annual French-speaking film festival of Namur (Belgium), awarded the screenwriting prize to writer/director Daoud Aoulad-Syad for "La Mosquée/The Mosque/Jamaâ".

The Franco-Moroccan production tells the tale of a Moroccan villager whose life is turned upside down when a fake mosque is built on his land for a movie. When the filming is finished, everything is taken down except the mosque. The film was produced by Film du Sud, Aoulad-Syad's own production company.

The Bayard d'Or for best film went to Romania's "Tuesday, After Christmas"(Marti, dupa craciun) by Radu Muntean, written by Alexandru Baciu, Răzvan Rădulescu and Radu Muntean.

Festival website: FIFF

Mark Burton (Madagascar, Wallace & Gromit) to talk in Brussels

Last minute: The Belgian writers group ASA has invited scriptwriter Mark Burton to talk about his work on "Madagascar" on February 11 in Brussels. A screening of "Madagascar" at 1pm will be followed by a lengthy discussion about the characters and structure. Burton also wrote "Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and dialogues for "Chicken Run".

Sounds like a fantastic opportunity to me.

Date Feb 11 from 1pm. Maison des Auteurs, Rue du Prince Royal 87, 1050 Brussels

€20 for students and members of the ASA and Scenaristengilde, €40 for non-members. Bookings (obligatory): newsletter@associationscenaristes.be

Brussels festival showcases new European directors

Every year at the same time, the Brussels Film Festival competes with hot weather while hosting a selection of first and second films from European directors. This year, there are some 60 films being premiered, with free open-air screenings and concerts.

The official competition consists of:

• AWAYDAYS, Pat Holden (UK, 2009, 105')
• LA CASA SULLE NUVOLE, Claudio Giovannesi (Italy, 2008, 96')
• COUNTRY WEDDING, Valdis Oskarsdottir (Iceland, 2008, 95')
• DONNE-MOI LA MAIN, Pascal-Alex Vincent (France, 2009, 80')
• THE HIGHER FORCE, Olaf de Fleur Johannesson (Iceland, 2008, 80')
• IN YOUR VEINS, Beata Garderler (Sweden, 2009, 92')
• JOUEUSE, Caroline Bottaro (France, 2009, 101')
• KATALIN VARGA, Peter Strickland (Romania, 2009, 82')
• MACHAN, Uberto Pasolini (Italy, 2008, 105')
• NORTH, Rune Denstadt Langlo (Norway, 2009, 90')
• SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HERE AND NOW, Olivier Boonjing (Belgium, 2009, 74')
• UNMADE BEDS, Alexis Dos Santos (UK, 2009, 93')
• LA VERGUENZA, David Planell (Spain, 2009, 107')
• WRONG ROSARY, Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Turkey, 2009, 89')

There is also a selection of recent Belgian films, European award-winners and the Cinematek's Age d'Or sidebar featuring recent world cinema releases.

Amongst the events are talks by the various directors, and Eliot Grove presenting his No-to-Lo Budget Film-making Masterclass.

Check out the full programme here.

The Secret of Kells scores a home victory

The Irish-themed animation "The Secret of Kells" brought it all back home recently, when it won the Best Irish Film award at the 2009 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It won against strong challenges from fellow nominees Five Minutes of Heaven, The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy and The Daisy Chain.

Writers on Kells are Tomm Moore for the story and Fabrice Ziolkowski for the screenplay. Ziolkwski is a prolific writer for TV in France, reflecting the fact that Kells was a co-production between France, Ireland and Belgium, with a lot of talent from each country involved. It is currently on release in France and Belgium.

Full list of nominations and winners:

BEST PERFORMANCE
Tom Hardy - Bronson (Winner)
Toni Servillo - Il Divo
Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino
Meryl Streep - Doubt

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Winner)
Religilous
Chris & Don: A Love Story
American Teen
Encounters at the End of the World

BEST IRISH FILM
The Secret of Kells (Winner)
Five Minutes of Heaven
The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy
The Daisy Chain

BEST DIRECTOR
Paolo Sorrentino - Il Divo (Winner)
Laurent Cantet - The Class
Werner Herzog - Encounters at the End of the World
Tomas Alfredson - Let The Right One In

BEST FILM
Let the Right One In (Winner)
Il Divo
In the Loop
The Class

"Louise Michel" picks up screenwriting award at San Sebastian

Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine (photo) have picked up the Best Screenplay award at Spain's 56th San Sebastian Film Festival for "Louise Michel". Their third feature, the film stars Yolande Moreau, Bouli Lanners, Benoît Poelevorde and Matthieu Kassovitz (who also co-produced) in a goofy tale of a hit-man and his client chasing an unscrupulous company boss. The film will screen at the London Film Festival (October 15-30) and open in Belgium on December 24. Overall winner at San Sebastian was the Turkish film "Pandora's Box" by Yesim Ustaoglu (co-written by Selma Kaygusuz), which also won Best Actress.

For details, check the 56th San Sebastian Film Festival.

Brussels festival celebrates first and second films

The sixth Brussels Film Festival is about to kick off, with its usual focus on first and second films from directors across Europe. The festival is opened and closed by "Melodrama Habibi/Une chanson dans la tête" by Hani Tamba and "Tricks" by Andrzej Jakimowski respectively (and a world and a Belgian premiere respectively too). Films to look out for include Germany's "The Stranger in Me", France's "57 000 km entre nous" and Russia's "Everybody Dies but Me".

The festival also features a special section devoted to rare movies, and an interesting selection of free outdoor screenings on the freshly-renovated Place Flagey in Ixelles. For film-makers there is a pitch competition (now closed) and a film workshop. Dates: June 28-July 6. For details in English, French and Dutch visit the Brussels Film Festival.

Jaco Van Dormael to talk in Brussels

One of the most promising writer/directors in Europe some ten years ago was Jaco Van Dormael, who made a huge splash with "Toto le héros" in 1991, followed by "Le huitième jour" in 1996. Rumours about his upcoming "Mr Nobody" have been extravagent to say the least, saying it covers "time" and is the most expensive Belgian film ever made.

This Tuesday June 10 he will put the rumours to rest or confirm them when he talks to the French-speaking Belgian writier's group ASA in Brussels.

For details, visit ASA.

Jaco Van Dormael on Amazon UK

Dardennes Brothers pick up Cannes script award

I haven't much to say about the Dardennes Brothers' "Silence of Lorna", as I haven't seen it (I thought "La promesse" was a fascinating glimpse into a bleak lifestyle and noble sentiments).

So apart from congratulating the pair for their screenplay award at Cannes, all I can do is point you in the direction of the interview they gave Cineuropa some time back.

Check it here.

Out to lunches

Screenplay Europe will be going quiet for a few days, as I am packing for Cannes. I'm shopping two projects, "Protag" and "Tunerz", with a director and a producer respectively. The meetings have been lined up, the pitches honed (a good exercise in itself, of course - funny how you often get new insights into a story by constantly thinking up new pitches) and I'm feeling pretty upbeat about the whole exercise.

Plus, it will be nice to hang out with the film community for a few days. Anyone else down there can look out for me at the Belgian and Irish stands. I'll also be checking the conference schedule at the UK pavilion. Look for the dude with the hat.

Belgian distributor drops French-speaking Belgian films

If you read the blurbs for French-speaking Belgian movies over the past few years, everyone was upbeat: the films regularly pick up awards and the directors were celebrated in the world's press. Yet at home, the situation is entirely different. There have been numerous debates over the past few years about the disastrous box office results of French-speaking movies in Belgium. This has come to a head with the recent announcement that Lumière, until now the main distributor of the films, has decided to simply stop showing them.

Needless to say, this comes as quite a shock in a year that has three Belgian movies in competition in Cannes. However, the situation was perfectly foreseeable. For years, the focus has entirely been on so-called auteur movies to the expense of any others. Even the award-winning titles such as Bouli Lanner's "Ultranova" brought in very disappointing results. It should be pointed out that it's the distributors that take the greatest risk in these films. Production is partly subsidised by public funds, but not distribution. Although they are often hailed for their "personal" vision, the truth is that many of the films are personal to the point of being private indulgences.

Too much rope?
I remember a headline one year ago where a politician asked, "When will the Belgian audience be interested in Belgian movies?" It was, of course, the wrong question - as if the audience was there to serve the film-makers rather than the other way around. The Belgian audience will be interested in Belgian movies when the film-makers take an interest in the Belgian audience. That's the way it works in the real world. Many of these film-makers have simply been given too much rope for too long.

Just a short trip up the road, a different mentality can be seen. 2007 was one of the all-time best years for Belgium's Dutch-speaking film-makers, with numerous box-office hits and good results in art-house movies such as "Ben X". In fact, there is so much TV and film work that good scriptwriters are hard to find.

I know this might sound old-fashioned, but you must be doing something right when people are willing to pay to see your movies on a Saturday night. Deep down, I think too many people had gotten used to too much easy money for too long. I welcome the new constraints. They were a long time coming.

Script courses and co-production in Belgium

Although it is not known as a source of overtly commercial cinema, Belgium does have a unique position by being bilingual (French/Dutch) and reliant on international co-productions to get those stories told. So it has always had an international perspective. The overwhelming majority of movies are released in their mother tongue with subtitles for example.

The French-speaking writers' group ASA (of which I am a member) have three events coming up. On Tuesday January 15, writer and script doctor Luc Janssens will be taking a bold look at the role of scripts, connections with the audience, what constitutes a "good" character and other questions using "African Queen" as a basis.

I suspect this will be a condensed version of a longer cycle he will be running on the five Saturdays between February 2 and March 1.

On January 26 he will be using his script for the cartoon "Asterix et les Vikings" as the basis for a discussion. Janssens is a vastly experienced and practical writer/teacher. So these promise to be interesting events. Details on the ASA site.

Meanwhile, Media Desk is organising a round table for Belgian and UK producers that are looking for partners on February 28 in Brussels. Details from Jeanne Brunfaut on 00/32/(0)2/413 22 71 in Brussels or Media Desk UK.

Random thoughts about scripts

The Belgian writers' group ASA held a round table recently to try and define what a movie script is, with a view to being better able to present the writers' case in discussions with other bodies. To cut to the chase, the definition was never agreed on but the discussion itself turned out to be fascinating.

Script doctor and writer Luc Janssens set the ball rolling by suggesting that the script is a "technical document used to make a film". But others found that belittled the craft and artistry of storytelling. Inevitably, the question of structure came up. And just as inevitably, the claim that structure is somehow an American idea was made (something I have always thought was strange - like David Lean or Hitchcock didn't use structure). Director Harry Kümel ("Malpertuis", "Eline Vere" and opera) rightly jumped in to point out that a lot of the early analysis of drama was done by a Frenchman. Janssens added a long list of writers stretching back to Shakespeare that used the 3-act structure.

Kümel was critical of the current reliance of the European movie sector on public support. "It's not with subsidies and commissions that that we'll create new European cinema. I dream of a European cinema that complements America's."

But how do you judge a film and its performance? Kümel: "A film must be seen by the number of people it is intended for." That's actually a neat definition if you think about it. An art-house drama could never compete with the tent-pole summer movies. But that does not mean that it is operating in a vacuum. There are still yardsticks for analysing its performance.

"...like becoming a doctor..."

On to writing itself: "It takes years, that's the problem," according to Janssens. "Scriptwriting is like becoming a doctor - it takes about the same amount of time to become a good one. It's not because you learn the rules that you are a writer... We looked at the number of schools and courses that are available in Europe for the moment and found over 300. But in my opinion, only a very few of them - including London and Rome - are worth anything." The problem is one of commitment, with many film-making courses not devoting enough time to the script.

Another question that cropped up was: "Who exactly is the author of the script?" Some writers complained about being considered as luxury typists by directors. The habit of directors and even producers demanding shares of the authors' rights was also discussed. "I don't accept that," said Janssens. "When I finish a script, I've done 80% of the directors job."

More about Luc Janssens

Song lyrics for Belgian hit movie "Vermist"

This summer, I got a call from composer Steve Willaert who was writing music for the Belgian thriller “Vermist/Missing” directed by Jan Verheyen. He was preparing a track for the end of the film and could I help with the lyrics? After a little coming and going, the result was “Waiting” breathlessly sung by Chantal Kashala. What I didn’t know at the time is that the film stars two of Flanders’ biggest new actors, Koen De Bouw and Kevin Janssens. So when I went to see it on the second night, I was surprised to find a capacity audience in one of the largest theatres (it opened in 29 cinemas in Flanders). “Waiting” plays over the final credits. I’ve had music used in movies before, but this is the first time I’ve written something from scratch for one. There are plans to turn “Vermist” into a TV series. Check Vermist here. Scriptwriters are Bas Adriaensen, Philippe De Schepper and Matt Witten.

Download the track from A-Lyric.

Belgium to send "Ben X" as Oscar contender

"Ben X", the award-winning debut film from film journalist Nic Balthazar, has been unanimously chosen to represent Belgium as a Foreign-Language contender for the Oscars. The Dutch-speaking film, which has been hailed at home and received the Grand Prix at the Montreal World Film Festival, is a gripping tale of a slightly autistic boy that is bullied at school. It combines a remarkable internal monologue with extracts from video games. The performances are universally excellent.

The film is based on a book written by Balthazar that was subsequently adapted as a play. It is built on a true story (but obviously considerably changed). Expect to hear more about it. Visit the official site (in English and Dutch).

"Le spectateur fantasmé": writers consider the spectator

Anyone who writes must at some stage has wondered about the possible spectator. But who is this spectator? What do we know about her? Should we accommodate her already at the writing stage and, if so, how? To what degree?

For the 6th time, the SACD France and SACD Belgium are hosting a talk at this year's Festival de Film Francophone in Namur, Belgium on October 1. The talk is split into two sections: a morning debate between the various guests and a later public encounter in the festival marquee.

Details can be found on the FIFF site. The Namur festival is a cool event, as the whole town is taken over during the week, and they host numerous workshops and production forums. There are also a host of premières, which this year include 14 films from as far apart as Senegal and Lebanon.

PS: I'll be in Namur on October 4 if anyone wants to hook up, just leave a message.