#bifff 2017

My baby was sick and I had to be at the hospital for him most of the day, hence I could only watch one of the movies I had planned to watch, but it was a good one, so it was a good way to end this year's BIFFF

Saving Sally (Philippines) : a high school guy has the ability to see monsters in our world (some of them passing as humans). He's friend with a girl who's abused by her parents. He's decided to help her... This movie was strongly recommended to me, and I had met with the director, who is a really nice guy, earlier this week, so I wanted to watch it. I don't regret it. Real people mixed with animated characters and settings, Saving Sally is a sweet fable about friendship and love, visually stunning. It's mostly a romance, and though I'm not usually interested in that, it was great. 5 stars.

(postcard of an image of the movie, offered by the director)

(back of the postcard, with a drawing made by the director)

Final movie count : 49.

And here ends this year's BIFFF for me. I plan to make a couple of 'top 5' before posting about this year's awards that’ll be released later today, but I'm not sure I'll have time for that. If not, they'll be posted sometime next week.

Regular day at the BIFFF :)

- Call of heroes (HK/China) : the son of a general murders 3 people in a village and is arrested. But his father's soldiers can't accept that : if the local law officer won't release him, they will burn the village to the ground... A typical martial art movie, with themes of filiation and honor above duty. Despite the cables in many scenes, the action is still real (thanks to Sammo Hung). 4 stars.

- The big everything (France) : 5 people – scientists, mechanics, shrinks... – are aboard a space ship, to go and explore a black hole. Maybe they'll discover more than they expected. Maybe even the reason for everything... The director sold this movie as hard SF, and in a sense, it is. Think of 2001 a space odyssey, but cheap and with meh acting. The inside of the space ship looks like what a kid would do in his bedroom, but the space images are amazing ! Unfortunately, the dialogues can be pretty stupid at times. I still give it 3 stars.

(Coline Sapin, visual effects artist on The big everything)

(Nicolas Bazz (left), director, and his brother Yann Bazz (right), visual effects supervisor, contacted through Skype)

- Kung fu yoga (China/HK/India) : a famous Chinese archaeologist is given an old map that'll help him find a legendary Indian treasure. But he isn't the only one looking for it... What the fuck did I watch ? It was entertaining and Jackie Chan, at his age, still has it. But it felt like the script was just an excuse to travel through Asia and Middle East (and it was heavily plagiarizing Indiana Jones). And the Bollywood ending... Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable, but not very thought out. 3 stars because it's never boring.

(Stanley Tong, director of Kung fu yoga (right))

- Dead man tells his own tale (Argentina) : a sexist man becomes the undead slave of Celtic goddesses who plan to end patriarchy. It won't go as planned... With its feminist plot and its dark humor, it was fun at first. But then it became too talkative, and seriously, I dozed off right at the end and I don't know what happened. 2 stars because of its subject.

Movie count : 48

I spent a great day with some quality time with my friend Aaron. I met with Euzhan Palcy (the director of A dry white season, a movie I enjoyed years ago, and president of this year's International jury at the BIFFF) at the end of A dark song, and we discussed the meaning of the movie. It was really interesting.

- Attraction (Russia) : a space ship is hit by a meteor just above the Earth and ends up entering its atmosphere. The military shoots it above Moscow. It'll start a dramatic chain of events... A beautiful Russian production, with great design and visual effects. The pacifist-ecological-humanist message isn't really subtile, but it's okay. And finally the question of "who's the bad guy in a space war" is approached in a different way. It may be the best Russian movie watched so far (besides The bride last night). 4 stars.

- Children of the night (Italy/Belgium) : a young man enters a boarding school for future CEO and leaders and makes a new friend there. They soon discover a nearby brothel and enjoy spending their nights there. But are the school's educators really ignorant of what's happening... A coming-of-age story where you realize that when you push someone to their limits, they either break or reveal their true nature. And sometimes, it isn't pretty. The pace could have been a bit faster, but it was still interesting. 3 stars.

- A dark song (Ireland/UK) : a woman seeks the help of a medium to communicate with her dead son. But maybe even she doesn't know what exactly she's looking for... The difficult journey of a grieving mother who's trying to ease the pain. Slow but with tension, and the main actress is amazing. Quite good atmosphere too. I really enjoyed it. 4 stars.

- We go on (USA) : a man afraid of death publishes an add offering $30 000 to whomever will give him a proof of something after death. He's going to get exactly what he wants... The first part of the movie is light and a bit funny, and it becomes darker and darker. A movie where we learn that, even if there's something after death, it may not be what you expect and maybe it's still better to enjoy life fully. 3 stars.

- Orbiter 9 (Spain) : because of a malfunction in the oxygen system, a young girl is left aboard her space ship by her parents who want to save her. A couple of years later, an engineer who received their SOS comes in and repairs the system. The girl-turned-woman will be able to continue her journey to a far away planet. Or are things really what they seem... What I'll remember from this movie (warning : spoiler) : if you're ugly and old, you can die in a simulator, nobody cares. I understand the need for a romance, but the male character could have become a real activist, instead of just trying to save the young and pretty girl whom he fucked. Even though the actors were good, this movie left me with a bad taste in the mouth. 1 star for the disgusting message.

- The top secret : murder in mind (Japan) : in the future, the police can access the memory of dead people to find their killer. After checking the memory of a man who had murdered his whole family to find where he put the body of his daughter, they discover that he wasn't the real culprit. Maybe it isn't safe to go after the real killer... It's an adaptation of a manga, and the concept is interesting. But they wanted a movie full of twists and they ended up with a movie full of plotholes. There were blood, and some suspens, but it was too long and slow for a thriller movie. 2 stars.

Movie count : 30

Half way through the festival. Only 4 movies scheduled today, and no need to wake up too early. I need sleep !:)

Unfortunately, Jason Flemyng won’t be there because he’s in the middle of shooting a film...

That was the only interview I had really planned. For the other people I’d like to meet, I have only two days to watch more of their movies and to do research, and I don’t have much free time... So I suppose that means I won’t have any interview this year.

I will try to see at least 46 movies during the 11 days I’ll be at the festival, and I’ll try to secure at least one interview (I’d rather watch movies than meet with people, go figure :p ). Here’s my schedule:

4/5: Psycho raman (India), The invisible guest (Spain), Free fire (UK), The void (Canada)

4/6: From a house on Willow Street (South Africa), Vanishing time (Korea), Late shift (Switzerland/UK, interactive film), Cold hell (Germany/Austria)

4/7: Le serpent aux mille coupures (France/Belgium), Luck-key (Korea), Holy biker (Brazil), Message from the king (USA/Belgium), Swiss army man (USA) + masterclass Fabrice du Welz

4/8: Dragon (Russia), Nails (Ireland), Strangled (Hungary)

4/9: The icebreaker (Russia), Monolith (Italy/USA), The bride (Russia)

4/10: Attraction (Russia), A dark song (Ireland/UK), We go on (USA), Orbiter 9 (Spain), The top secret: murder in mind (Japan)

4/11: Another evil (USA), Kill command (UK), The village of no return (Taiwan/China), The unkindness of ravens (UK/USA)

4/12: Missing you (Korea), Tarde para la ira (Spain), Boy missing (Spain), Eat local (UK), The chamber (UK)

4/13: Vampire cleanup department (HK), Interchange (Malaysia/Indonesia), Memoirs of a murderer (Japan), The limehouse golem (UK), The autopsy of Jane Doe (USA/UK)

4/14: Call of heroes (HK/China), The big everything (France), Kung-fu yoga (China/India/HK), Dead man tells his own tale (Argentina)

4/15: Death note: light up the new world (Japan), Small town killers (Denmark), The prison (Korea), Neil Stryker and the tyrant of time (USA)

I’m also interested by This giant papier-mache boulder is actually really heavy (New Zealand), Smoke & mirrors (Spain), Tonight she comes (USA), White coffin (Argentina), Tunnel (Korea), Replace (Germany/Canada), Loop (Hungary), Children of the night (Italy/Belgium), Hidden reserves (Austria/Switzerland/Germany) and Jonny Frank Garret’s last word (USA). I have 5 spots to watch movies in the press room, so depending on what’s available and how long the movie is, I’ll try to watch 5 of these movies.

My accreditation for this year’s Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival is ready, and we had some news today.

Here’s the press file with all the information about the films that will be presented and the people who will be there. Once again, it’s terribly exciting! I’ll see my friend Aaron who comes this year as the president of a jury. Also, I hope I’ll be able to interview Alejandro Amenabar (The others, Regression), Park Chan Wook (Oldboy, Stoker), Jason Flemyng (Stardust, X-Men First Class), Fabrice du Welz (Calvaire, Vinyan) and Dick Maas (De lift, Amsterdamned).