This year, the Brussels European Film Festival, an event for first and second European films, will take place from June 30-July 8. Following a preview screening of Pavee Lacken [trailer] by Irish director Perry Ogden (see interview), Artistic Directors Dominique Janne and Jan De Clercq this morning presented a packed programme of fifteen debut films by a new generation of European filmmakers.
This generation also includes young Belgian directors Fabrice du Welz (The Ordeal [trailer]) and Fien Troch (Someone Else’s Happiness [trailer], interview), who will be part of the jury that will have to have to choose from films that have been successful at prestigious festivals as well as this year’s attractive pickings of Eastern European title.

Part of the programme features three Hungarian titles – Taxidermia [trailer, making of] by György Pálfi, Fresh Air [trailer] by Agnes Kocsis and Black Brush by Roland Vranik (see our special report on Hungarian cinema) – as well as Czech film Something Like Happiness [trailer, film focus, making of] by Bohdam Sláma (see Focus), and this year’s Berlin Golden Bear winner, Grbavica [trailer, film focus] (see news) by Jasmila Zbanic, which will open the event.

The amusing 12:08 East of Bucharest [trailer, film focus] (see review), by Romania’s Corneliu Porumboiu – winner of the 2006 Caméra d’Or at Cannes last month – will close the very busy week, as the festival also includes open-air screenings, a script concept competition (see news), a new section entitled “Révélations", along with a host of preview screenings, which include four Belgian films – Komma [trailer], Ça m'est égal si demain n'arrive pas (lit. “I Don’t Care if Tomorrow Never Comes”), Le Poulain (lit. “The Foal”) and Ça rend heureux (lit. “That Makes Happy”) by Joachim Lafosse).

Also lined up, in partnership again this year with the Cinémathèque Royale, is the Cinédécouvertes programme, which will present approximately twenty features from throughout the world.