Promotional materials for film Playground Photo: National Film Museum

Following screenings of films from Portugal and Greece, the National Film Museum's 2022 International Movie Exhibition will be presenting six films from Belgium in Beijing over 10 days starting from Friday.  

Coming from a country located at the crossroads of Western Europe, the six films - Playground, The Restless, The Unknown Girl, Around Luisa, The Hives and Two Days, One Night - integrate different European film styles.

The carefully selected works reflect different social themes. Influenced by various important film movements such as French New Wave, Italian Neorealism and German Expressionism, a strong sense of humanism is contained in the Belgian films.

Among the most anticipated works are two classic movies from film masters duo Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne. Collectively known as the Dardenne Brothers, they are known for their realistic approach to working-class themes and characters in their films.

The duo's 2016 mystery/drama film The Unknown Girl tells the story of a doctor who decides to search for the truth behind the death of a young woman after learning that she had died shortly after running up to her door for help. 

The Dardenne Brothers' other movie Two Days, One Night was nominated for the 67th Cannes Film Festival and the Palme d'Or for Best Film. The 2014 Belgian-French-Italian drama unfolds against the background of Europe's economic recession as a desperate woman must persuade her co-workers to give up their bonuses so that she may keep her own job.

The Hive, directed by Christophe Hermans, is being screened in China for the first time. It is a sensitive and thought-provoking film revolving around three sisters who struggle to care for their mentally ill mother.

The 2017 film Around Luisa depicts the inner struggle of a young girl after her father, who she hasn't seen in years, reappears and tells her family he has pancreatic cancer. Filled with years of resentment, Luisa struggles with whether she should met with him or not.

The 2021 feature film Playground revolves around a little girl's first day at school. Filmed using handheld cameras, which captures every sound and small movement in her eyes, the cautious, uneasy state of mind of the little girl is successfully presented on screen.

Directed by Joachim Lafosse, the 2021 international co-production The Restless digs into the story of a couple who must deal with mental illness.

The main character Damien is a talented painter with bipolar disorder. One moment he is full of passion for life and art - working without sleep - and then he falls into sudden depression and desperation. 

Global Times