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We Believe You, debut feature by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys, assembles a family of witnesses into a haunting silent theatre of dread. Myriem Akheddiou anchors the frame as Alice, who drags her son Etienne (Ulysse Goffin) across a station platform into a custody hearing revived by fresh allegations of abuse.

Adèle Pinckaers grants Lila a stoic compassion, while Laurent Capelluto’s father hovers between denial and guilt. Natali Broods presides as the judge, her measured glances weighing each soul within a stark chamber. Their testimonies echo as whispered confessions.

Here, form collides with existential rupture. The camera shifts from restless handheld to rigid geometry, constructing a confine where testimony becomes ordeal. Every static shot poses a philosophical challenge: Can belief find footing in procedural stone? Alice’s fight for her children’s sanctuary becomes an exploration of faith and doubt.

Stakes distill to a single breath: maternal fervor against paternal claim,...

Paris-based company The Party Film Sales has closed a raft of sales on “We Believe You,” a gripping family custody drama directed by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys, following its premiere at the Berlinale.

The film, which is produced by Makintosh Films, bowed in the newly-launched Perspectives section where it won a Special Mention.

“We Believe You” tells the story of Alice, a mother fighting for her children’s safety in a harrowing custody battle, accusing their father of a crime. Standing before a judge, she must speak up to protect them from their father before it’s too late.

The film stars Myriem Akheddiou in the lead role, known for her work in the Dardenne brothers’ Young Ahmed, alongside Laurent Capelluto, Natali Broods (“Façades”), and rising young talents Ulysse Goffin and Adèle Pinckaers. “We Believe You” follows Dufeys’s short “Invincible Summer” which played at last year’s Berlin Film Festival.

The Party Film Sales has sold “We Believe You,” directed by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys, to Spain (Filmin and Karma Films) and Benelux (O’Brother Distribution). In France, the film’s release will be overseen by Tpfs’s sister company jour2fête.

Produced by Makintosh Films, “We Believe You” premieres in Berlinale’s Perspectives section, spotlighting debut features. It focuses on Alice, a mother fighting for her children’s safety in a custody battle, accusing their father of a horrifying crime.

“We meet victims of sexual assault, and some of them reveal incest to us. It’s something I know well from my work,” says Charlotte Devillers, who used her own experiences as a nurse in a sexual health clinic.

“That’s how I met Arnaud. I told him about my job and the situations I’d encountered. As a nurse, I’m always observing and listening. These are the tools...

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The Devil’s Hour is a British supernatural thriller drama series created by Tom Moran. The Prime Video series follows Lucy, a social worker who mysteriously wakes up every night at exactly 3:33 am in the middle of the so-called devil’s hour and after having some terrifying visions she soon finds herself connected to a series of brutal murders in the area. The Devil’s Hour stars Jessica Raine, Peter Capaldi, Nikesh Patel, Alex Ferns, Meera Syal, Barbara Marten, Phil Dunster, Benjamin Chivers, and Brandon Bendell. So, if you loved the thrilling mystery, complex story, and compelling characters in The Devil’s Hour here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Shining Girls (Apple TV+) Credit – Apple TV+

Shining Girls is a psychological thriller drama series created by Silka Luisa. Based on the 2013 novel The Shining Girls by author Lauren Beukes,...

‘Skunk’ is from writer-director Koen Mortier.

London-based sales and production outfit Reason8 Films has boarded worldwide sales rights to new Belgian drama Skunk, from writer-director Koen Mortier.

Skunk tells the story of Liam, who grows up in a family where alcohol, violence and sex dominate, to become a confused teenager who goes to extreme lengths to break with his past. It stars Natali Broods, Boris Van Severen and Thibaud Dooms as Liam. Top Belgian cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis is director of photography.

Mortier’s previous films include festival titles including Ex Drummer (2007), which won a Tiger award at International Film Festival Rotterdam,...

Skunk

Blasting onto the film scene with Ex Drummer in 2007 and followed by 22nd of May in 2010 and distinct opposites attract in Angel in 2018, Koen Mortier is good to go in ’23 with his fourth feature which was an Out of Competition work-in-progress selection at Les Arcs Film Festival last month. The book to film adaptation of Skunk was filmed October of 2021 with thesps in first time actor Thibaud Dooms, Natali Broods, Boris Van Severen and Dirk Roofthooft with Nicolas Karakatsanis serving as cinematographer. Czar Film’s Eurydice Gysel and Mortier produced what is coined as a pitch dark teenage drama.…...

Mirjana Karanovic’s A Good Wife wins best first film; audience award goes to Iciar Bollain’s The Olive Tree.

The 14th edition of the Brussels Film Festival closed with the Golden Iris award going to Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, with a prize of €10,000 to distributor September Film. The film also won best screenplay and the Rtbf Vt Prize of best film.

The jury was comprised of Flemish actress Natali Broods, Italian director Emanuele Crialese, Belgian actor Pierre Dherte, Dutch actor Derek De Lint and Croatian director Ivona Juka.

The White Iris award for best first film in competition went to A Good Wife by Mirjana Karanovic.

The jury award went to Callback by Carles Torras; best photography went to Giorgos Arvanitis for Blind Sun; the Cineruopa award went to Pikadero by Ben Sharrock; Ups cinephile award went to Suntan by Argyris Papadimitropoulos.

The audience award went to The Olive Tree by Iciar Bollain, which also won...

Diffusion is the name of the game in Waste Land, a brooding police procedural from Belgium that depends more on its pervasive ambience than plot twists. Actually, it's probably a disserve to describe the newest film by writer/director Pieter Van Hees (Left Bank) as a procedural, because that implies a set order of events -- a murder, an investigation, a neat resolution -- and, too often, little more. Certainly, Waste Land includes those expected elements, but it's far less interested in the game than the players, primarily homicide detective Leo Woeste (Jeremy Renier). Judging by outward appearances, Leo has it all: a respected position in the police force, as well as a supportive marriage mate in Katrien (Natali Broods) and a bright and healthy young...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Chicago International Film Festival 2011

Hotel Swooni

Directed by: Kaat Beels

Cast: Natali Broods, Enrique De Roeck, Sara de Roo

Running Time: 1 hr 26 mins

Rating: Tbd

Release Date: Tbd

Click Here for complete coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2011)

Plot: The story of a strange course of events that unite people in a Belgian hotel over twenty-four hours.

Who’S It For? Do you like pleasing movies that are especially well-written? Want to see a probable winner for the “New Directors Competition”? See Swooni.

Overall

An entry in the New Directors Competition, Hotel Swooniis a beautiful film from Belgium that is bound to surprise any filmgoer who decides to take a chance on it.

Hotel Swooni works like this: a boy searches for his father in the posh Hotel Swooni, after being told that his uncle works there. A married couple checks in for one night to celebrate a friend’s wedding.