Monday 19 December 2011

OUT & ABOUT - Week 51

The BE Film Festival features 17 Belgian films from 2011, 19 to 23rd  December
Just because you are flying home in a few days to celebrate Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/New Year's, does not mean you have to stay at home this week. Brussels has plenty to offer in the next few days. And all this rain and snow is a really good excuse to go to the cinema and enjoy some films.

CINEMA
On Monday, December 19 at 6:30 PM, the LGBT Subcommittee is screening the award-winning film 'Contracorriente' (Undertow). Contracorriente tells the story of a Peruvian fisherman who appears to live a traditional life in a small but charming seaside village. Miguel is married to a lovely woman but also caught up in a passionate love affair with artist Santiago. The film will be introduced by human rights expert Rebeca Sevilla, who will talk about the situation of lesbians and gays in her home-country Peru and other Latin American countries. Venue: Madou Auditorium, ground floor Madou building. Entrance: FREE.

On Tuesday, December 20 at 7:00 PM, the Cineclub is showing the Polish film 'Seksmisja' (Sexmission) to mark the end of the Polish Presidency. Seksmisja is about two scientists who volunteer for a hibernation experiment and get transported 50 years into the future, when the male species has become extinct.
Venue: Madou Auditorium, ground floor Madou building. Entrance: FREE.

FILM FEST
From December 19 to December 23rd Bozar and Cinematek will be the venue for the 7th annual BE Film Festival. BE Film Festival celebrates Belgian cinema from both Flanders and Wallonia, and will feature 18 Belgian films released in 2011. The festival launches on Monday with the world premiere of Torpedo, a film by Matthieu Donck about a man who wants to attend a meet & greet with his life long idol Eddy Merckx, but in order to do so he has to find a family first. The director and a number of cast members will be present at the screening.

Also worth seeing are: 22 Mei (December 20, 21.00 at Bozar), a thriller about a bomb explosion in a shopping mall; Noordzee Texas (December 21, 19.00 at Bozar); Smoorverliefd (December 21, 21.00 at Bozar), a romantic comedy about four women trying to find their way through the chaos of love; Les Geants (December 21, 21.00 at Cinematek), La Fee (December 22, 20.45 at Bozar); cyberthriller Pulsar (December 23, 21.00 at Bozar); and Quartier Lontain (December 23, 21.30 at Bozar), a drama about a 50-year old man who wakes up in his teenage years. Tickets: €3 for CINEMATEK, €6 for BOZAR and €9 for the opening film.

MUSIC
On Monday at 21.30 PM, music cafe Bonnefooi will host a gig by Netherfriends, a psyche-pop band from Chicago. Entrance: FREE

On Tuesday, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra will play a homage to Agatha Christie at Flagey together with Finnish composer Kerkko Koskinen, who used to head the rock pop band Ultra Bra, but now lends his talent to the musical reading of crime fiction. Tickets: €18 to €23.

ART
From November 22, 2011 to March 3, 2012, The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium is exhibiting a selection of artworks by contemporary artists such as Rik Wouters, Fritz Van Den Berghe, Salvador Dali, Giorgio de Chirico, Paul Delvaux, Joan Miro, Constant Permeke, Victor Servranckx, Georges Vantongerloo, Simon Hantaï, Henri Matisse, Jo Delahaut, Luc Tuymans and Thiery De Cordier. Tickets: €8, students €5.