13th Workshop “Brussels Fantastic”

The BIFFF would like to play its part in the stimulation of the Belgian fantastic film production. That’s also the reason behind the creation of the first Workshop in 1996. The ambition of this initiative has remained unchanged throughout the years: to offer the students of our film schools the opportunity to gain experience by making three fantastic short films under the supervision of an experienced foreign film director. Previous workshops have been supervised by, among other, Freddie Francis, Lewis Gilbert, Jack Cardiff, Stuart Gordon, Nick Willing and Anders Ronnow-Klarlund. This year, Bernard Rose will reveal some of the secrets of his craft to a new generation of film professionals. The talented Rose, who is currently in pre production on MR NICE, based on the book by Howard Marks, is best known for the urban horror classic CANDYMAN. Other feature credits include IMMORTAL BELOVED, IVAN’S XTC, SNUFF MOVIE, ANNA KARENINA and PAPERHOUSE, for which Rose won the Golden Raven at BIFFF in 1989. Collaborations with professional partners from the audiovisual field are intended to generate real production conditions within which the students of RITS and NARAFI can realize three short fantastic films. Logistical support facilities are provided by Maquillages S.A., Eye-lite, Key Grip Systems S.A., APPLE, Double Precision, Building & Engineering and Rosebud Heritage S.A., while students of LE SITE ( Enseignement Supérieur en Infographie et Technique d’Expression ) in Hornu, under the guidance of SFX specialist Jean-Yves Arboit, are taking care of the digital postproduction. During a 8 day shooting & post prod period, the students will have to realize 3 fantastic shorts at a location that not only has to represent Brussels, but must also be an inspiration for the films. Shooting took place from 4 until 6 March at the former Jesuit Monastery in the heart of Brussels, the results are screened on Friday 4 April at 4.30 pm. Eye Lite will provide one student with a value of 2.500 euro in lightning material for his/her next film project. Thanks to the collaboration of all partners and the support of the Flemish Community Commission, the Workshop of the BIFFF has become a valuable and important tool in the education of our future film makers.