1st Bifff Participatif

This year also sees the return of BIFFF PARTICIPATIFFF after a successful first edition in 2022. Once again the festival organizes three film workshops in which young people from Brussels with little to no film experience each create a short film in a fantastic theme in the span of a few months. In this they’re guided by three renowned international directors and aided by Belgian specialists in digital and practical special effects.

The three youth groups creating their short film under the BIFFF constellation this year are Studio Steph (GC Kriekelaar), Genius_harmony (GC Pianofabriek Citylab) and The Chicken King Bros. Under the guidance of Birgit Möller (‘Franky Five Star’), Fernando González Gómez (‘The Elderly’), and Anders Klarlund (‘The Last Client’), they started the creative process in February. The directors, along with Belgian FX specialists like Squidlab and the HELHA CG Academy, assist the participants at every step of the process, from pitching and developing the script to filming and editing.

Last December we also set up three fantastic film workshops with youngsters from Montevideo in collaboration with ACAU, Uruguay’s film institute. Under the guidance of Belgian director Véronique Jadin (‘Employee of the Month’), three shorts were made: ‘Android’, ‘The House Below’ and ‘In The Cards’. One of the youngsters, Valentina Rossi, won a prize for her exceptional work as executive producer on ‘The House Below’ and will be heading to Brussels in April to help out the BIFFF and BIF Market.

Both the Brussels and Uruguayan shorts will be screened at the BIFFF on Wednesday, April 17th at 4:30 pm in Cine 2.