RE>CONNEXT 2021

“It should be said, making a traditional documentary that sketches an overview of this versatile artist - active in various media for more than 70 years - has never been my intention,” Flemish filmmaker Brecht Debackere tells BDE of his Chris Marker feature doc project. “The starting point was always: how can we make an audience get to know someone who has practically no biographical information available, no archive material?”

Being showcased as a work in progress at RE>CONNEXT is the documentary series Capturing The Pirate King telling the story of the Somalians who hijacked a Belgian ship and were later arrested by the Belgian Federal Police in an elaborate sting involving a fake movie production company. It is being made through Diplodokus and directed by Lennart Stuyck who draws swords with BDE.

The RE>CONNEXT platform is to remain open until midnight on 31 October, it was announced by Flanders Image today. The decision was taken after participants with increasingly busy October schedules asked for extra time to engage with the wide range of content on offer. Most consulted project titles revealed, plus ‘Mystery Shoppers’ verdict.

Philippe Niclaes’ new doc is both about the process of ageing and the disappearance of the corner shop or convenience store, just like the one he grew up in as a kid, and to which he returns to film his mother as she eyes up her future years. As the logline says, the film is both about social isolation and the disappearance of a generation of shops. But as the director explains to Business Doc Europe, it also a story of hope and deep affection.

Where the World Ends looks at the absurdity of bureaucratic procedures by highlighting a few individuals on both sides of the Belarus/Lithuania border.

A diplodokus (or diplodocus) is a dinosaur with a long neck and a very long tail. It’s also the name which has been taken by one of Belgium’s most adventurous independent production companies. Since 2014, Diplodokus has been making documentary films, TV dramas and web-docs which have won awards and been shown at many international festivals. The company’s Maarten Bernaerts explains the rationale to BDE.

First pitched at CPH:FORUM, Johan Grimonprez’s feature doc project fuses the promise of African decolonization in the 1960s, the rise of the US civil rights movement and the State Department’s mobilization of ‘jazz ambassadors’ for propaganda purposes. New partners on board from France, Netherlands and Sweden with much broadcast and sales interest, the producers say.

Flemish online showcase to present new documentary/non-fiction projects, works-in-progress and screenings of upcoming and completed titles from film and TV docmakers. Directors include Berlin Golden Bear 2021 winner Olga Lucovnicova, Steven Dhoedt with two projects and award-winning producer/director Koen Mortier, plus new content from leading doc houses. The platform goes live 4 October, runs to 15 October.

“An audacious shot on goal, both bold and delicate,” reads the slogan on the Panenka website. The Belgian company, founded in 2004, has taken its name from one of the most famous penalties in the history of football. The company’s Kristoffel Mertens attempts to put one past Business Doc Europe.

Creative producer Sien Versteyhe is happy to admit that she has no idea where her RE>CONNEXT project Louise-Marie is going to shoot, other than on a boat on the high seas. As it is a Belgian Navy boat (the film is eponymously titled), its location will be a closely guarded secret. Versteyhe tells Business Doc Europe more about this voyage of discovery.