ARE YOU SERIES? TV Festival Announces December Lineup in Brussels
By: TV News Desk Nov. 29, 2017
This year Are You Series? is celebrating its fifth edition. In five years, this festival devoted to TV series has turned into the place to be for fans of series and professionals alike.
The Festival will welcome Zabou Breitman for the exclusive preview of her series Paris etc., in partnership with Be tv as well as Sofia Helin and Thure Lindhardt, leading actors in The Bridge, on the occasion of the first international of season 4!
Existential crisis will be the common theme of this anniversary edition. Are You Series? introduces the question with a programme that is packed full of emotional cracks: what with uptight spies freaking out (The Same Sky), haunted doctors (The Kingdom), young pensioners (The Simple Heist), overworked superwomen (Lâcher Prise), reconstituted families (Lucas etc.), romantic militants (Guerrilla), disenchanted policemen (Salamander - Blood Diamonds) and scarlet servants (The Handmaid's Tale), there's something for everyone! The festival features fifteen screenings which, as usual, will be interspersed with meetings, debates and cocktails.
For the first time, the festival also has something for younger audiences with two sessions for families: Lucas etc. in the presence of the whole team. A school screening will broach the theme of juvenile delinquency with 5vor12 (Five2Twelve!) supervised by a mediator
The Art of storytelling will be at the heart of professional encounters with a few innovations: a festival dedicated to the Web series - Are you Web fest? - will include an international competition and a grand prize. And for the first time pitching sessions will be organised in the form of a PechaKucha, to allow Belgian project leaders (scriptwriters, producers, directors) to experience the pitching exercise in front of a panel of Belgian and international professionals.
Finally, this anniversary edition will be the opportunity to do a statistical review of five years of series production in Belgium: key figures of the production, funding and international sales; the impact of the sector on the Belgian economy and the financial results of the success of Belgian series abroad; North/South comparison. We will closely examine the challenges and future perspectives in the presence of ministers Alda Greoli and Sven Gatz and Belgian producers and broadcasters.
Opening night - « The Same Sky » Thursday 14.12 - 20:00
East Berlin, 1974. Lars Weber is a secret agent who has been tasked with seducing a woman from East Germany who has access to sensitive dossiers. A political-romantic thriller, The Same Sky is a mini-series written by Paula Milne (The Politician's Wife) and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, known for Diana, Downfall and The Experiment. (Germany, 2017)
Episodes 1 and 2 
(c) Zentropa « The Kingdom », Lars Von Trier's cult horror series, screening of the entire first series Friday 15.12 - 20:00
The action takes place in Copenhagen in the city hospital built on former marshes, home to numerous legends. Ghosts, violent deaths, strange groans coming from the walls: the Gates of the Kingdom have opened onto a mysterious world, and no other living creature has realised yet... (Danemark, 1994) Episodes 1 to 4, i.e. the entire first series
Exclusive avant-premiere of «Paris etc.», by Zabou Breitman Screening in presence of the director. Saturday 16.12 - 20:00
Five everyday heroines crossing Paris, from the start of the school year till the Christmas holidays. Based on an original idea from Maïwenn, PARIS ETC was co-written and directed by Zabou Breitman who is taking her first steps in TV series surrounded by a dream cast and music composed by Benjamin Biolay. (France, 2017) Episodes 1 and 2.
Written and directed by Zabou Breitman, starring Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and Anaïs Demoustier. In cooperation with Be tv.
« THE DEUCE » by David Simon Sunday 17.12 - 15:00
David Simon (The Wire) delves into the New York porn industry of the end of the 1970s. A tender yet UNCOMPROMISING painting of the Big Apple through its smoky bars and dark streets, THE DEUCE offers colourful roles to James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal. (USA, 2017). Episodes 1 & 2.
« Guerrilla » by John Ridley Sunday 17.12 - 17:00
Two politically engaged lovers fight against injustice, and are irrevocably driven underground... Guerrilla is a John Ridley creation (Oscar winning screenplay for 12 Years a Slave) who wrote and created the series in which Freida Pinto, Babou Ceesay and Idris Elba have the lead roles. (USA/UK, 2017) Episodes 1 and 2.
Screening followed by debate about the fight against racism. 
« The Bridge 4 » by Hans Rosenfeldt In the presence of the main actors Sofia Helin and Thure Lindhardt Sunday 17.12 - 20:00
This last season Henrik and Saga both suffer on a personal level, their special friendship is put to difficult tests and once again events from the past will make themselves felt and by the end of the season nothing is the same anymore for either Saga or Henrik...(Denmark/Sweden, 2018). (Episodes 1 and 2)
Exclusive avant-premiere of «Salamander - Blood Diamonds» In the presence of the cast Monday 18.12 - 20:00
In this new season of Salamander, Inspector Paul Gerardi enquires about the death of a political refugee in Brussels and finds himself caught up in the clandestine trade of African diamonds. As those in charge belong to the political and economic elite of our country, the enquiry takes on immense proportions. (Episodes 1 and 2) In cooperation with één, De Mensen and Skyline Entertainement.
Closing night - « The Handmaid's Tale » by Bruce Miller Tuesday 19.12 - 20:00
Discover a totalitarian society in which women are either Wives, who rule the home, Marthas, who take care of it, or Housemaids, destined for reproduction. The Handmaid's Tale won five Emmy Awards including best actress for Elizabeth Moss. (USA, 2017) Episodes 1 and 2. In cooperation with Proximus TV.
The festival runs Thursday 14.12 through Tuesday 19.12.2017 at Palais des Beaux-Arts, Salle M & Studio, Rue Ravenstein 23 - 1000 Bruxelles. The screenings of the series are free.
The meetings with professionals are accessible to everyone, provided that you bought a PASS: Pass €15/ €10 (students, job seekers, OAPs, members of partner organisations of the festival). The pass provides access to all professional meetings.
For BOZAR information and tickets, contact: +32 (0)2 507 82 00- info@bozar.be - www.bozar.be/areyouseries.
Videos
