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Exclusive: Ensor will see the Oscar-nominated director return to Europe, while his Sundance film Belgica has had its poster banned.

Belgica director Felix van Groeningen is working on a new feature that centres on the chaotic collaboration between a theatre company and a circus troupe.

The film, based on a play by the filmmaker’s regular co-writer Arne Sierens, is titled Ensor and is billed as a Fellini-esque drama.

The Belgian filmmaker will again work with producer Dirk Impens, who worked with Van Groeningen on Sundance title Belgica and Oscar-nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown.

It will also see him return to Europe after his first Us project, Beautiful Boy, which he is making for New Regency and Plan B.

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Belgica, about two brothers who start a bar and get swept up in its success in the midst of Belgium’s nightlife scene, is being sold at Efm by The Match Factory.

A row has...

Bar None: Van Groeningen Returns to Musical Inclinations for Vibrant Sibling Portrait

Belgian auteur Felix Van Groeningen, the front runner of the Belgian New Wave, returns with his fifth feature, Belgica, a portrait of two estranged brothers reuniting to open a successful night club, an experience forcing them to reexamine both their shortcomings and sometimes toxic enabling of each other’s worst tendencies. The film follows a career high for Van Groeningen, who scored an international breakout with 2013’s The Broken Circle Breakdown, another musically inclined drama which netted him an Oscar nod for Best Foreign Language Film. Though his latest still includes unpredictable emotional highs and lows within a familiar set of family and friends, his latest is more sobering by comparison. With a killer soundtrack this is a well-proportioned character piece for its two leads, requiring a bit of patience for the film’s rather lofty running time...

Belgica

Director: Felix van Groeningen

Writers: Felix van Groeningen, Arne Sierens

Belgian director Felix van Groeningen has received numerous critical applause over the past decade, beginning with his 2004 debut Steve+Sky. 2009’s The Misfortunates received an award out of the Directors’ Fortnight, while he received considerable international success with 2012’s The Broken Circle Breakdown, which picked up awards at Berlin, Tribeca and nabbed a Cesar for Best Foreign Language Film. He’s been working on his fifth title, Belgica, since 2014, a story about two brothers who open a bar in Belgium and get swept up in the city’s nightlife.

Cast: Stef Aerts, Tom Vermeir, Stefaan De Winter, Charlotte Vandermeersch

Production Co./Producers: Menuet’s Dirk Impens, Pyramide Productions, Topkapi Films

U.S. Distributor: Rights available Tbd (domestic/international).

Release Date: Belgica will be competing in the World Dramatic category in January at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Film institute has released the line-up of film for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Going to Sundance is one of my favorite events of the year. I love going because you never know what kind of movies you're going to see. Sometimes they are great films that amaze and entertain, other times they completely suck ass, but that's all part of the fun of going to the festival. It's an awesome experience for any hardcore movie geek, and if you ever get a chance to go, you need to.

The event takes place in Park City, Utah next year from January 21st to the 31st. It looks like there's a great line-up of movies at next year's event. My favorite portion of the event is the Midnight section because it deals more with geeky genre type movies, but I also enjoy the various sections of other line-ups.

Some of...

In last year’s section which included Ariel Kleiman’s Partisan and Anne Sewitsky’s Homesick, it was John Maclean’s debut Slow West claimed the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Alanté Kavaïté’s The Summer of Sangailé landed the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic, Umrika was the audience’s won the Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic. In this year’s dozen offerings we have names we normally associate with Cannes in The Misfortunates‘ Felix van Groeningen (Belgica), The Other Side of Sleep‘s Rebecca Daly (Mammal – see pic above) and A Stray Girlfriend‘s Ana Katz (Mi Amiga del Parque). Here are the selections.

Belgica / Belgium, France, Netherlands (Director: Felix van Groeningen, Screenwriters: Felix van Groeningen, Arne Sierens) — In the midst of Belgium’s nightlife scene, two brothers start a bar and get swept up in its success.Cast: Stef Aerts, Tom Vermeir, Charlotte Vandermeersch, Hélène De Vos. World Premiere.

Read More: Interview: Felix van Groeningen on 'The Broken Circle Breakdown' The creative minds behind the "The Misfortunates" and "The Broken Circle Breakdown" are back in the new trailer for "Belgica." Directed by Felix van Groeningen, the film tells the story of two brothers as they maintaining relationships with the women in their lives and between themselves, all while navigating the debauchery-ridden rock 'n' roll antics of the Dutch nightlife scene. Tom Vermeir and Steph Aerts star. The drama was written by Arne Sierens and Felix van Groeningen himself, while the role that Tom Vermeir plays was originally cast for Matthias Schoenaerts. The trailer above shows off the actors' impressive emotional range and the director's powerhouse work behind the camera.  "Belgica" will hit theaters on March 2, 2016. Watch the trailer above. Read More: Q&A: Director Felix van Groeningen Talks Oscar Nominated 'Broken Circle...

Belgica

Directors: Felix van Groeningen // Writers: Arne Sierens, Felix van Groeningen

Belgian director Felix van Groeningen’s last film, The Broken Circle Breakdown, which played at Berlin, received notable critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the best foreign language film at the Academy Awards. He reteams with Aren Sierens, the scribe of his sophomore feature With Friends Like These (2007) for his latest, Belgica. As usual, Groeningen mines his own family’s experiences for inspiration in this tale which follows the story of two brothers who, even though they have absolutely nothing in common, open a bar together that quickly becomes a regular hangout for nighthawks. Despite this success, the two brothers must soon face up to the difficulties inherent in running a family business. Their brotherhood turns into rivalry, through no fault of their own.

Cast: Titus De Voogdt, Johan Heldenbergh, Sam Louwyck

Producers: Menuet’s Dirk Impens, Pyramide Productions,...

Rising star leaves new project from Felix van Groeningen, director of The Broken Circle Breakdown.

Matthias Schoenaerts has left upcoming feature Belgica, according to production company Menuet.

The Belgian star of Bullhead and Rust and Bone was set to play the main role in the latest film from Felix van Groeningen, director of Oscar-nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown.

Schoenaerts has chosen to devote his attention to an upcoming Us project at this time, said a statement from Ghent-based Menuet.

A replacement will be announced ahead of the shoot, which will begin on December 1 in Ghent.

Schoenaerts will be next seen alongside Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and the late James Gandolfini in The Drop, from Bullhead director Michaël R. Roskam.

He will also star in Alan Rickman’s A Little Chaos, which will close the Toronto film festival in September; romantic war drama Suite Francaise; and novel adaptation Far from the Madding Crowd, directed by [link...

When I asked writer-director Felix van Groeningen what he would do after the Oscar-nominated "Broken Circle Breakdown," he insisted he's stick close to home. And so he has. His next project is drama "Belgica" with Belgium's hottest star, Cesar-winner Matthias Schoenaerts ("Rust and Bone") opposite Stef Aerts ("Oxygen"). Belgica, Groeningen’s fifth feature film, is a family drama set in the midst of Belgium’s nightlife scene. Two brothers who open up a successful bar get swept up in its early success. Groeningen wrote the script with his "With Friends Like These" co-writer Arne Sierens. Groeningen will reteam with a number of his collaborators from "The Broken Circle Breakdown." Menuet returns as producer in coproduction with Topkapi and Pyramide Productions, along with longtime producer Dirk Impens, director of photography Ruben Impens, and editor Nico Leunen. Principal photography will begin this Fall in Belgium. "The Broken Circle...