What should you see at the ninth Brussels International Film Festival?

BRIFF divides its competitive selection into an International Competition, a National Competition and Directors’ Week. The festival describes the first as a collection of international titles receiving Belgian premieres. The National Competition surveys current Belgian filmmaking, while Directors’ Week concentrates on emerging European directors.

That structure offers a useful way into a large timetable. Viewers looking for new Belgian work can begin with such titles as Radio Bonheur by Valery Rosier, Gregor by Manu Gomez, Du soleil et du plomb by Jérôme Le Maire and La Bucolie by Tom Boccara and Wided Ouassale. The programme also includes Belgian or Belgian-linked productions such as Kwibuka, se souvenir, Frontera and The Silent Treatment.

International choices range from Abdallah Alkhatib’s Chronicles from the Siege to Visar Morina’s Shame and Money and André Novais Oliveira’s If I Were Alive. Directors’ Week includes films such as Petty Thieves, Home Stories and The Incomer. These are not merely parallel lists: together they reflect the festival’s attempt to connect established national cinema, international discovery and younger European voices within one city-centre event.

Outside the competitions, BRIFF is programming retrospectives, special screenings, family activities, masterclasses and professional meetings. Its heritage strand includes films by women who have influenced cinema history, with Sarah Maldoror’s Sambizanga and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s Persepolis among the scheduled works. Visit Brussels, the regional tourism portal, also highlights youth workshops and industry events alongside the public screenings.

Two free open-air screenings are planned at the Mont des Arts

Place

Mont des Arts

The central Brussels public space hosting free open-air screenings on 6 and 8 September.

Why it matters

The central Brussels public space hosting free open-air screenings on 6 and 8 September.

About

The Mont des Arts or Kunstberg, meaning "Hill/Mount of the Arts", is an urban complex and historic site in central Brussels, Belgium, including the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), the National Archives of Belgium, Square – Brussels Convention Centre, and a public garden designed by the landscape architect René Pechère.

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The BRIFF Village at Place De Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein will serve as the social and practical hub, with a freely accessible terrace, concerts and meetings. It is also where pass-holders must collect their wristbands. The three principal cinemas are within walking distance of one another in the City of Brussels commune, officially Ville de Bruxelles in French and Stad Brussel in Dutch, making it realistic to combine screenings without travelling between distant municipalities.

As published on 25 August, the standard pass costs €47 and covers regular screenings on a first-arrived, first-seated basis, excluding the opening and closing ceremonies. BRIFF says that price rises to €55 from 1 September. The Premium Pass is €60, rising to €70 from 1 September, and includes the two ceremonies subject to reservation. Because admission with a standard pass is capacity-dependent, the festival asks holders to arrive at least 15 minutes before a screening.

Online buyers receive a voucher or QR-coded ticket, but the digital document is not necessarily the final admission credential. According to BRIFF’s ticket guidance, pass buyers must show their voucher and identification at the information stand in the Village and collect a wristband. Individual tickets are available through the festival or participating cinemas. Bancontact, Visa and Mastercard are accepted through the festival’s online ticket shop.

Language is the main practical consideration for expatriates. BRIFF publishes its public information in French, Dutch and English, but film listings use compact labels: VO means original version, VF means French version, while FR or EN identifies a language. A VO label alone should not be read as a guarantee of English subtitles. Open the individual film page and confirm the spoken language and subtitles; if that information is incomplete, contact [email protected] before booking. The same French and Dutch place names may also appear interchangeably in journey planners: Place De Brouckère is De Brouckèreplein, and Mont des Arts is Kunstberg.

BRIFF is fundamentally a film event rather than a tourism campaign, but its geography matters. By concentrating commercial, arthouse and outdoor screenings around De Brouckère, the Galeries district and the Mont des Arts, it turns the centre into a compact festival campus. The City of Brussels’ official event listing confirms the three partner cinemas and describes a programme of premieres, Belgian and international films, retrospectives, masterclasses and two open-air screenings.

The broader significance lies in the balance between public access and professional circulation. Competitions and premieres help films find distributors and audiences, while free screenings and family activities reduce the threshold for people who may not normally attend a festival. At the same time, a €47 pass is best value only for someone expecting to attend several films, and it does not guarantee a seat. Occasional visitors should compare the pass with individual tickets rather than assuming the festival bundle is automatically cheaper.

The next milestones are the opening on 4 September, the two Mont des Arts screenings and the closing awards on 12 September. Guests, room assignments or practical arrangements can still change, so the live schedule—not a saved social-media post—should be treated as authoritative. For an international Brussels audience, the most useful plan is simple: choose a competition or theme, verify subtitles, map the bilingual venue name and arrive early.