The number of complaints of abuse of elderly people in Brussels is on the rise, with 42 logged since the Dutch-speaking phone line was set up in February. That represents an annual figure of 200 in the capital, compared to a total in 2007 for the whole of Flanders of 516. Most complaints come from old people in retirement homes who report to the anonymous line rather than risk reprisals by complaining to staff, the organisers said. Report line: 02.511.91.20, Monday and Wednesday from 9.00 to 12.30.

An actress and a priest have been voted Brussels Citizens of the Year by a committee set up to promote and defend Brussels dialect. Father Dirk Vannetelbosch organises a dialect service every year in the St Peter church in Jette, as well as conversation tables in Koekelberg. Gaby Geysens, born in Limburg, now lives and works in the city, where she plays regular roles in the Brussels Volkstejoêter (People’s Theatre).

Three Flemish films have been selected for the Cannes Film Festival which starts on 13 May. De helaasheid der dingen (known in English as The Misfortunates) by Felix Van Groeningen is based on the novel by Dimitri Verhulst and will screen during the Directors’ Fortnight. Altiplano by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, and Lost Persons Area by Caroline Strubbe are both part of Critics’ Week, which received 900 applications this year, of which only seven were chosen – two of them Flemish.

Last year was a record year for Flemish films, with total audiences of almost two million, or a market share of 10% nationwide and 15-20% within Flanders. The main attraction was Loft by Erik Van Looy, which sold over 900,000 tickets in 2008 and is still going strong. The most financially successful film of the year, including international sales, was the 3D animation Fly Me to the Moon, which made €32 million.

The Flemish Chiro youth movement last week celebrated its 75th anniversary in the presence of some distinguished former members, including Flanders’ minister-president Kris Peeters. The movement was originally Christian but in recent years has become more secular, and now has a membership of around 96,000. During a festive breakfast last Sunday, 400,000 pistolékes were served to members seated at tables measuring 75 kilometres in total. Other former members include singer Luc De Vos, actress An Swartenbroekx, comedian Urbanus and sex-educator Goedele Liekens.

The Catholic University of Leuven has run into trouble with its campaign to stamp out plagiarism by students. The campaign’s logo, P-Man, shows a superhero figure in tights and cape, with the letter P on his chest. But a problem has arisen because the letter P looks strikingly like the logo of P Magazine, whose editor said: “We had expected a bit more tact from P-Man”. The magazine does not envisage legal action. “We’re convinced that, with the help of P-Man, this little problem can be sorted out in a friendly manner,” said editor-in-chief Michael Lescroart.

The city of Aalst will digitise 71,000 pages of newspapers dating from the period of the 19th-century labour activist and priest Adolf Daens. The papers, some 80 different titles, date from as early as 1836. The project will make the archive more accessible by putting it online and will also help protect some documents from deterioration.

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