The festival helped revitalise the Flagey quarter. But artistically it didn’t fare well because its DNA wasn’t viable: there just aren’t enough good first and second films by European directors to establish an entire festival.

Moreover, the Brussels European Film Festival missed the most influential and highly praised European debuts or second films of the past years: The Lives of Others by German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Romanian Cristian Mungiu’s Golden Palm winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. This 2010 edition sees the advent of a new festival director, Ivan Corbisier, who broadened the event’s spectrum. Every new European film now is eligible for the festival.

Of course, backbiters moan that the new team was mainly hoping to lure more stars and starlets to Brussels, but the list of festival guests proves them wrong. Surely, when gracing the red carpet, Danyael Sugawara, Claudio Casadio and Julie Anson won’t be thronged by fans.

The most interesting names in the new competition are Finland’s Mika Kaurismäki (not to be confused with his famous brother Aki) and the Hungarian director György Pálfi, whose new film I’m Not Your Friend, sadly and surprisingly, has not been successful.

Yet, the Brussels European Film Festival hasn’t renounced its mission to discover new directors: the Panorama section presents upcoming talents. The Europe of Genres section, in the meantime, groups a few thrillers and comedies – the kind of films the organiser doesn’t feel suitable for the main sections, but, on the other hand, still wants to include in the festival. Hello Sundance is another new section – albeit small. Just two American indie films this year.

But the most popular part of the festival will remain the free open-air screenings, introduced in 2006 to boost attendance. It programs popular recent European cinema like Belgian films Les Barons and De helaasheid der dingen (The Misfortunates) and British director Richard Curtis’ Good Morning England.

The festival also presents short films, photo exhibitions, a film quiz and, this looks highly interesting, a master class by Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael, who will also present the director’s cut of his latest, underrated picture Mr Nobody.

Opening duties go to Tournée by French actor-director Mathieu Amalric. The film won, to everyone’s surprise, the best directing award in Cannes. I must admit, this time the backbiters might be right. The film features four buxom dancers, and, as we remember from Cannes, they’re willing to show off their assets. So, there might be a memorable moment on the red carpet, after all.

23-30 June
Flagey
Heilig Kruisplein
Brussels
www.fffb.be