The nominations for the fifth annual ‘Magritte du Cinéma’ film awards were announced during a well-attended press conference at the BNP Paribas Fortis offices on 7 January.
Around twenty awards will be presented at a ceremony due to take place on 7 February at the Brussels Meeting Centre, the ‘Square’, at which two Belgian actors will be officiating. François Damiens will act as host for this prestigious event, while Charlie Dupont will serve as Master of Ceremonies. At the event, an honorary ‘Magritte’ will moreover be awarded to the French actor Pierre Richard.
This year’s ‘Magrittes’ feature two new aspects. Firstly, all Dutch-speaking productions are now able to compete without any restrictions, whereas in previous years only Flemish films made as co-productions with French production companies were eligible for the various awards.
Secondly, the UGC De Brouckère cinema in Brussels will show the ceremony live on the big screen. In partnership with Cinevox – the showcase of Belgian cinema – this transmission of the ceremony will be followed by a sneak-preview screening of the Belgian film Tous les chats sont gris (la nuit) (‘At night all cats are grey’). As in previous years the ceremony will be shown live on digital cable television platform Be tv from 7.45pm onwards. Film-lovers will thus be able to share all the emotion and fun of the ceremony with the professionals of the film world.
Click here to see the list of contenders for the 2015 ‘Magritte du Cinéma’ awards. The nominations include two pictures – La Marche (‘The March’) and Les Rayures du Zèbre (‘The Zebra’s Stripes’) – which received the support of BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance.
The nominations for the awards were determined by an open ballot on the Internet. The final decisions will be taken by a jury made up of members of the André Delvaux Academy, which numbers 800 people working in the Belgian film industry.
Every year the ‘Magritte du Cinéma’ awards showcase the best of the Belgian film industry, underlining the diversity and vitality of film production in this country. The video associated to this article presents the highlights of the 2014 awards ceremony.
Sponsoring and financing the film industry
BNP Paribas Fortis supports a wide range of initiatives in the field of film and film-making: the ‘Magritte du Cinéma’, its Dutch-language counterpart the ‘Ensor’ Awards, the Ostend Film Festival, the Anima Festival of animated movies and cartoons, the Be Film Festival, the International Festival of French-speaking Film in Namur, the CINEMATEK film archives and the Cinevox online platform. In addition, every year in September, the BNP Paribas Fortis Film Days offer all comers the chance of four days of cinema-going for only €4 per screening.
Our sponsorship policy is given further impetus by BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance, which provides backing for a variety of film and television productions in Belgium. Since BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance was set up in 2008, the unit has financed over 120 productions (films, TV series and documentaries for the big screen), attracted more than 1,000 investors and invested some €165 million on behalf of third parties. Click here for more information on BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance.