Brussels, a City Caught on Film

CINEMATEK compiled a DVD with 21 short films about Brussels. The earliest film dates from 1897, shot by cameraman Alexandre Promio and commissioned by the brothers Lumière. The other 20 rare films reconstruct the story of a city going through rapid change in the 20th century. Texts by Roel Jacobs (historical consultant at VisitBrussels) and Peter Van Goethem (doctoral researcher at RITS) guide the viewer through time and space. The DVD also includes the wonderful film Dimanche (1963) by Edmond Bernhard. “Dimanche was supposed to be a didactic film, intended to evoke the problem of leisure. Bernhard diverts the order and outwits the trap of the ‘thematic’ film. Without resorting to any form of commentary, making use of extraordinary images sublimating common spaces (the boredom of Sundays, the changing of the guard, children playing, a runner in the woods, a football match...), he constructs with a nifty montage an exceptional work dealing with the sense of void and the fossilisation of the world.” (Boris Lehman).

You can find more info on the website of CINEMATEK.