Seasons focused on Bas Devos.
All the films by Bas Devos (Brussels, 1983) have special credits. First, we see a film by and then, a bunch of names appear of the people that have been part of the film's creation. The spectator sees a screen full of names and surnames that makes the collectiveness of the film creation process visible. Gradually, next to the names, the rolls of each one appear. The director is aware that the responsibility for the film is his own but, at the same time, he has always wanted to thank the work of the group in order to make it possible.
Another characteristic of Bas Devos' films is the balance between the stories he tells and the importance he gives to cinematographic language. To time and to space. He has the ability to generate images and sounds that stay with us. Bas Devos has so far made four feature films: Violet (2014), Hellhole (2019), Ghost Tropic (2019) and Here (2023). The latter won the Encounters section at the Berlinale and was in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section at the last San Sebastian Festival.
The influence of the city of Brussels can be felt in all of Bas Devos' films. Perhaps above all in Hellhole, where we could consider the city as the protagonist of the film. But also in Ghost Tropic where the main character, a Muslim woman called Khadija, falls asleep in the metro after a day's work and has to walk back home at night through the city. But the presence of Brussels goes beyond being a cinematic setting. It also has to do with the presence of immigrants in Bas Devos' films. To mention one, in his latest film, Here, the main character is Stefan, a Romanian boy who lives in Brussels and works on the construction site. Stefan is going back home but before leaving he cooks a soup with the leftovers and shares it with the people he loves. On his way he meets ShuXiu, a Chinese-Belgian girl who specialises in moss. The biologist's attention to something practically invisible will fascinate Stefan, and Bas Devos will make the audience as fascinated as the character and turn the cinema into a place where time stands still in the dark.
January 13, Saturday, 19:00
Violet, Bas Devos, Belgium, Netherlands, 2014, 85’
January 27, Saturday, 19:00
Hellhole, Bas Devos, Belgium, Netherlands, 2019, 87’
February 1, Thursday, 19:00
Ghost tropic, Bas Devos, Belgium, Netherlands, 2019, 85’
February 24, Saturday, 19:00
Here, Bas Devos, Belgium, 2023, 82’
