Ft 15 09 09 lowres by Ads & Data Brand Studio

#396 Erkenningsnummer P708816

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 \ nEwSwEEkly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.Eu currEnt affairs \ P2

Politics \ P4

“Welcome refugees”

As citizens in Brussels donate to arriving asylum seekers, Belgium pledges €30 million for refugee camps abroad \4

BusinEss \ P6

innovation \ P7

Education \ P9

Behind closed doors

flemish flash

Ostend rolls out the red carpet for its annual film festival, featuring the Ensor Awards and loads of new local cinema \ 14

Open Monument Day lets visitors poke their noses into ancient industries and lonely old villas \ 10

An arduous journey

art & living \ P10

wim vandekeybus releases long-awaited feature film galloping mind Bjorn gabriels More articles by Bjorn \ flanderstoday.eu

After 10 years and three continents, choreographer, photographer and filmmaker Wim Vandekeybus’ feature film Galloping Mind is finally running free. It’s a debut, of sorts. And a love letter to family life, of sorts.

s a young lad with no specific training, Wim Vandekeybus successfully auditioned for Jan Fabre’s The Power of Theatrical Madness in the mid-1980s. Only a year later, Vandekeybus founded his own dance company, Ultima Vez. His first production, What the Body Does Not Remember, immediately made waves internationally and paved the way for an ambulant career, with its roots on show in his studio in the Brussels district of Molenbeek. In the almost 30 years since founding Ultima Vez (there’s a celebration next year), video and film have been an inte-

gral part of Vandekeybus’ constant search to shape and reshape the language of dance. The 50-minute film Blush (2005), based on the eponymous performance, was heralded as an inventive dance film, and for his 2011 production Monkey Sandwich, Vandekeybus created a feature-length narrative film (selected for the Venice film festival) to go with the live single-actor performance. He has also made stand-alone short films not directly related to his dance productions. And now there is Galloping Mind, his long-awaited feature film, which is released in cinemas this week. To say that it has been a rocky road from idea to finish would be a gross understatement. A full decade ago, Vandekeybus pitched the film as a story about a father who loses sight of his child, born to his mistress. But he gets back in touch with the boy through an accident.

This simple description wasn’t the only idea zinging around in the choreographer’s head. But even after a decade of production woes, travels and a continuous creative output in different artistic disciplines, the core of the story is still there. Though it has germinated, so to speak. Galloping Mind is the story of twins – a boy, Panscó, and a girl, Rása – who are separated at birth. They don’t know of each other’s existence and grow up under entirely different circumstances, both fatherless, or so they believe. In a dramatic event that includes their parents, the twins cross paths again, never, they say, to be separated. “The toughest love stories are the most interesting ones, and without unexpected events, fate becomes really boring,” says Vandekeybus. In Galloping Mind, some of those unexpected turns of events involve horses. “My father was a veterinarian and continued on page 5

\ CURREnT AFFAIRS

Flemish ministers join 19,000 at annual Gordel Festival municipalities in the ring around Brussels host cycling, walking, music event alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

lemish ministers Ben Weyts and Philippe Muyters were in Huizingen at the weekend, complete with racing bikes and Lycra gear, to signal the start of this year’s Gordel Festival. The event featuring sport and music takes place every year in the Flemish periphery around Brussels, known as de rand. Almost 19,000 people took part in the event on Sunday. The Gordel, launched three decades ago to recognised the

cities ringing Brussels as being part of Flanders, has expanded over the last few years from a walking and cycling event to one featuring all kinds of activities and concerts. “The emphasis of the new Gordel Festival is on renewal and broadening out to become more of a family event,” said sports minister Muyters (pictured, right). “In addition to its green character, we’re also bringing a political message to the periphery: de rand

is more Flemish than ever.” “The green character is at risk of disappearing because of unstoppable urbanisation,” said Weyts. “And young people are finding it harder to stay in their own area thanks to the rise in land prices.” Weyts, the minister in charge of both de rand and tourism, had earlier in the day been confronted by members of far-right party Vlaams Belang, demonstrating at Huizingen’s provincial park

against the increasing numbers of French speakers moving into the area’s municipalities. “You’d do better to put on a pair of shorts and cycle with us,” Weyts told the demonstrators. The event attracted 18,900 people, compared to the 23,000 recorded last year. The public took part in cycling, hiking and horseback riding, as well as sports and other activities

Huis van het Nederlands expands in Brussels

Yessie, the last tiger at Antwerp Zoo, dies

Flemish minister of Brussels Sven Gatz has inaugurated the expanded Huis van het Nederlands (House of Dutch) in Brussels, where 10 classrooms have been added to the existing 16. The €1.8 million expansion was necessary to cope with the growing demand for Dutch language lessons. In 2014, a record 16,675 people visited the centre, most of them in their 20s. Two out of three visitors were unemployed; 40% were Belgian, 9% Moroccan and 5% French. According to Gatz, most students are interested in the lessons to become more social and improve their job oppor-

Antwerp Zoo last week reported the death of Yessie, its last Siberian tiger, and the second death of a big cat this year. She had been lethargic for several days and eating little. “Her condition deteriorated quickly, and it was decided not to let her suffer any longer,” a spokesperson for the zoo said. “Vet Francis put her quietly to sleep. Yessie was an older lady full of life, and we shall miss her.” Yessie (pictured), born in the zoo, was 17 years old, a relatively advanced age for a Siberian tiger, which tend to live longer in captivity than in the wild. Just last July, the zoo lost Kharlan, a male Siberian tiger, aged 16.

tunities. “The trend is also in line with the increasing success of Dutch-language primary and secondary education in Brussels,” he said. The expanded centre will try to offer visitors more information about opportunities to practise Dutch. “Students still complain that they can learn Dutch but don’t get enough chances to speak it because people often switch to English or French,” said Gatz. “With focused projects, the House of Dutch will try to solve that issue.” \ Andy Furniere

Yessie’s death leaves the tiger enclosure empty. There are no plans to replace her just yet: The zoo plans to build an entirely new enclosure for its future tigers. \ AH

End in sight for Schuman station works after eight years There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak: Works on the Schuman metro and railway station in Brussels, as well as the new Schuman-Josaphat tunnel under the European quarter are due to be complete in December, after nearly eight years of chaos for transport users, traffic and local residents. The new tunnel will open on 13 December, linking Schuman station and the HalleVilvoorde line 26. That gives Schuman a direct link to Brussels Airport, as well as to Antwerp, Leuven, Liège and Mechelen. The region and the federal government hope the new links – only 13 minutes by train to the airport – will convince more people to

157.6

use public transport to travel to and from the European quarter, as well as taking some of the strain off the North-South link in central Brussels.

21 3 , 1 33

The challenges of the project were enormous. The Wetstraat tunnel for cars had to be raised to make way for the 1.25km-long Schuman-Josaphat rail tunnel, which also burrowed under EU buildings and homes in the area. “The works faced various challenges, such as digging a tunnel under the listed Art Deco Residence Palace, as well as the placing of 160-tonne pillars to support the new tunnel above the metro lines,” said Delphine Cauchie, project manager for Beliris, which oversaw the project. More than 80,000 cubic metres of concrete was used to build the tunnel, Beliris said, and the earth moved by trucks using the

E40 tunnel was enough to fill 100 Olympicsized swimming pools. The station now sports new platforms, concessions, natural light, 21 escalators and 18 lifts. Above ground, however, the traffic remains: a plan to turn Schumanplein into a car-free plaza was dropped. The total cost of the works was €365 million, with an additional €266 million spent on doubling the railway tracks between Schuman and Watermaal station. The rail infrastructure authority Infrabel paid the lion’s share – more than half a billion euros – with the NMBS, Beliris and public transport authority MIVB also contributing. \ AH

3% 10

millimetres of rain in the summer this year, compared to a normal level of 225mm, making the summer “abnormally dry” according to the Royal Meteorological Institute

electricity clients in Flanders have changed suppliers so far this year, nearly 10% of customers. About 11.4% of gas customers also switched suppliers

fewer fatalities on the roads of Flanders in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2014. The number of injuries was also down, by 7.8%

prisoners in Belgian jails on 1 September, 7% more than the 10,108 places available, the lowest level of overcrowding ever. There are extra places but also a focus on alternative punishments

new classrooms for Het Huis van het Nederlands (House of Dutch) in Brussels, which organises courses in Dutch as a second language, to meet demand

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

WeeK in Brief The board of the rail authority NMBS has given the green light to the long-awaited renovation of Vilvoorde station, the city’s mayor, Hans Bonte, has announced. Bonte had threatened legal action if the works were not soon scheduled. “We couldn’t wait, largely because of the safety aspect,” an NMBS spokesperson said. About 500 people attended the funeral of gang boss Silvio Aquino, who was recently shot dead in Opglabbeek, Limburg. Police are conducting permanent surveillance on the home of a magistrate linked to the drugs trial against the Aquino family, which was supposed to resume in Hasselt this week. In related news, a man found dead in Roermond in Dutch Limburg on the same day as the Aquino killing has been identified as a 22-yearold Italian national, who has a criminal record in France and Germany. The man is believed to have been involved with three others in the Aquino killing and may have been hit by a stray bullet. Federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon is preparing legislation to allow the gathering and storing of all data related to international travel, including rail. The storage of data on air travel is being considered by the EU, but Jambon wants to extend the scheme after the thwarted attack on a Thalys train from Brussels to Paris last month. Emir Kir, mayor of Sint-Joost in Brussels, plans to impose a limit on opening hours in the redlight district in his commune, including in the notorious Aarschotstraat behind North Station. Prostitutes soliciting from shop windows would have to close between 23.00 and 7.00, as well as on Sunday. Tougher rules introduced two years ago have done

face of flanders nothing to reduce related problems, including human trafficking and drug-dealing, Kir said. Opponents said the income lost due to such a closure would lead to sub-contracting and a decline in hygiene and safety. The Schaarbeek commune in Brussels has opened a “Love Room” to allow homeless couples to spend time together in safety and in private. The room is a project of Corvia, a non-profit that has also organised the Miss Homeless competition and the open fridge. The building housing the room also has a doctor’s office, an open fridge and wardrobe, toilets and showers. Belgium’s first official Apple Store will open on 19 September on Guldenvlieslaan, next door to Marks & Spencer, according to an announcement posted on the fence enclosing the site. The arrival of Apple has been the subject of rumours in the press and on social media for months. A fire that destroyed a Lotus Bakery waffle factory in Wolvertem, Flemish Brabant, last June could also threaten 71 jobs, as the owner has decided not to rebuild the plant. The company intends to shift production to another plant in Wallonia, while jobs could be found for the 66 workers and five executives in other factories. Brussels’ official taxi sector has threatened to bring the city to a standstill on Wednesday, 16 September, if the alternative taxi service Uber is not banned by that date. The taxi associations claim Uber is fraudulent and unfair competition. Uber was declared illegal when it first appeared last year but continues to operate in the city. In related news, Uber has announced the arrival of Uber X, which uses professional drivers who the company promises will

offside studio 100’s simpler times Starting this week, children’s broadcaster Ketnet is re-showing the very first episodes of Samson & Gert, dating from 1990, to mark the 25th anniversary of the show that introduced Studio 100 to the world. It was Samson & Gert that took Gert Verhulst from a jack-ofall-trades TV host to global entertainment mogul. In the show, Gert lives with his Old English sheepdog Samson, their home frequented daily by the mayor, hairdresser Albert Vermeersch (who insists his name is Alberto Vermicelli), shopkeeper Mevrouw Jeannine and her son Octaaf. The comedy is derived

from their personal foibles (the mayor is an airhead, Alberto is outrageously camp) and Samson’s malapropisms. Thin stuff, but enough to keep the series going for 15 years and to launch Studio 100, which went on to produce dozens of other programmes as well as branching

meet all legal requirements. Brussels mobility minister Pascal Smet said his office would examine the legality of the new service. Police in Antwerp have introduced a Rapid Response Team of three highly trained and heavily armed officers on patrol 24 hours a day to respond to serious incidents involving armed criminals or terrorists. The teams will provide immediate support to the Special Intervention Squad, which does not patrol routinely and cannot be on the scene as quickly. The teams will be in unmarked vehicles, armed with automatic weapons, ballistic helmets and bulletproof vests, as well as non-lethal weapons. Animal rights organisation Gaia has come out against the annual Waregem Koerse horse race in West Flanders, citing a lack of welfare and safety for the horses. The organisation was speaking after a five-year-old French filly fell at the last fence in last week’s event, sustaining a leg injury that led to her being euthanised. The Dutch-owned retail chain Action has been criticised for making 12 applicants for jobs in a new store in Hasselt work for free in the Genk branch for two weeks as part of a “training programme”, after which only eight were offered a contract. Belgian law requires employers to pay staff, including for trial periods. The company said it had “made a mistake”. All 12 applicants have now been offered contracts. Motoring organisation VAB has called for legislation to make warning signals for seat-belts not fastened in the rear seat of cars compulsory. The call comes after research was released that showed that one in five children riding in the back seat in Flanders is not belted in.

alain altinoglu The new musical director of De Munt opera house in Brussels is French-Armenian conductor Alain Altinoglu, the opera has announced. Altinoglu was born in 1970s Paris, part of an Armenian family. His mother was a pianist and had been professor of piano at the conservatory in Istanbul. Altinoglu went on to study at the Paris conservatory, which has graduated such composers as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Paul Tortelier. Altinoglu proceeded to teach at the conservatory, first in the vocal ensemble class and then as professor of the conducting class. At the same time, he was appearing as guest conductor for what looks like a directory of the world’s great orchestras: Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Suisse Romand, City of Birmingham and more. Coming into De Munt, with which he has had previous guest appearances, he can also count on his experience working with the Met, Paris Opera, Chicago Lyric, Berlin Statsoper and the Salzburg Festival. “For a long time, I have dreamed

about a long-term partnership with Maestro Altinoglu,” said Munt general director Peter De Caluwe. “Each time he was a guest conductor in one of our productions, we were always inspired by the radiant faces of the members of the orchestra and by hearing the brilliant colours and sounds of the ensemble.” With Altinoglu, he continued, “the chemistry between conductor and musicians, as well as the musical quality of the orchestra, will be assured.” “I look forward to continuing the innovative programming in both the opera as well as symphonic field,” said Altinoglu “and to developing De Munt’s reputation as one of the world’s leading opera houses. “Having had the chance to get to know Brussels, a city that I love, I feel a special personal connection to De Munt’s audiences. Through passionate performances, inspirational educational work and innovative outreach projects, I aim to embrace this audience, while at the same time attracting new audiences to this magnificent house.” \ Alan Hope

flanders today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the flemish region and is financially supported by the flemish authorities.

studio100.com

into music (K3) and theme parks (Plopsaland). Verhulst, whose professionalism was questioned in the media when he began relationships with K3 singers (twice), is now a member of the jury to select the new K3. Hans Bourlon continues to act as CEO of Studio 100; the third co-founder, Danny Verbiest – who also played sheepdog Samson – was bought out in 2005. These early episodes of Samson & Gert are a reminder of more innocent times. The episodes haven’t been seen since they were first broadcast. The kids will love it, that much is certain. \ AH

The logo and the name Flanders Today belong to the Flemish Region (Benelux Beeldmerk nr 815.088). The editorial team of Flanders Today has full editorial autonomy regarding the content of the newspaper and is responsible for all content, as stipulated in the agreement between Corelio Publishing and the Flemish authorities.

Editor Lisa Bradshaw dEPuty Editor Sally Tipper contriButing Editor Alan Hope suB Editor Linda A Thompson agEnda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino art dirEctor Paul Van Dooren PrEPrEss Mediahuis AdPro contriButors Rebecca Benoot, Bartosz Brzezi´nski, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Julie Kavanagh, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Daniel Shamaun, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Débora Votquenne, Denzil Walton gEnEral managEr Hans De Loore PuBlisHEr Mediahuis NV

Editorial addrEss Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 467 23 06 editorial@flanderstoday.eu suBscriPtions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu advErtising 02 467 24 37 advertising@flanderstoday.eu vErantwoordElijkE uitgEvEr Hans De Loore

\ POlITICS

5Th column A rock and a hard place

The refugee crisis has led to a multitude of reactions in Flanders. The images of people waiting in line to be registered as asylum seekers in Brussels and forced to spend the night in parks have led to an outpouring of spontaneous aid. The massive influx into Europe also inspires fear, though: fear of being overrun by another culture and of our social security system not surviving the increase of poor residents. The political parties have reacted accordingly. Take N-VA. As sectary of state for migration and asylum, Theo Francken is working hard to provide shelter for the asylum seekers. However, part of the nationalists’ electorate believes this only encourages more migrants to come. In spite of his tough public image, they see Francken as being too soft on the issue. Therefore, N-VA party leader and Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever stepped in with some strong statements. He suggested a special statute for asylum seekers, allowing them less access to social security as they have not contributed to it yet. In the wake of the Thalys shooting, De Wever also questioned the free movement in the Schengen area. This culminated in an interview in which he stated that the death of Syrian toddler Aylan was “not my fault”. “As a father, these images move me, but I will not be guided by emotions and refuse to be talked into feeling guilty.” According to De Wever, Aylan’s family were not war refugees but economic migrants. So much for N-VA being soft on refugees. Open VLD, meanwhile, struggles with the issue. Traditionally, the liberals believe in open borders and especially an open labour market. In recent interviews, however, party leader Gwendolyn Rutten stressed that migrants should “not only have rights but duties, too”. These duties include learning the language and finding employment. Rutten has avoided joining the chorus of negative reactions to De Wever’s statements. This has led to some resentment in her own ranks, as well as a major gaffe: when comparing the current situation with Belgian refugees during the World Wars, she said that “the difference now is we do not know how long the conflict will last”. Still, the liberal leader knows that a situation of one-againstthe-rest works best for N-VA. No way will she grant them that much.\ Anja Otte

€30 million for refugee camps Belgium pledges funds to improve conditions in lebanon, turkey alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

elgium has put aside an extra €30 million for emergency aid for refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, according to Alexander De Croo, federal minister for development co-operation. The money is part of a joint fund with the Dutch government, which provides €48.5 million. “Together we want to start action on a European level to encourage other countries to provide similar funding,” De Croo said. “And we want to call a summit of European development ministers as soon as possible.” The three countries are burdened with millions of refugees from Syria, and the two governments hope that if the situation in the camps can be improved, refugees will be encouraged to go there rather than crossing the sea to the EU. Meanwhile, members of the public have been rolling up their sleeves to help refugees who have made it a far as Brussels. The Office for Foreigners worked over the weekend to try to clear the backlog of asylum applicants. Because of the numbers showing up and the limited

number who can be processed in a day, last week was already fully booked on Tuesday, with hundreds sent away with a note to come back another day. The Red Cross has placed tents and temporary services in nearby Maximiliaan Park and has asked the public not to bring any more offerings of blankets, clothing and food, after hundreds showed up bearing gifts. They do still need cardboard boxes to organise donations, as well as volunteers, especially those able to drive

material and people around. The Red Cross also installed 500 beds at the weekend in the WTC tower nearby. About 400 families in Flanders have offered to accommodate refugees, Pleegzorg Vlaanderen reported. The NGO started the campaign Geef de wereld een thuis (Give the World a Home), inviting members of the public to make available a spare room or even a second residence. “We’re absolutely amazed at the number of people offering to help,” said Niels Heselmans. “We aim to turn that moment of spontaneity into something structural.” One family in Genk spent all day Saturday preparing more than 400 meals for refugees in Brussels. Adem Barskanmay, who works as a baker in the capital, said he was affected by the situation of the refugees sleeping rough when he went to hand out bread. That gave him the idea of preparing a hot meal with the help of his family, he told VTM News. Neighbours helped pay for the shopping and also provided other supplies, including nappies and toilet paper.

NGO files complaint with EU against Theo Francken

Millions in fines remains unpaid, says Ghent advocate-general

The NGO Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen (VWV), which works on behalf of asylum-seekers in Flanders, has filed a legal complaint with the European Commission against federal secretary of state for migration and asylum Theo Francken. The complaint follows Francken’s announcement that the number of asylum seekers registered by the Office for Foreigners would be limited to 250 a day. Francken said that the unlimited registration of refugees was “not sustainable and irresponsible”. In recent weeks, the numbers of applicants lined up in front of the Office for Foreigners in Brussels has far exceeded 250, with those asked to come back another day spending the night in two nearby parks in tents donated by the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. The reception service for new arrivals operates a daily quota of

The government is losing millions of euros every year in fines handed down by the courts but never collected by the authorities. Ghent’s prosecutor-general, Anita Harrewyn, addressed the issue last week in her speech opening the new judicial year. Since April of last year, two new laws have come into effect, intended to increase the powers of the judiciary in setting fines and in declaring seizures of property derived from criminal activity, as well as in recovering the costs of criminal proceedings from convicted people. “A credible penal policy stands or falls according to the correct enforcement of the penalties handed down,” said Harrewyn. “That applies not only to penalties affecting the liberty of the individual, but equally to fines, costs and seizures.” In the year to 30 June, in East and West Flanders, only 33 investigations were started into the assets of

250 to 260, the most it can handle in one working day. Last Monday, 466 people had to be turned away, with 200 told to come back on Tuesday, 200 on Wednesday and 66 on Thursday. On Tuesday, 155 were told to come back, most of them on Thursday. That means Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were fully booked in advance, as 50 places are kept open for urgent cases, including the elderly, pregnant women and whole families. As the days go by, the backlog increases. VWV said in a statement that the 250 cap on asylum seekers was “a random limit”. All refugees who make it to Belgium have an equal right to be helped in a humane manner, the organisation said. “The secretary of state cannot be allowed to use a problem of capacity as an excuse for the chaos he himself created.” \ AH

criminals, with a view to recovering fines. For “a substantial number” of the fines handed down during 2014, no approach was made by the authorities for payment. As a result, the government missed out on collecting tens of millions of euros in financial penalties owing, “which is unacceptable in these difficult budgetary times, when we see how inside the federal government as a whole, and in the justice budget in particular, every penny is being counted,” Harrewyn said. \ AH

Council of Theologians advises Muslims to skip sacrifice this year Muslims in Flanders will not be obliged to sacrifice a sheep this year, the Council of Theologians has said in an opinion. The question was raised in the light of the current dispute over the possibility of ritual slaughter outside of licensed slaughterhouses. During Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, Muslims are required to slaughter an animal – usually a sheep or goat – while the animal is conscious. Slaughtering an animal without first stunning it is only legal in Flanders in officially licensed slaughterhouses.

A temporary slaughter facility in Brussels

However, the demand during Eid exceeds the capacity of the slaughterhouses. While local authorities provide temporary spaces for the ritual, animals may not be slaughtered there without being stunned.

The obligation to sacrifice an animal is contained in the Quran, but has been suspended in the past when, for example, there was a shortage of animals or an outbreak of disease. The Council of Theologians said it was appropriate to suspend the obligation this year, in the hope that a permanent solution could be found by next year. “Not everyone is going to have access to a licensed slaughterhouse, so it is not possible to carry out the ritual sacrifice of an animal in an appropriate manner,” the council’s opinion stated. Last year,

some 30,000 animals were slaughtered in Flanders for Eid. Flemish animal welfare minister Ben Weyts said he was pleased by the decision of the council, which he said was “good for animal welfare” and denied claims that the government had not given Muslim organisations sufficient time to prepare. “I announced the ban on killing without stunning a year ago,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing I stuck to my decision, and I will continue to do so. Threats of legal action will do nothing to change that.” \ AH

\ COVER STORy

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

An arduous journey

the road from idea to movie has been a rocky one for choreographer wim vandekeybus galloPingmind.BE

continued from page 1

we kids rode around on ponies well before we could walk,” he explains. “In the winter, we yoked the horses to a series of sleds, and then of course everything went awry.” But Vandekeybus, 52, wasn’t only inspired by his childhood in rural Antwerp province. He went to Dublin with one of his first productions in the late 1980s and stumbled on a surprising scene. “I saw children riding around on ponies, just leaving the animals to graze in front of the school when they went to class,” he says. “Every Sunday, there would be a pony market, with children hanging around on horseback. I went there to photograph them. It was just great. The combination of children and horses really has this sense of wildness.” In Galloping Mind, filmed in both English and Hungarian, Panscó is taken in by a young street gang. They commit petty crimes and roam the city on horses they retrieved from the sea. “In my films, the characters are mortal

rebels, fighting with whatever they can muster,” says Vandekeybus. “This time, I had this Robin Hood gang of children in mind. Scenes such as the one in which the children get the horses out of the sea have something surreal and poetic about them – mythological also. But I really wanted to make a film that reflects me, that bears my stamp.” With this first stand-alone feature film, Vandekeybus also sets out to put his photography skills on show and demonstrate his willingness to wander off the beaten track. “I had a director of photography [Hungarian cinematographer Gábor Szabó] who was constantly looking for other possibilities, not limiting himself to what is available at first sight. There are plenty of air shots and landscapes, too.” With Galloping Mind, the director wanted to work with a clash between setting and subject, such as he did with his film Monkey Sandwich, shown during a dance performance. “There’s nothing

Mortal rebel: wim Vandekeybus

Flemish choreographer wim Vandekeybus’ first feature film combines a free-flowing aesthetic with a narrative of parental neglect

interesting about horses running around on grass, but if you place them in a quarry, you immediately have a western,” he explains. “Also, horses and water don’t go well together, but I put them in the sea anyway. Sometimes you have to defy the medium you work in, do something unexpected.” Even though Vandekeybus relied less on improvisation than in his previous work, intuition still played an important role in developing Galloping Mind. This, of course, can be complicated when working with different investors and parties who all want to have their say. Initially, for instance, he planned to shoot in Latin America, but the project later moved to South Africa. And ultimately on to Hungary and Romania. In 2013, Vandekeybus had been working in Hungary for eight months, scouting locations and doing casting calls, when suddenly, financial problems halted the production right before the shoot was about to kick off. At that point, it seemed like the project, having already gone through the purgatory of development hell, would have to be

shelved for good. “In the meantime,” he adds, “lead actress Natali Broods and producer Bart Van Langendonck each had twins. But my twins seemed to have been postponed indefinitely.” Eventually, the budget was

scapes that inspired him while writing the film – help sometimes came from unexpected sources. Alejandro González Iñárritu, the Mexican Oscar-winning director of Babel and Birdman, for instance, sent Vandekeybus a letter praising his work after he

In Dublin, I saw children riding around on ponies, just leaving them to graze in front of the school worked out, and Vandekeybus recast his film and went through the motions once more. “In the end, the film benefited from all this,” he says. “I really believe in elongated processes and continue working on smaller projects while pursuing lengthier ones.” In this hassle to find the financial means to complete a project that had been lingering for years – including a crowdfunding campaign in which Vandekeybus sold photos of people and land-

saw Blush and The Last Words, a short film based on two stories by Brussels-born Argentine writer Julio Cortazar. “For Galloping Mind, he wrote a letter to the Hungarian Film Fund, pleading with them to support my film. They stalled for time – twice – and eventually didn’t come through. Luckily, the film got made anyway, and I think Iñárritu will appreciate what it has become.”

Galloping Mind forward, while the camera swirls around interiors and exteriors, dives into the water and is airborne in night-time cityscape explorations. At its most intriguing, this freeflowing aesthetic is forced into marriage with a fate-oriented narrative of parental neglect, cruelty and inexorable love. Even though the machineries of fate sometimes seem to clutter proceedings, and Galloping Mind leans on a stylistic abundance to spur a

heavy-handed story, Vandekeybus’ film is a welcome sight among the lukewarm Flemish-funded fiction of late. To top it all off, versatile musicians Marc Ribot and Mauro Pawlowski add their prowess to the mix. With his typical knack for edgy pop-rock, Pawlowski concludes Galloping Mind with an acerbic love song that slows down the film’s rapid pace but keeps nagging at the viewer for days: “Why do we keep living the distant life?”

revieW: galloping mind Although Galloping Mind is being announced as Wim Vandekeybus’ debut feature, the renowned choreographer is far from a newbie when it comes to video and film. A longtime innovator in the use of moving images in his theatrical productions, he has also made dance and short narrative films. Monkey Sandwich, for instance, was a full-length feature, though – the complete opposite of Galloping Mind – it was filmed in 12 days on a €100,000 budget. Galloping Mind,

in other words, is Vandekeybus’ first full-fledged film production, with the external interference that comes with it. Much like Monkey Sandwich, a film filled to the brim, and sometimes bubbling over, with stories and urban myths, Galloping Mind demonstrates the joy of storytelling. As in classical mythology, fate comes knocking at the door, with devastating results. When Sara (Flemish actor Natali Broods), a nurse who desperately

wants children of her own, discovers that her adulterous partner Sam (British actor Jerry Killick) has fathered twins with another woman, she makes a decision that will alter the lives of everyone involved. From the moment the twins are separated, Galloping Mind sets everything in motion to bring the two back together. Action-packed scenes and intersecting storylines in a brisk montage by Vandekeybus regular Dieter Diependaele drive

\ BUSInESS

WeeK in Business Banking keytrade Crelan, formed by the merger of Centea and the local activities of France’s Credit Agricole and based in Brussels, is selling Keytrade, its online bank and stock brokerage, with activities in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Energy Fluxys

The gas transport and supplies company pushing its stake in the Interconnector gas pipeline linking Bacton in the UK to Zeebrugge above 50%, taking effective control of the venture. Fluxys previously owned directly or indirectly 41% of the company.

Food Ter Beke

The producer of ready-made meals, based in Waarschoot, East Flanders, has acquired the French Stefano Toselli group, specialised in lasagne and cannelloni, for €9.4 million.

Insurance Ageas

The Brussels-based insurance group is selling its Hong Kong-based life insurance activities to China’s JD Capital for €1.23 billion, significantly more than the €900 million expected earlier. The company will keep its regional headquarters in Brussels to oversee operations in mainland China, Thailand, Malaysia, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Payments PayPal

The American e-payment system has launched its OneTouch service on the local market to allow customers to pay through mobile or computer applications without re-registering each time. The new service competes with the applications developed by Apple Pay and Samsung.

Pharma UCB

The Brussels-based pharmaceutical company has finalised the sale of its US-based Kremers Urban generic drugs activities to the Lannett Company for some €1 billion.

Property Cushman & wakefield

The US-based property consultant, which is merging its worldwide activities with competitor DTZ, will locate its Northern European headquarters in Brussels. The local operation will be responsible for the Benelux countries, Germany and Scandinavia. The merged firm’s Brussels office will employ about 120 staff.

More staff for Volvo Ghent

as volvo ups capacity, daf trucks invests in paint shop in westerlo alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

olvo Trucks is to increase production at its factory in Ghent and take on up to 200 new staff, the company said. The production facility in the Oostakker district will need 150 new workers to cope with increased capacity, while the distribution centre in Ghent will take on another 50. The Ghent factory (pictured) is the biggest trucks producer within Volvo Group. The company said it was aiming to reach its technical capacity of 200 trucks a day. The current twoshift operation will continue for the time being. The factory employs some 2,500. “In recent months we have noticed the economy gradually recovering, with a positive effect on the transport sector,” said general director Kamel Sid. “In the last two years, we have

invested heavily in turning our factory into the largest assembly facility in the Volvo Group.” The Ghent distribution centre was already the company’s largest in the world when it was decided in 2014 to make it a centre for all Volvo

Construction Equipment. It now handles distribution of parts for lorries, buses, outboard motors, digging equipment and wheel loaders, employing 800, including 100 recent hires. In related news, DAF Trucks has announced a new investment of €100 million in a 25,000square metre state-of-the-art paint shop at its factory in Westerlo, Antwerp province. The shop is due to become operational in the second half of 2017. The investment demonstrates the Dutch company’s commitment to the Westerlo factory, CEO Harrie Schippers said. The factory assembles cabins and axles for the main truck plant in the Netherlands. Part of the investment will go towards increasing production at the plant to meet the growing demand for cleaner lorries in Europe.

One thousand tractors protest in Brussels

New smart cash register for restaurants is “partly unlawful”

More than 1,000 farmers arrived in Brussels by tractor last Monday to take part in a protest against low milk prices. The demonstration coincided with an emergency meeting of EU agriculture ministers and was expected to attract 5,000 farmers in all. Dairy farmers have suffered a fall in milk prices, which they say is caused by governments increasing production and flooding the market, rather than the Russian embargo on EU exports, including dairy products, as some are claiming, the European Milk Board says. The farmers are demanding concrete measures from ministers. The protest began on Sunday, when about 100 tractors took part in an act of solidarity from Jubelpark to the European Parliament. On Monday, the main demonstration began at 11.00 with speeches at Schumanplein. The government responded with a one-time award of €46 million in support funding to help them cope with low milk prices. The money comes from the agro-food industry and the supermarket chains, who also agreed €30 million support for pig farmers. \ AH

The law that obliges all bars and restaurants to install a new smart cash register by January is “partly unlawful,” according to the auditor of the Council of State. The auditor was giving his opinion on an action brought by sector organisations Horeca Limburg and Horeca Vlaanderen. The auditor’s opinion is not binding on the full Council of State, but they do tend to agree more often than not. The purpose of the new cash register is to combat the use of undeclared workers in the food and drinks service industry, where it is rife. The installation is obligatory for all businesses that make at least 10% of their turnover from the sale of food or beverages. That specification, however, is contained only in a ministerial communication to the industry; it appears nowhere in the legislation, which states that the register applies to businesses that serve food “regularly”. The auditor followed the reasoning of the two catering organisations, that the vague terminology was arbitrary, and in breach of the constitutional principle of equality before the law. The VAT administration set the 10% rule out more clearly, but the auditor agreed they do not have the legal competence to do so. Federal finance minister Johan Overveldt

Cyber-crime costs business €3.5 billion a year Cyber-crime is costing companies in Belgium as much as €3.5 billion every year, according to a study by management consultants KPMG Advisory. The company carried out an eight-month investigation in 10 major firms in seven sectors and found that eight out of 10 had been the victim of a cyber-attack without even realising it. “The majority of the enterprises seemed to be in no position to predict intrusions into their networks, whether by anti-virus channels, spam gateways or other methods,” said Jordan Barth, a cybersecurity specialist. Companies are not detecting intrusions, he continued, “even after they have taken place.” The result, according to Barth, was a loss of data and a negative effect on the competitive position of the company and its reputation. Because total protection against attacks is not possible, companies should put control systems in place that limit the possibilities as well as making it possible to detect and resolve attacks. That involves making sure that security systems are not dependent on electronic signatures alone, testing and ensuring the security of systems at all times and making sure everyone concerned is informed whenever a breach of security happens. \ AH

said he is prepared to “repair” the verbiage, which means that either the amendment clears up any ambiguity by defining “regularly”, perhaps with reference to the 10% rule, or that it extends the obligation to install the new cash register to all establishments, even those that only sell the occasional snack to go with drinks. In any case, the January deadline for the new payments system is now in question. Horeca Vlaanderen welcomed the advice but expressed concern about delays. “We are asking for immediate talks with the finance minister to evaluate the consequences of this advice,” said managing director Danny Van Assche, “and to create a more solid framework in which the Belgian industry can be legal, of high quality and, above all, profitable.” \ AH

Fox TV to be aired on Telenet digital Starting next month, Telenet digital TV subscribers will have a new channel: The entertainment package Play More will include material from the American broadcaster Fox TV. An agreement was reached between Fox International Channels (FIC) and Telenet, owned by the US-based Liberty Global, to broadcast the channel here. “Play More allows us to offer Fox products in a contemporary way,” said Fox representative Willemijn Van Dommelen. She confirmed that the agreement did not mean a reconsideration of a Fox sports channel for Flanders – an idea mooted in 2013 when Fox outbid Telenet for the rights to broadcast the German

football league. “Our emphasis lies on entertainment,” Van Dommelen said. “We want the channel to grow step by step.” The new arrival will allow Telenet to offer “more top-quality series” such as The Walking Dead, said Telenet, which viewers in Flanders will be able to watch from the start. FIC is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, operating in 126 countries with more than 300 channels offering news, sport and movies. Telenet subscribers can get a preview of the new channel’s programming in a presentation on 17 September.

\ AH

\ InnOVATIOn

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

A deep breath

WeeK in innovaTion Vaccination experts gather in Antwerp

Brussels locals urge lawmakers to clean up city’s air andy furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

clEanairBxl.BE

nJune,theEuropeanCommissionsummoned Belgium before the European Court of Justice to explain why it had been failing to adhere to European air quality norms in recent years. The European Commission judged that not enough efforts were being made to improve air quality in problem areas like the BrusselsCapital Region, the Ghent port neighbourhood and the area around Roeselare’s port. For Lies Craeynest and a handful other Brusselaars, this chastisement from the European Commission was the last straw. CleanAirBXL, a new initiative that calls on the municipal administration to take action against the poor air quality in the Brussels-Capital Region, was born. This summer, its online petition garnered 3,000 signatures over the space of two weeks. A driving factor in the establishment of the new citizens’ platform were locals’ concerns about the impact of air pollution on their children’s health. “Many of the founders are parents who fear their children might get respiratory problems, as children’s developing lungs are very sensitive to air pollution,” explains Craeynest, who lives in the city’s Elsene commune. “Many parents don’t take any chances and actually leave Brussels.” Craeynest is a concerned parent herself and works as an EU policy advisor on climate change and global food security for Oxfam. But children aren’t the only victims of the capital’s deplorable air quality. According to CleanAirBXL, many adults also suffer from asthma and other respiratory conditions, while studies have shown that repeated exposure to air pollution causes cancer. “There are at least 632 premature deaths per year in Brussels because of air pollution,” says Craeynest. Culprits are the fine dust particles and nitrogen dioxide that float through the air, she says. “The biggest cause of this pollution is Brussels’ wellknown mobility problem.” According to a recent report from Inrix, a US company that specialises in road traffic information, Brussels is the most congested city in Europe after London. Meanwhile, Brussels lawmakers have slowly begun to wake up to the air pollution problem and started taking corresponding measures. Last March, the European Environmental Bureau praised Brussels for its expansion of the local public transport network and its efforts to promote cycling in a report evaluating cities’ policies to combat air pollution. At the same, in its ranking for best practices for clean air in transport, Brussels ranked 14th out of 23 European cities. In 2011, it ranked much better, in eighth place. According to CleanAirBXL, the lack of measures to reduce car emissions is to blame for the downgrade. “Brussels is lagging behind in this respect,” Craeynest says.

waterspouts seen at Flemish coast

CleanAirBXL’s petition focuses on the city’s AirClimate-Energy plan, which the Brussels parliament will vote on at the start of November. With this plan, the government wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2025. Approximately half of the plan’s 59 measures aim to combat air pollution. The city will present its plans before attendees at the United Nations’ annual climate conference, which will kick off in Paris in late November. “We actually agree with the measures proposed

The biggest cause of this pollution is Brussels’ well-known mobility problem in the plan, but the problem is that the government doesn’t set priorities, a budget and a deadline,” Craeynest says. “It’s important to set concrete goals and to make sure that ambitions aren’t impeded because of ideological or economic motives.” To this end, CleanAirBXL has outlined five priorities. First, the government should introduce a road-fee system and tax owners of polluting cars more heavily. “Diesel cars in particular emit a lot of harmful nitrogen dioxide,” she says. “Many

company cars, which account for a large number of the cars in Brussels, run on diesel.” The group also wants the city to further improve public transport and to support alternative transport initiatives like car-sharing. “MIVB’s recent purchase of about 100 diesel-powered cars for staff was a very bad move in this respect,” says Craeynest, referring to Brussels’ public transport authority. “The government should set a good example.” CleanAirBXL is also calling for the adoption of intelligent systems, which it says could significantly ease traffic. “Many drivers, for example, spend a lot of time looking for a parking spot,” says Craeynest. “With better signage leading them to parking lots, a lot of gas emissions could be avoided.” Finally, the group wants lawmakers to do a better job of informing citizens, through a website or app, for instance. “People should know in realtime and in detail where air quality in Brussels is the worst and how bad it is,” she says. In Craeynest’s view, more measuring stations are needed, particularly in the “street canyons” – narrow streets with tall, continuous buildings on both sides of the road. “People should be more aware that the risk of air pollution damaging their health is higher in these street canyons,” she explains. CleanAirBXL plans on taking further action to put pressure on the Brussels government, including through a campaign during the Week of the Mobility, which will take place later this month.

Growing up on farm builds immunity to allergies, says study A team of international researchers, led by scientists at the Flemish life sciences institute VIB and Ghent University (UGent), has discovered that children who grow up on farms are better protected against asthma and allergies. The research results were recently published in the journal Science. The researchers examined the link between “farm dust” and protection against asthma and allergies. Tests revealed that mice exposed to farm dust extracts became immune to dust mites, the most common cause of allergies.

Queen Mathilde met European experts at a congress on international vaccination policy last week, an event sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Antwerp University. The central topic was the European Vaccine Action Plan (EVAP), which was analysed in five sessions. “EVAP includes guidelines on the monitoring of preventable diseases, the priorities of the vaccination policy, integration in the different health-care systems and long-term action plans,” explained Antwerp professor Pierre Van Damme. “It’s important to agree to clear policies on a regular basis so we can deal with infectious diseases across borders.”

Farm dust, according to the research, strengthens the mucous membrane inside the respiratory tracts. “This effect is created by the A20 protein, which the body produces upon contact with farm dust,” explained professor Hamida Hammad. “When we deactivate the A20 protein in the mucous membrane of the lungs, farm dust is no longer able to positively affect allergic or asthmatic reactions.” A test on about 2,000 children growing up on farms showed that most of them have little to no

problems with asthma or allergies. Those who do suffer from allergies have a deficiency in the protective protein A20. The discovery is a step towards the development of an asthma vaccine. The researchers are now trying to identify the active substance in farm dust that is responsible for providing protection. The research was conducted in partnership with researchers from Munich, Rotterdam and Marseille. \ AF

Waterspouts were seen above the North Sea last week off the coast of Belgium, including at De Panne. Waterspouts are rotating columns of air that form above water, similar to tornadoes but weaker and less destructive. “Waterspouts mainly occur in the late summer and early autumn at the Flemish coast,” explained VRT meteorologist Frank Deboosere on his website. “During this period, the seawater is warm, and the contrast between the temperatures of the water and the cold upper air is at its greatest.” That temperature difference is the cause of the waterspouts and is also the reason why it often rains more intensely at the coast than inland in this period. Waterspouts often occur during rainy weather.

Doctors: Charge patients in emergency room Three out of four doctors and hospital staff want to limit the flow of patients at emergency services by making people pay a contribution immediately, according to a survey by the magazine Artsenkrant among 1,461 hospital doctors, GPs and hospital management. Last year, there were about 4.45 million emergency room consultations, about 160,000 more than the year before. According to Herman Moeremans of the Syndicate of Flemish General Practitioners, too many people go to casualty with minor complaints because they don’t have to pay immediately or wait for a consultation. He suggests having patients pay immediately, and charging more than the €25 they would have to pay for a consultation with a GP. \ AF

Your dailY news

Sign up now for our daily and weekly newsletters with local headlines, events and features, tailor-made for expats in Belgium Subscribe for free at www.thebulletin.be

\ EDUCATIOn

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

The trouble with tenure

WeeK in educaTion Trainees set for multilingual teaching

firing of teachers in spotlight following case in antwerp

University College LeuvenLimburg (UCLL) is the first Flemish higher education institution to establish a specialist postgraduate programme that fully prepares students for multilingual education. Since the last academic year, secondary schools in Flanders have been able to offer non-language courses in English, French or German as part of a system called Content and Language Integrated Learning. UCLL’s programme targets individual teachers and directors of schools that have already started or are interested in starting to use the system.

alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

t’s 1 September, and all over the country children are going back to school, as teachers stand ready to greet them. At one primary school in Zoersel, in the Kempen region of Antwerp province, one particular teacher has returned to her place in front of a class of second-year pupils. As a result, the school’s principal has resigned. The reason the head has resigned is because, even after delivering two serious warnings, she has been unable to sack the teacher. After the last warning in May, which led directly to a dismissal, the teacher took her case to the College of Appeal. The body overturned the sacking, and the principal, as promised when the case was being considered, has resigned. The situation has started up a conversation in Flanders about both the positives and negatives of tenure. At first glance, the Zoersel case seemed open and shut. One of the negative evaluations against the teacher reads: “She cannot plan ahead or prepare her classwork, she is not open to criticism and does not work well with colleagues. She has an immature approach and is unable to achieve the goals of the teaching plan.” Her return to the school, the counsel for the school district argued in front of the Council of State, would adversely affect the pupils and damage the reputation of the school itself. “It may not be impossible to sack a teacher, but it is difficult,” says Marie-Jeanne Baelmans of VLVO, the federation of Flemish education managers. “Cases like this come up from time to time, though not often. The evaluation process

8,000 looking for teaching jobs

It may not be impossible to sack a teacher, but it is difficult

always has to be strictly followed, but the moment the College of Appeal decides that some aspect of the procedure wasn’t correctly followed, then the dismissal doesn’t go ahead.” Following the College ruling, the municipality of Zoersel took the case to the Council of State, joined by the principal. They claimed the need for an urgent ruling to overturn the College’s decision. Their motion was filed on 14 July, with the new school year due to begin on 1 September. The documents in the case told the story of the teacher’s time at the school, which started in 2000 but only seemed to go wrong from the 2013-2014 school year. In May that year the school was confronted with a number of complaints from

parents about the teacher, who as well as being the form teacher for year two also taught ICT to other years. Her worst offence seems to have been to miss a case conference on a girl whose move to year three was at risk. Those events led to the first negative evaluation, followed a year later by the second and her dismissal. The Council of State, however, rejected the motion for an immediate judgement, arguing that the problem had first presented itself in May the previous year, weakening the case for an urgent response. The Council was also dismissive of the threat made by the principal to resign if the teacher were to return to the school. The principal, the court said, was

Q&a

“reckoning on her own future behaviour in an attempt to show that the case is an urgent one”. The court also pointed out that any damage to the reputation of the school or the head could adequately be undone by a ruling in due course overturning the decision of the College of Appeal. That, according to Council of State spokesperson Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove, is the point so far ignored by reports on how it is impossible to get rid of a bad teacher. The Council of State never ruled on the question at the root of the case, only on the matter of treating it with urgency. The municipality and the school, he said, can still file a new complaint requesting that it overturn the decision of the College of Appeal. mystEriEvanondErwijs.com

related excerpts, movies, articles, explanations and group debates.

Bert Smits is an education expert and co-founder of the platform Mysterie van onderwijs (Mystery of Education), which strives to encourage innovation in the education sector. He recently gave a presentation on the “school of the future”. How different are current students from past generations? Youngsters now live more in the moment and are more articulate. As a result, students more often demand that their teachers explain the purpose of studying a topic. This is Generation Y – with the Y pronounced meaningfully as “Why?”.

strate the concrete usefulness of knowledge. So instead of going over all aspects of the Second World War in history lessons, for instance, teachers could provide a summary and examine the main gaps are in students’ knowledge. When filling in these gaps, they could point out the influence of historical events on current relations between political powers.

How should teachers deal with this? They could provide a brief overview of a topic, discuss it with the group and identify which aspects need more clarification. It’s also important to demon-

How can teachers adapt to the influence of social media? Because of the continuous information stream on sites such as Facebook, youngsters are used to deriving meaning by connecting different pieces of informa-

tion, like seeing how friends are doing by checking their Facebook posts. In the same way, it would be good for teachers not to teach topics from A to Z in a book, but to provide understanding through

What is the Mystery of Education? The platform highlights innovative initiatives in the education sector through a digital platform and events, like presentations. Many schools are organising inspiring projects, such as the special education school Reynaert in Ghent’s Oostakker district, which established the company Foxbox for the production of decorations. Not only can its students follow an internship at Foxbox, they can also get a job later. This way, the school offers quality job opportunities. I hope Flanders’ education ministry will support more local initiatives instead of setting up top-down projects. \ Interview by Andy Furniere

In July, 7,755 job-seekers indicated they were looking for work in teaching, according to figures from the Flemish employment and training agency VDAB. Just under 3,000 are looking at pre-school or primary school teaching, with the rest focused on secondary education. VDAB had just 1,205 vacancies for jobs in pre-school or primary school in July and 1,817 in secondary. Education networks have said there is no shortage of teachers at the start of this school year. It’s only during the year that problems arise, when teachers have to be replaced due to illness, maternity leave and other reasons. There is also an imbalance in where jobs are available and where teachers want to work.

Expert suggests bonus system for teachers

Teacherswhoworkinmultiple schools or take on extra tasks should get a bonus, according to Dirk Van Damme, education specialist at the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the coming months, stakeholders in the sector will collaborate to establish a new career pact, meant to add value to the teaching profession. According to Van Damme, a flexible wage system could help. “Financial incentives can play a big part in boosting the profession,” he told Radio 1. Van Damme, also a professor at Ghent University, proposes a bonus for teachers in “difficult” schools in Flanders, such as in the “concentration schools”, which house many youngsters of foreign origin and from vulnerable social backgrounds. Brussels already offers bonuses for working in these schools. \ AF

\ lIVInG

WeeK in acTiviTies Dragon Boat Festival Teams of 16 race in 14m-long open boats during this spectacle in Antwerp’s old harbour district. On land, spectators can enjoy live music, Taiko drumming, children’s activities, food and drink. 12 September 10.00, Kempischdok-Zuidkaai, Antwerp, free \ drakenbootfestival.be

Scottish weekend It’s the 30th edition of this popular festival, held every year on the second weekend in September at AldenBiesen Castle. Traditional music, Belgian Pipe Band Championship, Highland dancing and games, market and more. 11-13 September, Kasteelstraat, Bilzen, €20 (kids under 14 free) \ schotsweekend.be

Bruegel Festival Folkloric festival in the Marollen quarter of Brussels, where 16th-century Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel lived and died. The main attraction is the presence of many local and visiting giants, with street theatre, music and dance. 12-13 September, Marollen, Brussels, free \ bruegel-marolles.be

Hex Garden Show Annual garden and plant show, with this year’s theme “Edible Flowers”. Lectures, workshops and demos, plus speciality vendors, gardening supplies and plants for sale, all on the grounds of a historic private castle. 12-13 September 10.00-18.00, Kasteel Hex, Hekslaan, Heers, €10 \ hex.be

Trezart Street Theatre Festival Outdoor performance festival for young and old, with a variety of international circus, street theatre and musical acts. Doors open at 14.00 on Saturday and 12.30 on Sunday. 12-13 September, Recreatiedomein Zilvermeer, Zilvermeerlaan 2, Mol, €15 \ trezart.be

Headz Up BMX Jam The jam starts at 13.00, with one-on-one competitions starting at 16.00. Free to compete for kids under 12, €5 for 12 and over. Red Bull DJs provide the soundtrack. 12 September 13.00-18.00, Circuit Zolder, Terlaemen 30, Heusden-Zolder, free for spectators \ bmxdirtzolder.be

\ 10

Meet Flanders’ past

check out some lesser-known heritage at annual open monument day toon lambrechts More articles by Toon \ flanderstoday.eu

oPEnmonumEntEn.BE

pen Monument Day is an annual highlight for people interested in Flanders’ diverse history, as hundreds of famous and lesser-known heritage sites open their doors to the public. This year on 13 September, visitors across the region will become more familiar with the traces the history of Flanders has left us. It’s a well-known concept, with previous editions attracting up to 400,000 visitors to monuments that are often otherwise inaccessible to the public. It’s an ideal time for anyone who is curious about what lies hidden behind old facades and walls. This is the 27th edition, says Liesbeth De Maeyer of Herita, the Flemish heritage foundation behind the event, and the public can visit more than 750 monuments throughout Flanders. “In previous years we worked with a specific theme, such as care and heritage,” she says, “but not this year, because we noticed local organisers found it increasingly difficult to put together a programme that would fit into a theme. This year we’ve agreed to some accents that local organisations can work with, such as repurposing and the future of heritage.” Coincidentally, 2015 is also the European Year of Industrial and Technical Heritage. And Open Monument Day is a European story, explains De Maeyer. Alongside Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia have their own day, as do several other European countries. “September is the month for European heritage,” she continues. “But Belgium was one of the first and was the driving force behind European Heritage Days.” The first edition of Open Monument Day took place in 1989, when raising awareness of heritage was essential, says De Maeyer. “The policymakers at the time didn’t see the preservation of monuments as particularly important,” she says. “Open Monument Day was launched to convince politicians of the need to protect the traces of our past and to inform the public about them.” And it was a success. Today the protection of

The paper mill at Huizingen is testament to 450 years of paper production in Flanders

heritage has much improved in Flanders. “The issue is alive, in policy and in public opinion. Today at Herita, we focus on efforts to attract people to these monuments, not only on Open Monument Day but all year round.” So, you’re convinced to check out Monument Day. But how to choose where to go? On Herita’s website, there’s a list of all the sites taking part, searchable by location or theme. But we have suggestions of our own. Noeveren is a hamlet on the banks of the river Rupel that was once the centre of Flanders’ brick industry. It was a trade that brought prosperity to the area – but also untold misery for the workers. This industrial past is still tangible here, not just in the kilns and the long rows of drying racks, but in the tiny workers’ houses that have

BiTe a table for 42, please Food has always been associated with art, from the entertainments of minstrels enjoyed by the peasants of Bruegel’s wedding feast to the still-lifes by Rembrandt and Cézanne. These days, it’s more associated with discreet piped-in music. But not where Multitude is concerned. For six weeks, the arts and social platform has taken over the old coach house at Park Spoor Noord in Antwerp. It is bringing art and food together for 42 diners, all sitting at one long table. The company also features 18 artists, including dancers, musicians and a storyteller. In charge is Els Debremaeker, a personal chef who also concocts recipes for kitchenware chain Dille & Kamille and does food styling for various clients. She spent time studying in China, where she became smitten by the food culture, much of which is still foreign to us despite the prevalence of “Chinese” restaurants and takeaways. The first dinner will see Debremaeker preparing bruised cucumber with garlic dressing,

survived. It makes Noeveren one of the most comprehensive pieces of industrial heritage of Flanders. Another piece of not-to-be-missed industrial architecture is the former Huizingen paper mill, which dates from the early 20th century but is built on 450 years of paper production in the region. The production hall, a typical brick tower, the drying sheds... everything is still here, including the residence of the director. A guided tour tells the story of paper production in Huizingen and the region, as well as plans for the redevelopment of the site. The mill, which is largely unrenovated and has thus kept its raw charm, is not usually open to the public.

facEBook.com/multitudEkindErmans

chicken with Napa cabbage and hoisin sauce, lacquered pork belly and fried noodles with five-spice, among other dishes. “Eating is an experience,” she says. “Feeling, smelling, tasting. The flavour of your memo-

ries. I want to share my love for authentic cuisine, for fresh products and for honest food. Meals are the basis of life in a group. Festive meals are there to mark important rituals and to bring people together.” In China, she says, “food means love. And that’s what Multitude is all about: connecting with people.” Park Spoor Noord was formerly railway property serving the Antwerp docks on the right bank of the Scheldt, but has now been converted into a leisure park with all sorts of activities. The dinners take place in the upper floor of the coach house, with some of the furniture provided by local recycling project Atelier Recup. The first dinner takes place on 11 September, and the dinners thereafter are served on Wednesdays by other chefs, except 8 October when Debremaeker returns for a meal that’s already sold out. The series concludes on 15 October with a dinner by Smartmat, a home delivery service based in Antwerp. \ Alan Hope

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

Applied arts, you are so fine design september fetes unsung heroes of modern life across the capital georgio valentino More articles by Georgio \ flanderstoday.eu

dEsignsEPtEmBEr.BE

“W

here will we be when the summer’s gone?” Jim Morrison once mumbled. The answer – at least for Brussels – is Design September. Over the past decade, this festival has grown with both the capital’s talent pool and its international design reputation. This tin anniversary blowout proves that Design September and the Brussels design scene that it serves have officially arrived. “Let’s be honest, we’re not Milan,” laughs the event’s co-ordinator Roel Rijssenbeek. “But we’re making solid progress. We have Design September. We have the Belgian Design Awards. We have world-class design academies. We’re definitely staking our claim.” As far as Design September is concerned, the numbers are convincing. The festival spans an entire month and over 100 venues across Brussels. It encompasses just as many design-related events – from exhibitions to conferences to pop-up stores to studio open houses. Dozens of designers from every industry imaginable are on board. Design September’s appeal is as qualitative as it is quantitative. Participants include a slew of up-and-coming talent as well as some of the most celebrated figures in European design. The guest of honour is awardwinning Italian architect and designer Mario Bellini. Among the veteran locals present are Alain Berteau and Xavier Lust. These might not be household names to you, but, rest assured, you are intimately familiar with the works on which they are signed. As grandiose as it sounds, design is the better part of our everyday interface with the spaces and objects around us. Designers, these unsung heroes of modern life, are the professionals tasked with making our gadgets, appliances, furniture, vehicles and living spaces more liveable. Rijssenbeek admits it’s a slippery category. “Design is everywhere,” he says, “but it’s difficult to say precisely what it is. The easy definition, of course, is that it’s any industrially crafted product. But there’s much more to it than that. It’s functionality. It’s aesthetics.” Indeed, the designer’s job is to marry form and function in a way that enhances both. The finished products must be more aesthetically appealing and more intuitive to use than the generic model. So, although less glamorous to us, designers are much

Xavier lust’s Gold Graph desk. Botanique hosts a solo show dedicated to the Flemish designer as part of Design September

more influential in our lives than their fineart counterparts. Design September celebrates the genre in its contemporary form, of course, but this year, for the first time, it also explores design’s oftneglected artisanal roots. “In previous years, we focused on the concept on one hand and the finished product on the other,” Rijssenbeek says. “The missing link was the actual physical production of the piece, which often involves generations of accumulated

know-how.” The brand-new arts and crafts route gives you access to 15 workshops across the city. There you’ll see contemporary craftspeople using pre-modern methods and materials to fashion with their own hands a 21st-century fusion of folk wisdom and modern living – the best of both worlds. Highlights include Elsene wood shop Atelier 365, the Fire and Iron forge in Sint-Gillis and leather workshop Niyona in the city centre.

50 weekends in Flanders: Brunching in Leuven Flanders Today has launched an e-book with ideas for how to spend a year’s worth of weekends. Visit our website to get your free copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too. Leuven is best-known as a student city, which is maybe why it has an abundance of relaxed eateries and coffee shops where you can while away the hours at a weekend brunch. NOIR This relaxed coffee bar close to the university colleges has a vintage living room interior.

The owners have mastered the art of making good coffee using the best beans they can find. The place is often mobbed by students who tap away on their Macs with a shot of slow-brewed coffee on the side. \ noir.coffee

BAR STAN An appealing neighbourhood coffee bar in the sleepy Nieuw Kwartier, Bar Stan is run by architects who designed the plywood counter and furnished the interior with oldschool classroom chairs, Formica tables and

bare lightbulbs. The end result is a relaxed Nordic-style spot for a lazy Sunday brunch. \ barstan.be

PUNTO KIOSK A little coffee bar is squeezed in at the back of a newsagent. It was created in 2013 by the people behind the coffee bar Punto Caffè. The difference is that at

All this is just one small slice of the Design September pie. There’s much more besides. The marquee event is a lecture by this year’s guest of honour, Mario Bellini. The work of this famed Milan-based architect and designer spans a half decade and bridges the divide between the applied and fine arts. Bellini’s elegant, contemporary furniture and fixtures can be seen in private homes and museums alike. New York’s MoMA, for instance, boasts 25 Bellini pieces in its permanent collection. Flemish designer Xavier Lust also prominently figures on the programme with the major solo exhibition Design Stories at Botanique. The Brussels-based craftsman has been forging a futurist style of metalworking since the turn of the millennium. His signature style of smooth curves and polished surfaces can be seen in several public installations across Brussels. These include not just “art projects” but commissioned street furniture and public transport shelters. The exhibition showcases these public commissions and Lust’s commercial work for prestigious design houses around the world, as well as both new and never-before-seen pieces. The winners of this year’s Commerce Design Brussels contest will also be announced during Design September. Way back in January, some 60 recently launched (or renovated) Brussels businesses entered to be judged by a professional jury on design criteria: architecture, interior and industrial design, innovation and all-around aesthetic appeal. By the time, the public casts the deciding votes this month, the field will be narrowed down to 10 finalists. One will be crowned the grand prize winner at a cocktail party on 26 September. The competition was initiated in Montreal in 1995 and has since been exported to several other cities, including Brussels. Design September offers the perfect context to spotlight the final round of this year’s edition. Yesteryear’s laureates are featured on a dedicated Commerce Design circuit all month long.

10-30 september Across Brussels

tinyurl.com/50wEEkEnds

Punto Kiosk you can pick up a copy of The New Yorker and an espresso and then squeeze into the back room next to an old fireplace. \ Derek Blyth \ puntocaffe.be

\ 11

EXTEND YOUR SUMMER THIS WINTER. Don’t miss a single ray of sunshine this year and fly to numerous sunny destinations from €69 return.

brusselsairlines.com

Tuesday, September 15 at 18.30

The Antwerp

Expat

Looking for: a new home, living tips, expat clubs and associations, contacts in Antwerp’s community, international

Welcome Party 2015

©Toerisme AnTwerpen

or your travel agency.

Exclusively for CEOs, HRD & HRM, Corporate Mobility Managers and newly-arrived and resident expatriates.*

* Conditions: see brusselsairlines.com

From €69* return.

schooling, news and information, ideas on what to do.

Enjoy: a welcome buffet party,

practical information, tombola, meeting expats and locals / all for free.

www.xpats.com/AntwerpWelcomeParty before September 10

Voka - Chamber of Commerce and Industry Antwerp-Waasland Markgravestraat 12, 2000 Antwerp Public PArking

* Others wanting to attend will be charged €50/p.p.”

Van Dijck, Eikenstraat 9, 2000 Antwerp

xpats.com

\ lIVInG

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

Transforming pain into a future a daughter of flemish migration to drc in Brussels to share stories from city of joy madeleine kennedy-macfoy More articles by Madeleine \ flanderstoday.eu

drc.vday.org

and playwright Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, when he addressed the UN in the US. “Denis came back to Bukavu and told me about her,” says Schuler Deschryver. “He said he had told her about me, too, and that we absolutely had to meet each other.” It was then a natural step for Ensler and Schuler Deschryver to collaborate with survivors in Bukavu and with Unicef to establish City of Joy. The initiative is funded by Ensler’s V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women, and the women at City of Joy contribute by working to develop the V-World Farm, growing carrots, cassava and other crops, and fishing in the tilapia ponds. The plan

Eve Ensler and Christine Schuler Deschryver, co-founders of a remarkable organisation in the DRC, will be in Brussels this month to speak about the vital work they do helping women rebuild shattered lives in the DRC.

here is a place in Bukavu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), called City of Joy. It is a place, explains the director, of solace and healing; a place where women who have survived sexual violence can go for shelter and support. Christine Schuler Deschryver, who has Flemish roots, is the director of City of Joy. Since 2011, her organisation has taken in women aged 18 to 30, up to 90 of them at a time, and provided therapies to help them overcome the severe traumas they have experienced. Women here are seen as autonomous human beings, capable of redirecting their lives on their own terms, even after they have been subjected to extreme forms of gender-based violence. City of Joy founders Schuler Deschryver and Vagina Monologues scribe Eve Ensler will present their work at a special evening in Brussels this month. City of Joy grew out of the work of Dr Denis Mukwege, last year’s winner of the United Nations Prize in the field of human rights. He is the founder and director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, which specialises in treating women who have been subjected to extreme sexual violence, often by rebel forces. Women who had been healed physically shared with Mukwege their need for the healing to go beyond their bodies. Their minds and spirits would also need to be rebuilt if they were to regain strength enough to continue their lives in meaningful ways. It’s no accident that the motto at City of Joy is “transform pain into a future”. It’s a motto that speaks directly to the life of the woman who leads the transformative work. Schuler Deschryver is a daughter of the Flemish bourgeoisie: Her father, Adrien Deschryver, was from an aristocratic Flemish family, who migrated to the Congo when he was nine. Theirs was one of many families who settled there once it ceased to be the personal property of King Leopold II and became an official state colony. Adrien fell in love with an illiterate local woman, who his family refused to accept. With their marriage unrecognised by family, the couple settled in Bukavu to raise their five children. At the age of 12, the young Chris-

City of Joy is really a story about women’s resilience in the face of trauma

Co-founder Christine Schuler Deschryver (above), who speaks in Brussels next week; City of Joy in Bukavu, DRC, offers a haven to women who have been subjected to vicious sexual attacks and gives them the power to rebuild their lives

tine left Bukavu to attend boarding school in Flanders. At weekends, she went home to her father’s family, who lived locally, where she felt she was barely tolerated. Wanting very much to make a good impression and to be accepted, she did all she could to show she was one of them, she says. “I learned Dutch, how to do embroidery and even Bruges lacemaking,” she says. “But it was all to no avail: when guests came to the house, it was as if I was a family secret that had to be kept out of sight.”

These experiences meant that from a very early age, Schuler Deschryver was conscious of racial discrimination, and it was clear to her that fighting injustice was what she would do with her life. “I didn’t want to disappoint my father, so I worked hard at school,” she says. “But as soon as I could, I returned to Kivu, where I was born and where I felt – and still feel – that I belong. It’s the place I call home.” Schuler Deschryver’s professional life started with a job at the Belgian school in Kivu teaching Dutch and

English, until the wars started, when she worked for the German development agency GIZ, where she co-ordinated all the projects they funded in eastern Congo. As a volunteer at the Panzi hospital, she became a close friend and collaborator of Mukwege and supported women who arrived at the hospital suffering atrocious injuries and traumas. Mukwege met American activist

15 september, 20.15

is to turn this into a commercially viable farm over the next 10 years, securing the centre’s sustainability. “City of Joy is not another NGO project based on an ‘aid’ approach,” Schuler Deschryver explains. “From the beginning, we’ve been clear that what we’re doing is developing the capacity of the women who come here so they can take control of their own lives.” At Flagey this month, Schuler Deschryver and Ensler will lead an event to showcase the centre and its work. “In addition to making City of Joy visible to a Belgian audience, the goal of the event is to show a different side of the DRC. It isn’t all blood and tears,” Schuler Deschryver says. City of Joy, she continues, “is really a story about resilience – about women’s resilience in the face of trauma. These women are not looking for handouts; what they’re really interested in is having their own autonomy and the power to determine for themselves how to live their lives.”

Flagey

Heilig-Kruisplein, Brussels

\ 13

\ ARTS

WeeK in arTs & culTure new baby dolphin at Boudewijn Seapark The Boudewijn Seapark in Bruges has announced the birth of a baby dolphin, which took place on 25 July. The female calf born to mother Roxanne has been named Moana. Both are currently in the maternity pool, which is not on view to the public. “The birth went very well,” said a spokesperson for the Seapark. “Our team is extremely happy with this birth.” Roxanne has been at the park since 1988, while the baby dolphin’s father, Beachie, came to Bruges from the Netherlands in 2009 as part of a breeding programme. “This birth helps to ensure the survival of the bottlenose dolphin,” said the park.

Tuymans and Van Giel settle out of court Flemish painter Luc Tuymans and photographer Katrijn Van Giel have reached an out-of-court settlement on the matter of plagiarism. Tuymans was found guilty of plagiarism last January in the case of his painting called “A Belgian Politician”, which was a copy of Van Giel’s 2011 photograph of MP JeanMarie Dedecker. Tuymans claimed that his work was a “parody” of the original and that he had therefore not breached copyright laws. The court sided with Van Giel, who was suing Tuymans for €50,000. Tuymans promised an appeal, but the pair have reportedly settled, not wanting to continue in the courts.

Schoenaerts in Venice presenting two new movies Flemish actor Matthias Schoenaerts, who has starred or appeared in eight films over the last two years, is at the Venice Film Festival this week for interviews and appearances related to his two latest: A Bigger Splash and The Danish Girl. The first, by Italian director Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love), is a remake of the 1969 French classic La Piscine, with Schoenaerts playing the boy toy of aging rock star Marianna (Tilda Swinton). The Danish Girl, meanwhile, is UK director Tom Hooper’s hotly anticipated biopic of Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne), one of the first people in the world to receive sex reassignment surgery, in the early 1930s. Schoenaerts plays Elbe’s old friend, Hans.

\ 14

Cinema-on-sea

ostend’s film festival puts flemish movies in the spotlight Bjorn gabriels More articles by Bjorn \ flanderstoday.eu

filmfEstivaloostEndE.BE

A celebration of Flemish cinema at the coast starts and ends with feature debuts as local filmmakers compete for the Ensor awards.

his month, Ostend prolongs its summer festivities with a seaside celebration of movies. Now in its ninth edition, the Ostend Film Festival set out from the beginning to blow the trumpet of Flemish film, and this year’s opening and closing films are both Flemish feature debuts. In opener Café Derby, market vendor and pub owner Georges (Wim Opbrouck) hopes to tap into the commercial potential of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Flanders in 1985. The real heart of the film, however, is Georges’ youngest daughter, Sara (Chloë Daxhelet), and her view on family life, in a story modelled on director Lenny van Wesemael’s own childhood. Van Wesemael is no stranger to the festival, as she was previously invited as a Young Hero (an annual selection of promising filmmakers by the festival’s guest curator – a role currently filled by actor Maaike Cafmeyer). Much like her short films and music videos for Lady Linn, Café Derby displays Van Wesemael’s penchant for dance scenes and nostalgia, both symbolised by the presence of roller skates. A trip down memory lane of an entirely different nature is offered by closing film Cafard, by Jan Bultheel. After a long track record in directing and producing commercials, Bultheel shifted his focus to animation, creating the television series Hareport. In his feature film debut, he combines motion-capture animation in grim, sparse aesthetics with a haunting tale of three Flemish men caught up in First World War atrocities. They end up in an odyssey around the world, which shatters any romantic heroism they might have felt when they embarked on their quest for righteous revenge. Among the actors attached to wires in front of a blue screen while conversing in Ostend dialect is Wim Willaert, last year’s guest curator. Peter Craeymeersch, director of the Ostend Film Festival and head of the local tourism department once said: “Even if we’re somewhat ill at ease with it in Flanders, every mature film industry needs to have red carpets, glamour and glitter.” Since 2010, when the Flemish film award ceremony took place in Ostend for the first time, a large part of the industry in has embraced this opportunity to flaunt their gowns and suits and

Café Derby and Cafard are among the homegrown movies that bookend this year’s Ostend film festival

let themselves be feted, gala-style. Though an award competition always has to strike a balance between arbitrariness, cultural politics and giving praise where praise is due, the Ensors – named after Ostend artistic innovator and petit-bourgeois rebel James Ensor – have certainly succeeded in putting Flemish film in the spotlight. Their colleagues in Ghent, whose festival opens a month later, might regret ditching the predecessor of the Ensors at a time when Flemish film didn’t have the promotional pull it has now. At any rate, recent years have seen a more or less friendly rivalry between the two festivals to secure the best new Flemish cinema. In this year’s “Ensor race”, Brussels-based crime thriller Waste Land by Pieter Van Hees gathered the most nominations (13), ahead of the recent comedy-drama Paradise Trips by Raf Reyntjens, with nine. N: The Madness of Reason by Peter Krüger, a film essay that coincidentally challenges some of the notions of how westerners see Africans, as displayed in Waste Land, is the only film with docu-

mentary roots nominated for the Ensors, for best film and best photography. Krüger’s film is not found in the special category for documentaries; instead, those honours went to Gardenia: Before The Last Curtain Falls (Eva Küpper), Waiting For August (Teodora Ana Mihai) and Twilight of Life (Sylvain Biegeleisen). Among the notable films (nearly) missing this year are Gust Van den Berghe’s remarkable Lucifer, which has only been nominated for best scenario, and Ruben Desiere’s almost feature-length graduation film Kosmos. What’s also striking is the presence of some un-nominated films among the screenings explicitly intended to celebrate Ensor candidates. The closing night awards ceremony will undoubtedly give rise to the most hubbub, but any festival engaged with film culture at large also has to present distinctive films that don’t necessarily make it to regular cinemas. Early on, the Ostend Film Festival struggled to

11-19 september

assemble a qualitative selection of these “festival films”. Over the past few years, it has tried to overcome this by introducing two international competitions: LOOK!, which awards a number of prizes, including design, costumes and visual effects, and Taste Of Europe, with European films that have proven their box office potential in their home countries but haven’t yet been picked up for distribution in Flanders. The LOOK! competition presents Flemish choreographer Wim Vandekeybus’ feature debut Galloping Mind alongside documentary The Pearl Button by Chilean heavyweight Patricio Guzman, Colombian Cannes winner Embrace of the Serpent (starring Flanders’ Jeroen Bijvoet) and new films by Paolo Sorrentino (Youth) and Alex van Warmerdam (Schneider vs Bax). While Schneider vs Bax is a Flemish-Dutch co-production starring Tom Dewispelaere and Gène Bervoets, the festival also offers premieres of two French productions featuring Flemish audience favourites Matthias Schoenaerts (in Maryland by Alice Winocour) and Veerle Baetens (in Un début prometteur by Emma Luchini). Other highlights include Knight of Cups, the latest film by the reclusive patron saint of mystic cinema Terrence Malick and the 1952 classic Ikiru by Japanese grandmaster Akira Kurosawa. You’ll also fing Left Luggage (1988), a historical drama set in Antwerp, directed by this year’s special guest, Jeroen Krabbé, and starring Isabella Rossellini.

kinepolis and De Grote Post

Ostend

\ AGEnDA

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

Opening the cultural floodgates

Ghent Festival of Flanders 12-27 september

\ gEntfEstival.BE

hent’s leg of the region-wide Festival of Flanders kicks off the city’s cultural season in style. Now in its 58th edition, this musical extravaganza has become an institution, a platform for international performers and a showcase for national talent. This year’s 24 concerts and other events continue the tradition. Festival organisers have invited some of the classical and world music scenes’ best-loved artists to perform in venues across the city. This year’s theme is “Heroes,” which encompasses all the people to whom we look daily for inspiration, be they community leaders, good Samaritans or – naturally – artists. The festival’s centrepiece Accattone plays fast and loose with the theme. A musical stage adaptation of Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s eponymous 1961 film, the plot revolves around a small-time street pimp who tries to go straight

(and fails). Accattone’s soundtrack, borrowed from the Bach songbook, lends an air of ironic grandeur to this tale of ambiguous, everyday heroism. The production marks the arrival of prestigious city theatre NTGent’s new director, Johan Simons, but is staged in a decidedly unconventional setting: a

warehouse on Ghent’s industrial waterfront. The festival’s kick-off party this Saturday, meanwhile, is an entire festival in itself. During OdeGand, the entire city centre come alive in a day-long orgy of music and celebration. A single ticket gives you access to 60 mid-length concerts in dozens of venues, not to mention in the open air along the waterfront. You make your own schedule, walking – or taking one of the OdeGand boats along the canal – between the many participating venues. The “Heroes” theme is given its most literal treatment in the family program KidsOdeGand, which sees Emile Braunplein taken over by costumed superheroes and a giant mechanical bird. The event ends with a bang, literally. The free closing concert features a performance of the classic Broadway musical West Side Story, followed by fireworks and a bonfire. \ Georgio Valentino

concerT

performance

lefto

cirque du soleil: amaluna

20 september, from 15.00

AB, Brussels aBconcErts.BE

Over the last 20 years, Brussels DJ Lefto (real name Stéphane Lallemand) has built up a formidable reputation for using hip-hop as a platform to explore the musical planets that orbit the genre – funk, dance, dubstep, electronic and reggae. Ancienne Belgique has now invited the beat-dropper extraordinaire to celebrate two decades of spinning and scratching, and you can come, too. After guest performances by STUFF, Clap! Clap! and others, Lefto will take the turntables later in the evening, with help from his UK radio host pal Gilles Peterson, for what should be an epic two-hour birthday set.

food&drinK

This major annual culinary event is a festive, open-air sampling of the best of Brussels – and beyond. Some 20 local restaurants set up mobile kitchens and prepare street-food versions of their signature dishes. Regional producers show off their wares in the Artisans Village. Cooking workshops show you how to do it yourself. The festival’s partnership with France’s Bordeaux vineyards ensures a steady supply of wine. Eat Brussels also shines a spotlight on regional cuisine from around the world. Among this year’s international guests are culinary ambassadors from Quebec, Havana, Beijing and Poland’s Mazovia region. \ GV

Brussels Expo cirquEdusolEil.com

EatBrussEls.BE

12 september, from 13.30 Every ending is a new beginning. So the passing of summer heralds the start of a new cultural season. Cultuurmarkt Gent is an annual part of this transition. Every year representatives of the city’s arts institutions converge one of its most spacious squares to spread the word about the new season’s

\ despiegel.com

fesTival Ghent Groote Dekenijfeesten: Charlatan club’s annual festival combining concerts, games, pub crawls, workshops and a flea/music market, this year dubbed Vlas Legas. 13 September 9.00-midnight, Vlasmarkt, Oude Beestenmarkt and Bij Sint-Jacobs

Maldegem (East Flanders)

Streekbierenavond: Free party in the park, featuring regional beers and concerts by local bands The Shape I’m In, Karibu Orchestra and The Moonlovers, among others. 18 September 19.00, SintAnnapark, Gidsenlaan

marKeT Brussels Flagey’broc: The new version of the old Flagey antique and flea market is on its second edition and features 200 stands, a range of food trucks and entertainment for kids, including trampoline jumping and face painting. 13 September 9.00-18.00, Malibranstraat, Collegestraat and Maesstraat \ petitespuces.be

food&drinK Ronse

cultuurmarkt gent 10-13 September

Kring loop der dingen: Discover half a century’s worth of history in the old Theater De Spiegel, featuring puppets, props, photos and stories from the many magical theatre performances there. 12-27 September, Kapel Cultuurpunt Altena, Antwerpsesteenweg 79

\ jeugdverbroedering.be

fair

Eat Brussels

kontich (Antwerp province)

\ charlatan.be

The famous French-Canadian theatre company Cirque du Soleil has built its reputation on blockbuster big-tent spectacles combining dramatic orchestral music, ambitious sets, colourful costumes and breath-taking acrobatics. Amaluna is no exception. The story, loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest, takes place on a mythical island peopled by Amazons and governed by the goddess Prospera. When a crew of sailors shipwrecks in the neighbourhood, a fraught love affair blossoms. Amaluna premiered in Montreal in 2012 and has been touring North America ever since. Finally it arrives on European shores. \ Georgio Valentino

\ Linda Thompson

10-13 september

11 september to 25 october

eXhiBiTion

kouter, Gent uitBurEau.BE

programme. Naturally, these showand-tell presentations can get quite creative: Expect plenty of street theatre and mini-concerts as well as multimedia installations. Over 100 institutions are present, including museums (SMAK), theatres (NTGent), concert halls (Vooruit) and festivals (Film Fest Gent). \ GV

Septemberfeesten: Smallscale, artisanal and regional products on sale in front of the cosy café/ice cream salon Artisanne, featuring local beer, mustard, coffee, cheese and more. 12-13 September, Artisanne, Sint-Martensstraat 51 \ artisanne.be

Sint-Denijs-westrem (Ghent) Food Farm Fiesta: Music festival for foodies, families and cyclists, featuring food trucks, concerts, art exhibitions and bartenders serving up cocktails and whisky. 20 September from 11.00, Parkbos, Kortrijksesteenweg \ facebook.com/foodfarmfiesta

\ 15

\ BACkPAGE

sEPtEmBEr 9, 2015

Talking Dutch the 9.43 to strange underdog

In response to: End in sight for Schuman station works Anthony Allen The Brussels version of “la sagrada familia”. It will never be finished. See also: Arts-Loi

derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

his summer, national rail operator NMBS launched a competition to come up with nicknames for Flemish train stations. It was all part of a campaign to promote Go Unlimited tickets for young people. Bedenk een nieuwe naam voor jouw station – come up with a new name for your station, en maak kans op een gratis Go Unlimited – and you could win a free Go Unlimited pass. Selecteer het dichtsbijzijnde station van jouw woonplaats – Choose the station closest to where you live, contestants were told. Bedenk nu een naam die duidelijker jouw woonplaats kernmerkt – Now think of a name that more clearly represents your home town. The NMBS website helpfully came up with a few suggestions – Zand-Tussen-Uw-Broodje – Sand in Your Sandwich, or Joggen op den Dijk – Jogging on the Sea Wall. You might wonder if this is a good idea, when travelling by train here can already be confusing – like when your train arrives at a Brussels station with two different names. How much worse it would be if the NMBS took up one of the suggestions submitted and changed Brussel Zuid to Frietken-Pis. It’s interesting to see some of the proposals sent in by young Flemish train travellers. Sofie from Hasselt stood up for her city by suggesting that it deserved to be renamed Vriendelijker-dan-Antwerpen – Friendlier than Antwerp. Meanwhile, a disgruntled Arlene suggested Wevelgem change its name to Vertraging – Delay. Not all the suggested changes made sense (at least to me). I couldn’t get my head round why Regina would want to change Leuven to Ostend. Unless she was thinking that it

CONNECT WITH US

In response to: 1,000 tractors expected at protest in Brussels on Monday Silvia Rezessy It takes a fortune to transport a tractor at long distances ... 1000 tractors of very well-endowed farmers In response to: Antwerp Zoo’s last tiger, Yessie, dies at 17 Alejandra Solis Very sad! © Courtesy Jules Grandgagnage/wikimedia Commons

would bring her home town closer to the beach. Someone else thought Oudeghem should be renamed Het-New-York-van-Europa – the New York of Europe. That’s Oudeghem, East Flanders, population 3,950. Famous for, well, not much – unless you count the Echomonument: the Echo Monument, gemaakt uit een harde tropische houtsoort – made from a hard type of tropical wood, en in de vorm van een menselijke figuur – and in the shape of a human figure, met central een klein TV-scherm – with a small TV screen in the middle. Equally puzzling was Jolien’s idea of changing Kontich to Strange-Underdog, but her suggestion received seven likes, so I guess it must make sense to someone. Actually, Strange-Underdog wouldn’t be a bad name for Belgium, when you think about it. But among the proposals that netted the largest number of votes was changing Antwerp Central to Al-De-RestIs-Parking. At the final count, Al-de-Rest had 162 votes. So we might soon be hearing the conductor announce the departure of the 10.25 to Everywhere Else is Parking.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. Yes. Why should people who’ve just arrived get the same benefits as those who’ve spent their lives paying into the system?

39% b. Of course not; that’s second-class citizenry. Such a move would destroy the value placed on human rights and equal opportunities

61% uting to the system all their lives.” And more than one-third of you agree. Supporters point out that our social security system was never intended to absorb thousands of migrants. Opponents accuse him of creating second-class citizens. “He is putting everything we learned from the humanitarian crisis following the Second World War in jeopardy,” said Groen party member Wouter De Vriendt.

\ next week's question:

The suggestion, in the end, was rejected by other coalition parties, but this week socialist party leader John Crombez proposed a migration policy that would allow for the temporary housing and shelter of an influx of refugees instead of them all having to go through the long asylum-seeking process. So we may not have heard the last of the issue.

A school head in Flanders has resigned because it was impossible to sack a teacher she thought was performing poorly. What do you think about tenure? Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

\ 16

In response to: Waste not, want not: Delhaize adopts new shelfstacking strategy Nick Barata The whole idea of a market is choosing what you want to buy and not buying what you don’t want to buy. I like my food fresh and would rather not eat everything I’ve bought on the day I bought it! In response to: Refugee NGO files complaint with EU against migration minister Chrys Delis The Somali-British poet Warsan Shire once wrote in relation to refugees, “that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” Ryan Heath @PoliticoRyan Looks like the #Brussels pedestrian zone got an extension – thanks to the #milkmanif

LIKE US

facebook.com/flanderstoday

The lasT Word

should Belgium apply a special social status with limited rights to new immigrants, as suggested by n-va leader Bart de wever?

A majority of our readers are against the idea of giving refugees a separate social status with fewer rights to housing and child allowances, as proposed by N-VA president Bart De Wever and supported by federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon and migration minister Theo Francken. Providing social housing and welfare benefits to asylum seekers is “hard to justify,” De Wever said, “to people who have been contrib-

voices of flanders Today

the heart of the matter

where there’s muck…

“No politician can remain unmoved by such an image. This is the hard reality for people who have no choice. This photo should mark a turning point.”

“I’m not saying we should all go and live on a rubbish tip, but too hygienic is also not good.”

Groen politician Meyrem Almaci puts the shock of the photo of little Aylan into words

take a number

“We don’t want the soil from Parking C here in Humbeek. It’s an open secret that asbestos was dumped there.”

N-VA councillor Philip Roosen of Humbeek, yet another local authority fighting plans for a new national stadium

Professor Bart Lambrecht of Ghent University has proven the benefits to the immune system of a bit of dirt

sky’s the limit

“I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined appearing on TV. Same goes for being a pop star. That just wasn’t an option in Sint-Genesius-Rode. TV host or musician, that wasn’t a job. Working for Sabena like my dad, that was something real.” Flemish super celebrity Koen Wauters of Clouseau

[D\R