In 2019, filmmaker Lou Ye and his regular team set to work on an unfinished feature film from ten years ago. But when Covid-19 confined them all to their hotel rooms, his film turned into a chronicle of an extraordinary period. What began as a professional production became a collection of phone videos that virtually connected the film crew. 

An Unfinished Film is a challenging frame narrative in which fact and fiction are constantly intertwined. On the one hand, it is the result of a creative process—hampered by the exceptional circumstances of Covid-19—and on the other, it is also a unique look at a historically significant and politically charged moment in Chinese history, when group formation was seen by the Chinese government as a threat to the state and society. Lou palpably evokes the fear and paranoia that the world experienced at the beginning of the pandemic – bringing out our best and worst impulses – and highlights our greatly changed relationship with images in a post-Covid world. Exciting, witty and, above all, tragic.

Spoken language: Mandarin

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Seita and Setsuko, two young Japanese children, live in the aftermath of World War II. When they are separated from their parents by an American firebombing raid, the brother and sister can only find support in each other. As the situation in the completely devastated city of Kobe worsens and food becomes increasingly scarce, Seita and Setsuko embark on a desperate struggle for survival. 

Spoken language: Japanese

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Brazil, 1971. One day, Rubens Paiva, a former congressman and outspoken critic of the newly established Brazilian military dictatorship, is taken from his home in Rio de Janeiro by government officials. The lives of his wife Eunice and their five children change abruptly after his disappearance. Eunice is pressured by the regime to betray her friends and family. When she is released 12 days later, she does everything she can to oppose the corrupt regime. 

Spoken language: Portuguese

Nadia Lie, professor of Spanish and Latin American literature and film at the Faculty of Arts of KU Leuven, will provide an introduction (in English) before the movie screening on Thursday December 11th. 

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The morning after his wedding night, Kersten receives a phone call: his father has died. This immediately reveals the first lie in their relationship, because Kersten had claimed to be an orphan. He is forced to travel to his native village in the Danish countryside, to his father's dilapidated farm. There he finds his mentally disabled brother Rud, who is completely distraught. It is clear that Rud cannot be left to fend for himself, but Kersten feels the pressure from his wife and in-laws. The best solution seems to be to hire a governess for Rud. And so Liva, a young ex-prostitute, comes to live with them. But Liva has her own secrets...

Spoken language: Danish 

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Twenty-year-old Bruno lives on the streets. Together with a few schoolchildren, he commits thefts and then sells the loot. He lives with his girlfriend, eighteen-year-old Sonia, whose child benefit they live on. Sonia has just given birth and named their child Jimmy. At first, Bruno wants nothing to do with the baby, but then he realizes that he can make money from the newborn. In an unguarded moment, Bruno sells the baby in an illegal transaction. Sonia cannot stomach such betrayal and faints. Back from the hospital, she no longer wants to see Bruno.

Spoken language: French 

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