Just in time for Belgium’s annual party in Cannes, Screen Flanders, the Flemish Innovation and Entrepreneurship Economy Fund for the audiovisual industry, announced that it will invest €1.92 million ($2.23 million) in 15 new audiovisual productions, including nine majority Flemish (or Belgian) projects and six minority Flemish projects.
According to Screen Flanders, the 15 supported projects will bring targeted audiovisual spending in the Flanders region to more than €16.1 million ($18.7 million). Support awarded via telephone varies between 35,000 euros ($40,000) and 295,000 euros ($340,000) per project.
With a lineup of nine feature films, three drama series, two animated films and one animated series, this first of Screen Flanders’ twice-annual quotas includes both veteran filmmakers and debut directors, showcasing the diversity of Belgian cinema and the attractiveness of Belgium’s partners in the European co-production scene.
From Academy Award-nominated director Steyn Koninx (Daens, Neat Siten), “Ah, Belgium” is a true Belgian story about every Belgian’s favorite topic: the possibility of divorce between Flemish and Wallonia.
When the most unlikely scenario comes true, Wallonia’s minister and president will be incapacitated and his daughter will have to sign documents in his name. However, she is having trouble with her writing. The fact that she is the ex-lover of a Flemish minister and president also complicates matters.
Koninx will co-write the screenplay with Jean-Claude van Rijkegem, the screenwriter of Zagros and Moscow, Belgium. The film is being produced by Flemish company A Private View in collaboration with Luxembourg’s Diehl Productions, with Kinepolis Film Distribution handling distribution throughout the Benelux.
Screen Flanders is also supporting the feature film debuts of Clermont-Ferrand France winner and BAFTA Student of the Year nominees Anthony Nti and Genghis Kalybekov (Da Yie). Postcard is based on Chika Unigwe’s autobiographical novel On Black Sisters Street, which tells the story of two Nigerian women who flee to Europe in search of a better life, only to find themselves drawn into the cruel world of forced prostitution. One desperately clings to a dream, while the other sees an opportunity to advance within the system.
“Postcard” was produced by the Flemish company Caviar in collaboration with the Walloon company Versus Productions, the Dutch company IJswater Films and the German company Saroud Morissette. VRT is also participating as a co-producer.
Theater company Abattoir Fermé’s latest feature film “Amy” (“Hotel Poseidon”) and “Strokes of Madness,” a youth drama centering on a talented but vulnerable violinist, complete the majority of Belgian live-action films supported by Screen Flanders.
“Amy”
Animated works, including an adaptation of Romain Renard’s award-winning graphic novel Melville, are also part of the selected projects in this first round.
Co-directed by Fabrice Ntsinge and directed by Renard himself, Melville was produced by Brussels-based Need Productions and Flemish company Walking the Dog in collaboration with France’s Special Touch Studio, Canada’s Unite Central and Luxembourg’s Fabrique d’Images. Proximus, RTBF and Arte are participating as co-producing broadcasters. Best Friend Forever will be in charge of overseas sales. The original voice cast already includes some well-known European talent, including Melville Poupaud, Vicky Krieps, Olivier Gourmet, and Belgian sweetheart Bouli Lanners.
Walking The Dog will set up the entire production pipeline for this major international collaboration. The characteristic charcoal effect seen in the successful graphic novel is also an essential graphic and artistic element for the film, designed and developed by the Flemish studio and made available as a tool. This is achieved using 3D motion capture combined with 2D animation.
On the series side, Wouter Bubin, director of “1985” and “The Twelve,” will reunite with the creative team of “1985” to produce “We Are Family,” an emotional roller coaster about kinship, family ties, and true love. Produced by Eyeworks Film & TV Drama in association with VRT, the new show is created by screenwriter Julie Bovendaerde, with script development support from 1985 screenwriter Willem Wallyn.
Following the success of This Isn’t a Murder Mystery, a new mystery novel series is in the works in Flanders, with Wilder Content co-producing it with VRT, RTL NL/Videoland, Proximus and Horizon Film. Produced by Roel Mondelas and Bert Van Daal and directed by Young Hearts director Anthony Schattemann, Daughters promises a fascinating blend of drama and suspense, revolving around the mysterious death of a teenager that throws a small Belgian community into crisis.
‘collision’
streams
The police buddy comedy “Crash” has finished filming in Antwerp, making it the third most Flemish live-action series supported by Screen Flanders. Produced by Flemish company A Team Productions in collaboration with Amsterdam-based Fiction Valley, the series will air on Belgian broadcaster Streamz in 2027, and later on Dutch channel SkyShowtime. Be-Entertainment will be in charge of overseas sales.
On the animation side, Flemish company Fabrique Fantastique has backed Cartoon Movie’s popular project “Olga,” an adaptation of the award-winning graphic novel series by Canadian author Elise Gravel. In it, Olga, a young zoologist who discovers an alien she names Mae, embarks on a fun and unpredictable journey as Mae quickly changes Olga’s life forever.
Fabrique Fantastique produces the series in collaboration with Canadian companies Apartment 11 and VRT/Ketnet, and French company MIAM! Distribution is in charge of international sales.
“Olga”
Apartment 11, Fabrique Fantastic
Screen Flanders is also backing six minority Flemish projects, including Tammy Tom’s Spring Surprise, the final installment of a four-part series that chronicles the adventures of Tammy Tom, a child-pleasing cat conceived and developed by Bernie Boss around 2020. “Tammy Tom’s Spring Surprise” is produced by Catpaw Productions of the Netherlands in collaboration with Flemish company Iwerks Film. & TV drama. International sales will be handled by Incredible Film.
The Spanish drama Anocheche, about the last years of poet Federico García Lorca, and four Dutch co-productions round out this packed and diverse lineup, doubling the amount of projects supported by Screen Flanders compared to last year.
“The fact that this Screen Flanders call has resulted in more projects receiving small amounts of support does not reflect a strategic shift on our part,” said Katrien Maes, Screen Flanders coordinator.
“It mainly concerns the profile of the applications received, in particular the type of project (e.g. high-end television drama vs. low-budget feature), the budget range, the planned spending in Flanders and the corresponding funding needs.”
Screen Flanders operates as a host fund, so the level of support is determined based on the amount of support requested by producers in their applications. All eligible requests are thoroughly evaluated and ranked, and the available budget for that call is allocated in descending order of this ranking, taking into account the amount of support requested by each project, until the budget is fully committed.
“The differences between the calls can therefore be mainly explained by the nature of the applications received. For example, the first call in 2025 consisted mainly of high-budget works with large expenditures in the Flanders region, and as a result the support requests were high. In contrast, the 2026 call contained a wider range of low, medium and high-budget projects, with on average lower regional expenditures and, as a result, the support requests were also lower,” Mays added.
Through Screen Flanders, the Flemish government provides financial support to audiovisual productions that spend part of their budget in the Flemish region. Belgian (co-)producers can apply for a refundable advance of up to €400,000 (approximately $465,000) through Screen Flanders as financial support for audiovisual expenditures within the Flemish region.
For more information on supported productions, please visit the Screen Flanders website.
