Please note that, as a general rule, this program is subject to change right up to the launch of the festival. New films may be added, guests may confirm their attendance, and others may cancel their participation.
The Liège International Comedy Film Festival (FIFCL) celebrates its 10ᵉ edition this year.
Since its creation, FIFCL has established itself as a key event on the Belgian and European film scene, showcasing an often underestimated genre: comedy. For this anniversary edition, the FIFCL offers an ambitious program, rich in novelties, discoveries and highlights.
The official competition for this 10ᵉ edition brings together 6 feature films from different countries, illustrating the festival’s desire to promote cultural diversity through the prism of comedy. 12 short films will also be presented in competition. The current selection includes films from
Once again this year, the FIFCL will bring together some of the best-known faces in comedy: Jean Reno, Muriel Robin, Amelle Chahbi, Édouard Montoute, Claudia Tagbo, Reda Kateb, Alex Vizorek, Gilbert Melki, Philippe Duquesne, Natoo, Thomas Solivérès, Patrick Timsit, as well as professionals: Jean-Yves Roubin, Matthieu Donck, Daphné Huynh, Domenico La Porta, Thomas Pibarot, Bastien Sirodot, Thierry Vandersanden and Lilian Eche.
Valentin Conraads
René Emonts-Gast
The FIFCL will be honored to welcome a number of prestigious guests. Jean Reno will be this year’s special guest, Muriel Robin will be the guest of honor at the festival’s closing, and Lambert Wilson will be the festival’s patron. Their presence underscores the festival’s commitment to popular, demanding and accessible cinema, capable of rallying a wide audience around shared values.
Alongside the competition, a number of special screenings will be held, showcasing national premieres of out-of-competition films. These screenings will give audiences the chance to discover previously unseen films, with renowned casts and often eagerly awaited on Belgian screens.
New this year is a carte blanche for the Ostend Film Festival.
This unprecedented partnership aims to overcome the language barriers still too present in the Belgian audiovisual landscape, by promoting Dutch-language comedy to French-speaking audiences, and vice versa. The film chosen by Ostend, Waarom Wettelen by Dimitri Verhulst, will be presented as a “Coup de Coeur” screening.
FIFCL will also feature a special screening of Reda Kateb’s film Sur un fil, a tribute to the work of professional clowns with children who are ill or in family or psychological difficulty, followed by a debate organized in collaboration with a Liege-based association.
A special session dedicated to European cinema will complete the program, in a spirit of openness and dialogue between cultures. It will offer audiences the chance to discover works from other European countries, illustrating the extent to which laughter can be both universal and deeply rooted in specific cultural contexts.
Aurore Nivelle
Aurore Nivelle
Belgian cinema will also be honored with a special screening, where the final vote will be entrusted to the audience. At the end of the screening, three prizes will be awarded: 10,000 euros in equipment loans donated by TSF Belgique, and 3,000 euros donated by the Loterie Nationale (2,000 euros for the best film and 1,000 euros for the best screenplay).
This session aims to provide concrete support for Belgian creation, talent and rising stars of Belgian cinema, helping them to realize their future projects. In collaboration with SONUMA, the festival will also honor Clapman, the short program considered the shortest in television history, in the presence of its creator Marc-Henri Wajnberg. Several vignettes will be shown.
FIFCL has big ambitions and aims to become Europe’s comedy capital by 2030: a place where you can discover, sell and buy films, while taking part in the Co-Production Forum, attending quality panels, and discovering tomorrow’s talent thanks to the CineComedies Lab writing residency.
Over the past 10 years, the Liège International Comedy Film Festival has continued to grow, diversify and establish itself as both a popular and professional event. This 10th edition is the most accomplished demonstration of this, driven by a clear ambition: to make comedy shine as a major art of cinema.
As of this 10ᵉ edition, the festival is taking a step in this direction with the first Salon des métiers du cinéma, in collaboration with the SIEP. In the medium term, the FIFCL also wants to create a film market.