Battles

  • 90'
  • Belgium
  • 2015
The echoes of war also reverberate in peacetime. Battles takes a patient look, sensitive to tragedy and comedy, at the traces of battle in the landscape. A bunker in Albania used as a cattle stall by a family. Older ammunition that is exploded by the Belgian army. An army of Russian seamstresses who fabricate inflatable war material. And a tourist attraction in Latvia where people can pay to spend time in a military training camp.
Traces of battle that find a place in everyday life, while also describing something of the absurd relationships between the two. This debut by Flemish director Isabelle Tollenaere takes us to a twilight world where present and past, war and play, threat and innocence come together, and observes all this with as much tranquillity as eye for detail. Against these decors, ghosts from the past appear naturally, but they don’t know the way either.
Winner FIPRESCI Award 2015
Director
Isabelle Tollenaere
Premiere
World premiere
Countries of production
Belgium, Netherlands
Year
2015
Festival Edition
IFFR 2015
Length
90'
Medium
DCP
Languages
Russian, Latvian, English, Dutch
Producers
Olivier Burlet, Nazima Mintjes, Daniel Devalck
Production Companies
Michigan Films, Witfilm, Cobra Films
Sales
Michigan Films
Screenplay
Isabelle Tollenaere
Cinematography
Frédéric Noirhomme
Editor
Nico Leunen
Sound Design
Michel Schöpping, Kwinten van Laethem
Website
http://michiganfilms.be
Director
Isabelle Tollenaere
Premiere
World premiere
Countries of production
Belgium, Netherlands
Year
2015
Festival Edition
IFFR 2015
Length
90'
Medium
DCP
Languages
Russian, Latvian, English, Dutch
Producers
Olivier Burlet, Nazima Mintjes, Daniel Devalck
Production Companies
Michigan Films, Witfilm, Cobra Films
Sales
Michigan Films
Screenplay
Isabelle Tollenaere
Cinematography
Frédéric Noirhomme
Editor
Nico Leunen
Sound Design
Michel Schöpping, Kwinten van Laethem
Website
http://michiganfilms.be