Movie: Le Grand Nord, March 31 at 7:30pm

An interesting event,
forwarded by Bruno:



The avant-première of Le Grand Nord, a film about the use of public space in (the north of) Brussels.

A film by Soufiane Bouabaya, Gwenaël Breës, Axel Claes, Didier Fortin, Valentin Garcia, Kristien Geenen, Yoann Lebrun, Cécile Michel, Olivier Panier, Fanny Pieman, Charles Puttevils, Fatima Zahri | With Youssef Amrani, Hassan Mouhssin, Mehdi Ould Kherroubi | 2011 | 68 minutes.


Second episode of the Ateliers urbains , a project by Bruxelles (CVB) and Plus Tôt Te Laat (PTTL).
« Le grand Nord » was made by a group of about twelve Bruxellois, living or working in the North area. They focus on this neighbourhood – which has a different meaning for everybody that passes through it. Besides showing the striking variety of people using it, the movie also shows how the neighbourhood is delineated by physical as well as mental borders.

The North quarter is bordered by the Willebroek canal, the old industrial core of the city; it is divided from the rest of the city by the north-south railway connection; and it has been 'mutilated' by (unachieved) projects of the « Plan Manhattan ». At the heart of the North neighbourhood we find the North station, a transport hub that everyday receives tens of thousands of commuters from all over the country, who work in the North's office towers.

These dynamics make us sometimes forget that above all, the North quarter is a working-class neighbourhood, with a high immigrant population.

It is a place full of contrasts – as is well reflected in the movie.


Where & when: Thursday March 31 at 7:30pm at the Centre Pôle Nord (click to see the map)