Presented free in partnership with Alliance Française de Chicago; tickets must be reserved online or at the box office for admittance.
“There's something genuinely religious in its stark portrayal of unyielding resurrection.” - Rob Humanick, Slant Magazine
“The Dardennes convey so much using so little, the seemingly strung together nature of the film ultimately containing a very specific and carefully plotted structure that brings a gravity to even the most mundane of events.” - Mattie Lucas, From the Front Row
Saturday, March 9, 3:30 p.m. (Free) | When the Dardenne brothers' vérité drama ROSETTA won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (their first, later winning the Palme for THE CHILD in 2005), critics were shocked. The film, about the 17-year-old Belgian Rosetta, a poor young woman struggling to hold on to a job to support herself and her alcoholic mother, is starkly realistic and visually raw. (As Roger Ebert noted in his coverage of the win, “Variety's grudgingly positive review of ROSETTA categorized it as ‘an extremely small European art movie from Belgium.’ Not just European but Belgian.”) Do not be deceived by the seemingly simple film, which endures as a revelatory and affecting portrait of resilience, and exemplifies why the Dardenne brothers are two of Belgium's most revered filmmakers.
Presented free in partnership with Alliance Française de Chicago; tickets must be reserved online or at the box office for admittance. Join us for a post-screening reception from 5:00-6:00 p.m. featuring waffles by Madame Muriel and Belgian beer courtesy Wallonie Bruxelles International.
Awards & Nominations
Winner - Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival
Winner - Best Actress (Émilie Dequenne), Cannes Film Festival
Winner - Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention, Cannes Film Festival
Winner - André Cavens Award, Belgian Film Critics Association
Chicago European Union Film Festival - Spotlight on Belgium: Join us this year as we dive into the best of Belgian cinema new and old. Presenting Chicago audiences with a potent cultural immersion and showcasing bright new native talents alongside a slice of repertory favorites. View full festival.
The Film Center thanks the consulates, consuls general, and cultural institutes of the European Union in Chicago and their embassies in Washington, D.C., for their support, partnership, and collaboration. Special thanks to Paul M. Van Halteren, president of EuroChicago and Honorary Consul of Belgium in Illinois, and our 2024 Belgium Spotlight partners:
European Union Center w/European Union Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through support from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI NRC Program.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu