Dust selected for Berlinale competition & Heysel 85 Special Gala Screening

Dust is directed by Anke Blondé (Juliet, The Best of Dorien B.) and written by Angelo Tijssens (Coward, Julian, Close), who is also attached as executive producer. Together they have ventured into the suspense thriller genre for the first time, and their collaboration immediately was rewarded with a Berlinale Competition selection.

Set in the late 1990s, at the peak of Belgium’s tech boom, Dust follows two visionary entrepreneurs whose empire collapses when their fraud is exposed. On their final day of freedom, they are forced to confront what truly matters.

The leading roles are played by Arieh Worthalter and Jan Hammenecker. The film is produced by Dries Phlypo for A Private View, in co-production with Heretic (GR), Shipsboy (PL) and Bêtes Sauvages (UK). International sales are handled by LevelK.

Following her debut feature film La Civil, selected for the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, Belgian-Romanian director Teodora Ana Mihai returns with Heysel 85, another poignant and multi-layered story, this time about one of the most traumatic moments in European (football) history.

Heysel 85 is set against the backdrop of the dramatic events of 29 May 1985 at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, where 39 people lost their lives during the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus.

When violence erupts, the mayor's daughter and a journalist with Italian roots find themselves at the heart of the tragedy, torn between their professional duty, loyalty to their family and moral responsibility.

The leading roles are played by Violet Braeckman and Matteo Simoni. The film was directed by Teodora Ana Mihai, who wrote the screenplay together with Lode Desmet and Isabelle Darras. The production is in the hands of Hans Everaert for Menuetto, in co-production with Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium), Topkapi Films (Netherlands) and Leitwolf (Germany). The film will be distributed in Belgium by Kinepolis Film Distribution. International sales are handled by Salaud Morisset. 

In addition to her leading role in Heysel 85, Violet Braeckman was selected as European Shooting Star 2026, a selection of ten emerging European actors who will be presented to the international press and film industry during the festival. Co-star Matteo Simoni was part of the Shooting Stars in 2018.

The economic fund Screen Flanders, an initiative under the authority of Flemish Minister of Economy Matthias Diependaele and Minister of Culture Caroline Gennez, invested in Dust and Heysel 85.