Man Bites Dog
Dark, absurd, provocative, biting, anarchic: these are just some of the terms that best define the unique brand of humour that has flourished in Belgian cinema, especially in Wallonia, over the last few decades. While Belgian comedy has many facets, ranging from ferocity to self-deprecation, it always has a knack for pressing where it hurts while daring to laugh about it, painting hard-hitting social portraits, and putting our laborious lives into perspective.
Winner of two awards at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival
Ben, a villainous killer who makes his living by taking the lives of poor innocents, agrees to be followed by a team of journalists who document his crimes, until they become his accomplices. This darkly humorous fake documentary also takes a cynical look at journalism.
Benoît Poelvoorde
Benoît Poelvoorde is a Belgian actor and comedian. He gained prominence in the 1990s with the cult Belgian film C'est arrivé près de chez vous (1992), the humorous series Les carnets de monsieur Manatane (1997), and the French comedy Les randonneurs (1997), which sold more than 1.5 million tickets in France. He established himself in the 2000s as a reliable figure in Franco-Belgian cinema. He starred in comedies such as Le vélo de Ghislain Lambert (2001), Le boulet (2002), and especially Podium (2004), which earned him a nomination for the César Award for Best Actor. He further solidified his reputation with notable supporting roles, like Brutus in Astérix aux Jeux olympiques (2008), and then took on more experimental comedies. He also ventured into dramatic roles, initially under the direction of filmmaker Anne Fontaine. He acted alongside Isabelle Carré in the romance Entre ses mains (2005), Audrey Tautou in the biopic Coco avant Chanel (2009), and Isabelle Huppert in the dramatic comedy Mon pire cauchemar (2010). His performances in the first two films earned him additional César nominations. A prolific actor, he appeared in over twenty films in the 2010s. Recently, he worked under the direction of Quentin Dupieux in Au poste ! (2018) and Fumer fait tousser (2022).
Rémy Belvaux
Rémy Belvaux was a Belgian actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He was the brother of Lucas Belvaux, also an actor and film director, and of Bruno Belvaux, a theater director. In 1992, he was with André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde, director, producer and actor of the feature film Man Bites Dog (C’est arrivé près de chez vous). This film, which was his most famous movie, is about a camera crew filming a documentary about the life of a serial killer. Belvaux plays one of the journalists.
André Bonzel
André Bonzel is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed alongside Rémy Belvaux and Benoît Poelvoorde the 1992 black comedy film Man Bites Dog (C’est arrivé près de chez vous), which was met with high praise from film critics and has soon become a cult film.
