The Misfortunates
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 the Prix Art et Essai, 2009 Cannes Film Festival
Gunther is 13 and lives in the same house as his grandmother, with his father and uncles. His father and uncles do nothing but drink, flirt and hang out. Is Gunther's fate already decided?
Felix van Groeningen
Felix van Groeningen is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. He is known for The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) and Belgica (2016), with the former being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. He made his English-language debut with the biographical drama Beautiful Boy (2018) and was awarded with the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize for The Eight Mountains (2022). After graduating from college, van Groeningen directed several short films, and written and directed several stage plays. He made his directorial debut with Steve + Sky (2004), which depicts a romance between a drug dealer and a prostitute, followed by the comedy With Friends Like These (2007). His third film, The Misfortunates (2009), premiered at Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight section and won the Prix Art et Essai.
