French-speaking Belgium reached a high point at the Cannes Film Festival in May, with 11 Belgian co-productions receiving praise and acclaim on the Croisette. In addition to Critics' Week opener "Ghost Trail" and Cannes jury and Best Actress winner "Emilia Pérez," eight of those co-productions received support from the Belgian Federation Wallonia-Brussels, while just as many shared a proud French-speaking voice.

In Venice, industry officials built on that robust show of force, touting domestic projects like Fabrice Du Welz’s police thriller “Maldoror” and co-productions including Aude Léa Rapin’s sci-fi drama “Planet B” and Marie Losier’s music documentary “Peaches Goes Bananas,” while young producers took to the Lido to forge new partnerships that went beyond the traditional.

"We try to diversify as much as possible," says Jeanne Brunfaut, director of the French-speaking Belgian Cinema and Audiovisual Center. "Although we tend to work with [other French-speaking countries], we want to encourage our producers to look further afield, to see what's happening in Latin America and Scandinavia to build lasting partnerships and broaden their scope."

And so delegates from French-speaking Belgium and Luxembourg shared the spotlight at this year’s Venice Production Bridge for a joint focus on the industry, dubbed “The Center of Attraction.” The Belgian contingent placed a particular emphasis on the industry’s potential, welcoming 10 emerging and established producers—including the companies behind recent Cannes winners “The Damned” and “Annette,” as well as leading figures in animation and documentary—to flex a wider range of Brussels muscle.