LITTLE BABY JESUS OF FLANDR

Three beggars, Suskewiet, Pitje Vogel and Schrobberbeeck, are hungry and tired of their poverty. On Christmas Eve, dressed as the Three Kings, they go from village to village singing from door to door to beg a few coins. But on this night they actually find a child in a stable, and what began as a masquerade becomes a test for them. Gust Van den Berghe’s “Little Baby Jesus of Flandr” (Belgium 2010, original title “En waar de sterre bleef stille staan”) transposes the Nativity play by Flemish writer Felix Timmermans into a wintry landscape, casting the lead roles with actors who have intellectual disabilities.

Shot in black and white, with crooked, hand-written intertitles and imagery somewhere between peasant painting and passion play, the film was the feature debut of its then 25-year-old director. It screened in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes in 2010 and won the Jo-Röpcke Prize at the Ghent Film Festival. “Little Baby Jesus of Flandr” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2010.

Shown at the 2010 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2010 · Film Archive