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In its latest edition, the famous American magazine Variety, dedicated to the entertainment industry, set aside a full page for the Liège filmmaking hub, which it describes as major in the Belgian industry. In 2016, Liège accommodated no fewer than 41 film shoots.
The magazine describes Liège as "a major hub in the Belgian filmmaking industry. The city has been steadily growing its production and post-production infrastructure over the past several years, playing host to some of the most dynamic and consequential productions in the country"
For them, this is a change that took place in the 2000s, since prior to this when "native sons Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (winners of the Palme d’Or for “Rosetta” and “The Child”) opened Les Films du Fleuve in 1994 to finance their own films, they were pretty much the only game in town, alongside 'Les Films de la Passerelle'."
A change made possible due to a certain number of regional operators such as CLAP, Wallimage, Pôle Image de Liège, Tarantula Productions, Versus Productions and many others.
Film directors such as Joseph Rouschop of Tarantula Productions and the Jacques-Henri brothers and Olivier Bronckart of Versus Prods were consequently able to exploit sources of incentivised support and had knowledge of existing outlets.
"Everything was in place for it to take off", says Jeanne Brunfaut, associate director of Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. "There was an assembly of high-level expertise all in one place."
Liège can also rely on a steady stream of qualified individuals due to the film programme at the University of Liège and the nearby Royal Conservatory. This has led to unprecedented success with worldwide collaborations.
The Walloon Government offers robust financial support and has created a real filmmaking hub in one of its provincial capitals.