In the city of Brussels, a Romanian construction worker (Stefan Gota) about to leave on vacation, crosses paths with a Belgian-Chinese biologist (Liyo Gong) writing a dissertation on moss. Such is the slender but fruitful starting point for Here, a film so attuned to the rhythms and textures of the everyday that even its characters’ names are an afterthought. Taking us from city to country, from concrete urban locales to lush natural environs, Belgian filmmaker Bas Devos’ fourth feature suggests that the beauty we find here knows no human distinctions. Winner of the top prize in the Berlinale’s adventurous Encounters section, the film is a sensuous wonder, featuring precise 4:3 tableaux, tactile 16mm photography, compositions reminiscent of Edward Hopper, and the lilting rhythms of a gentle city symphony. Although there are hints of romance between the two leads, Here is less a full-blown drama than a luminous exploration of the visible world, a film about two people united by their mutual delight in their surroundings.
Community Partner
Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong, Cedric Luvuezo, Teodor Corban, Saadia Bentaïeb
Belgium
2023
Panorama
In Dutch, French, Romanian, Chinese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Marc Goyens
Screenwriter
Bas Devos
Cinematography
Grimm Vandekerckhove
Editor
Dieter Diependaele
Production Design
Špela Tušar
Original Music
Brecht Ameel
Director
Bas Devos
Bas Devos was born in Zoersel, Belgium. Devos’ debut feature, Violet (2014), won the Jury Prize at Berlinale Generations and was selected for New Directors/New Films festival at MoMa, New York. His second feature, Hellhole (2019) was selected for Berlinale Panorama. His third feature, Ghost Tropic (2019), premiered only three months later at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at Cannes. Here (2023) is his fourth feature film. Devos is an alumni and professor of film at Luca School of Arts in Brussels.
Filmography: Violet (2014); Hellhole (2019); Ghost Tropic (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine
A remarkable line up of artists come together to share their love for the great American singer-songwriter John Prine, including Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Kurt Vile and Kasey Musgraves.
Cover-Up
Oscar-winner Laura Poitras and Emmy-winner Mark Obenhaus turn their lens on legendary journalist Seymour Hersh in a riveting film that unpacks how one reporter exposed the truths behind My Lai and Abu Ghraib — and what it takes to hold power to account.
Image: © The New York Times
The Baltimorons
An early Xmas present and the rom-com of the year: a dental emergency on Christmas Eve brings together flailing comedian Chris and cynical divorcee Didi for a series of low-key urban misadventures.
The Secret Agent
Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.
Cutting Through Rocks
Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.