Brussels Kicks Off With a Look At MR NOBODY Director's Next And a Knighthood For Joe Dante

Earlier this evening the 33rd edition of the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival kicked off in grand style with a raucous packed house - and, yes, the Brussels audience notorious for making visiting directors sing to them and general carryings-on throughout screenings fully earns every scrap of their reputation - treated to an extended look at Jaco Van Dormael's upcoming effort The Brand New Testament (Le Tout Nouveau Testament) before Gremlins helmer Joe Dante took the stage to become a Knight In The Order Of The Raven prior to a screening of his latest effort, Burying The Ex.

Van Dormael has been beautifully out of step with the norm for Belgian film throughout his career, the technically dazzling and philosophically challenging Mr Nobody being the most recent result of his unique vision. Well, thank god for being different because Van Dormael's latest looks all sorts of fabulous.

Without giving too much away the story of The Brand New Testament revolves around God, now a cranky old man who just wants to be left alone while doing as little as possible, and his thorny relationship with his young daughter Ea. So, yes, new Messiah and all that, and God's not so happy about Ea's interference with the normal running of things. You know who is? Catherine Deneauve, who somehow ends up in a romantic relationship with a gorilla. Picture the quirky craftsmanship of Amelia fused to some archetypal Big Questions and you're in the right neighborhood. This looks to be gorgeous, funny, heartfelt stuff that's actually about something and fans and neophytes alike should very much be looking forward to its arrival.

And then on came Dante, ushered to the stage by a career tribute clip reel and an actual, functioning Gremlin puppet, to take a knee and be knighted. And while the career award is not at all an actual bestowed-by-a-king-knighthood it's still more than I've ever gotten. Burying The Ex? More on that shortly ...