Yesterday, the Walloon film awards, Les Magritte du Cinéma, were awarded at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles in Brussels. The Académie André Delvaux, named after the famous Belgian film director André Delvaux (1926-2002), traditionally organizes the annual event which is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in Belgium.

Belgian-born actress Lubna Azabal (born 1973), who also works abroad and has already collaborated with Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others, hosted the show and saw how “Close” by Lukas Dhont took home seven Magritte Awards, while actor, director and screenwriter Bouli Lanners (b. 1965, feature image) won three statuettes.

His romantic drama “Nobody Has to Know” was named best picture; Lanners also received a Magritte for directing the film, and he received a third statuette for his leading role in the crime drama “La nuit du 12,” directed by Dominik Moll. Both already won multiple Césars last week in Paris, and yesterday, “La nuit du 12” also received a Magritte for best foreign co-production.

“Nobody Has to Know” (201, trailer)

As already mentioned, “Close” received seven Magritte Awards: the film was voted best Flemish film and also won in the categories best supporting actor (Igor Van Dessel), best supporting actress (Émilie Dequenne), and most promising actor (Eden Dambrine). The screenplay, camera work, and production design for the film were also awarded. Film director Lukas Dhont did not attend the Magritte event in Brussels; he is currently in Los Angeles, ahead of the Oscars next Sunday, March 12, where “Close” is nominated in the category ‘Best International Feature Film.’ His brother and “Close” producer Michiel Dhont accepted the best Flemish film award, also on his behalf.

The Magritte for best actress went to Virginie Efira for her role and stunning performance in “Revoir Paris” by Alice Winocour (Efira also won a César last week for her role), and actress Sophie Breyer was named most promising actress for her role in “La ruffle.” French actress and screenwriter Agnès Jaoui (b. 1964) was awarded an Honorary Magritte for her long and rewarding career; it is by no means the first film award she has received. She already won four Césars in the past, all of them for her work as a screenwriter.

Here is the list of the nominees of the twelfth edition of Les Magritte du Cinéma, with the winners indicated in bold, as well as photographs that were taken during the red carpet ceremonies when the guests arrived at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, and of the recipients in the press room after they had received their Magritte.

Press and public relations for the entire Les Magritte du Cinéma event were handled by The PR Factory.

The nominees and winners of Les Magritte du Cinéma 2023

Film

“Animals” directed by Nabil Ben Yadir
“La ruche” directed by Christophe Hermans
“Nobody Has to Know” directed by Bouli Lanners
“Rien à foutre” directed by Julie Lecoustre, Emmanuel Marre
“Tori et Lokita” directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Film debut

“Aya” directed by Simon Coulibaly Gillard
”La ruche” directed by Christophe Hermans
”Rien à foutre” directed by Julie Lecoustre, Emmanuel Marre
”Yuku et la fleur de l’Himalaya” directed by Arnaud Demuynck, Rémi Durin

Direction

Nabil Ben Yadir (“Animals”)
Bouli Lanners (“Nobody Has to Know”)
Julie Lecoustre, Emmanuel Marre (“Rien à foutre”)
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne (“Tori et Lokita”)

Flemish film

“Close” directed by Lukas Dhont
”Le otto montagne” directed by Felix Van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch
”Nowhere” directed by Peter Monsaert
”Rebel” directed by Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah

Foreign co-production

“À l’ombre des filles” directed by Etienne Comar
”Clara sola” directed by Nathalie Álvarez Mésen
”La nuit du 12” directed by Dominik Moll
”Madeleine Collins” directed by Antoine Barraud
”Where is Anne Frank” directed by Ari Folman

Actor in a leading role

Soufiane Chilah (“Animals”)
Benoît Poelvoorde (“Inexorable”)
Jérémie Renier (“L’ennemi”)
Bouli Lanners (“La nuit du 12”)
Aboubakr Bensaihi (“Rebel”)

Actress in a leading role

Babetida Sadjo (“Juwaa”)
Lucie Debay (“Lucie perd son cheval”)
Lubna Azabal (“Rebel”)
Virginie Efira (“Revoir Paris”)

Actor in a supporting role

Igor Van Dessel (“Close”)
Mehdi Dehbi (“La conspiration du Caire”)
Jérémie Renier (“Novembre”)
Tijmen Govaerts (“Tori et Lokita”)

Actress in a supporting role

Veerle Baetens (“À l’ombre des filles”)
Anne Coesens (“À la folie”)
Émilie Dequenne (“Close”)
Mara Taquin (“Rien à foutre”)

Most promising actor

Gianni Guettaf (“Animals”)
Eden Dambrine (“Close”)
Gustav De Waele (“Close”)
Pablo Schils (“Tori et Lokita”)

Most promising actress

Sophie Breyer (“La ruche”)
Mara Taquin (“La ruche”)
Elsa Houben (“Le coeur noir des forêts”)
Joely Mbundu (“Tori et Lokita”)

Screenplay

Nabil Ben Yadir, Antoine Cuypers (“Animals”)
Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens (“Close”)
Bouli Lanners (“Nobody Has to Know”)
Julie Lecoustre, Emmanuel Marre (“Rien à foutre”)

Cinematography

Frank van den Eeden (“Close”)
Manu Dacosse (“Inexorable”)
Olivier Boonjing (“Rien à foutre”)

Sound

Mathieu Cox, Pierre Mertens, David Vranken, Philippe Van Leer (“Animals”)
François Maurel, Olivier Mortier, Luc Thomas (“La nuit du 12”)
Marc Bastien, Etienne Carton, Thomas Gauder, Cameron Mercer, Philippe Van Leer (“Nobody Has to Know”)

Production design

Eve Martin (“Close”)
Paul Rouschop (“Nobody has to know”)
Anna Falguères (“Rien à foutre”)

Costume design

Manu Verschueren (“Close”)
Elise Ancion (“Nobody Has to Know”)
Prunelle Rulens (“Rien à foutre”)

Original score

Vincent Cahay (“Inexorable”)
Fabian Fiorini (“La ruche”)
Hannes De Maeyer, Oum en Aboubakr Bensaihi (“Rebel”)

Editing

Alain Dessauvage (“Close”)
Ewin Ryckaert (“Nobody Has to Know”)
Nicolas Rumpl (“Rien à foutre”)

Short (fiction)

“Drame 71” directed by Guillaume Lion
”Les huîtres” directed by Maïa Descamps
”Ma gueule” directed by Grégory Carnoli, Thibaut Wohlfhart
”Patanegra” directed by Méryl Fortunat-Rossi

Short (animation)

“Câline” directed by Margot Reumont
”Grosse colère” directed by Arnaud Demuynck, Célia Tisserant
”Les grandes vacances” directed by Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier
”Les liaisons foireuses” directed by Chloé Alliez, Violette Delvoye

Documentary

“Dreaming Walls” directed by Amélie Van Elmbt, Maya Duverdier
”I Am Chance” directed by Marc-Henri Wajnberg
”L’empire du silence” directed by Thierry Michel
”Petites” directed by Pauline Beugnies
”Soy libre” directed by Laure Portier

Documentary (short)

“Arbres” directed by Jean-Benoît Ugeux
”Dernier voyage au Laos” directed by Manon Saysouk
”Masques” directed by Olivier Smolders
”On la nomme la brûlure” directed by Bénédicte Liénard, Mary Jiménez

Honorary Magritte

Agnès Jaoui