WIDESCREEN PRODUCTION

Dr Biermans

It is the story of a Dutch self-made man (1864-1953) who, starting from scratch, managed to show his abilities as an entrepreneur and proved to be a great defender of social welfare in Canada. He was first involved in 1890 in the construction of the first Congo Railway line under Leopold II, King of the Belgians, before being sent to Canada in 1900 in Shawinigan to set up a paper mill, the Belgo, which would become the world's first pulp mill. As a philanthropist, he was dedicated to helping people by financing health and education. It is he who built with his wife, Berthe Lapôtre, the Biermans-Lapôtre Foundation at the Cité Universitaire de Paris to help with housing for students. He has financed Laval University in Quebec City and the University of Montreal as well as many charitable institutions in Belgium, France and Monaco where he is the founder of the Monegasque Red Cross.

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The Tempest Stela

Is the Book of Exodus based on real events? 3500 years ago, a huge volcanic eruption destroyed half the island of Santorini. That global catastrophe was possibly the cause of the Plagues of Egypt; they are mentioned on a mysterious inscription on a stone stela translated 50 years ago by Egyptologist Claude Vandersleyen. This is the starting point of a fascinating investigation which sheds new light on the history of Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs, as well as upon parts of the Old Testament.

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Mad about Hats

The film traces the tumultuous history of the hat to the present day. The beaver, which was decimated in Europe for its hair used to produce felt, was trapped as far away as America, as early as the 17th century. The conquest of North America is intrinsically linked to the rush for beaver skins. At the beginning of the 20th century, the industry was flourishing until the 1960's and already, the hair of another rodent, the rabbit, was the happiness of hatters. Then came the crisis, and the film travels through devastated mono-industrial cities in Portugal, France and Belgium. Today, there are niche markets: Tyrolean, Orthodox Jewish or cowboy hats. The film looks at the hat as a fashion accessory. Celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga show how the hat is an essential accessory to assert one's individuality.

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Greenhouse Effects

A documentary about the last "greenhouse growers" still active in Flemish Brabant, who passionately cultivate grapes in greenhouses. It traces the slow disappearance of greenhouses in the Druivenstreek, the region that straddles the linguistic border from Tervuren to La Hulpe via Overijse, Hoeilaart and Huldenberg. The opening of the borders of the common market in 1962 brutally cut the market shares of Belgian table grapes. The oil crisis of the seventies dealt the sector the final blow because of the high cost of heating greenhouses. From 35,000 greenhouses, the number has fallen to less than 300 today.

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