
Acting
François Beukelaers
Born 1938-02-02 · Vilvoorde, Belgium
François Beukelaers (2 February 1938 – February 2026) was a Belgian actor, stage director and singer. He studied theatre at the studio of the National Theatre in Antwerp. In 1965, Beukelaers made his debut as a professional director at the Antwerp KNS with Thornton Wilder's "Our Town". Throughout his career, he acted in a number of feature films, including Toute une nuit (1982), Brussels by Night (1983), and Ex Drummer (2007). Beukelaers received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Ostend Film Festival.
Acting credits
6.3Olga is married to Laurent, who is devoted to his career and often leaves Olga at home alone when he travels away for work. Whilst she is rich and wants for nothing, she is terribly bored with life. When Laurent is working away she meets up with his colleague Pierre and through him meets Claude, who is unemployed and fed up of his situation. Can Olga and Claude help each other to get their lives back on track?
Melancoly Baby
1979
Set in a scorching Brussels, Babel Opera blends documentary and fiction during the intense rehearsals of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. As an international cast struggles to bring the opera to life, four fictional characters appear around the set. Their real-life conflicts, infidelities, and passions begin to mirror the seductions of the opera itself, completely blurring the lines between art and reality as the grand premiere approaches.
Babel opéra, ou la répétition de Don Juan de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1985
6.6Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are hard times for the action movie star who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a role from him! This fictionalized version of Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States, but inadvertently gets involved in a bank robbery with hostages.
JCVD
2008
5.6In the freezing winter of 1944, the devastating Battle of the Bulge rages across Belgium. Amid the chaos, an American soldier separated from his unit crosses paths with Richard, a cynical young Belgian boy, and Willy, a wounded German soldier they take as a prisoner.Stranded in a desolate, snowy landscape where survival overrides military allegiance, the three mismatched individuals form a fragile, surreal bond. As they trudge through the war-torn countryside, their basic survival instincts push political ideologies aside.
The Enemies
1968
6.8Three musicians form a band. But they're not just any musicians: each has a disability that makes them particularly unsuitable for their instrument. The guitarist is deaf, the singer is tone deaf, and the bassist has a stiff arm. They lack a drummer, and to respect the group's uniqueness, they turn to a famous writer who has never played the drums. He accepts, but begins a manipulation that will wreak further havoc on the already largely dysfunctional band.
Ex Drummer
2007
5.7Mathieu Grégoire is an esteemed author who lives in Spa with his wife and daughter and leads a carefully structured life. One day, while out in the desolate landscape of the High Fens he meets a mysterious woman whom he calls 'Belle'. An obsessive passion is kindled in Mathieu and in a short space of time he loses all control over his existence.
Belle
1973
5.3Martin, a drifter, is on his way to Istanbul when he meets Willy, a student working in Belgium. Fascinated by Martin, Willy decides to go with him to Istanbul, but soon discovers pieces of his dark past.
Istanbul
1985
6.2Rocklin Colorado, 1925. A hard cold winter. Young Arturo Bandini loves his father Svevo, his mother Maria and his brothers. Even though his bricklayer father wastes the little money he has in the Imperial Poolhall and his time with the rich American widow, Hildegarde. Even though his beautiful and pious mother lets his father get away with that, even if his little brother wets the bed. Arturo loves them all. He also loves to play baseball, even though he has to wait until spring. And he also loves the movies ... and Rosa. But she doesn't love him ...
Wait Until Spring, Bandini
1989
5.7Johan Ten Berghe joins the Dutch army when the Dutch East Indies unilaterally declare independence as Indonesia. He initiates his naive driver Twan in life in the East, having grown up there as son of colonial official Hendrik, now missing. Their adventures intertwine with Johan's childhood memories, especially concerning his native best friend, Oeroeg, who joined the rebellion, as well as their nanny and later de facto stepmother. Conflicting loyalties become tangible in extreme situations
Going Home
1993
3.8The story centers on Jean (François Beukelaers)—an ex-colonial and former mercenary—and his girlfriend Nadia, who together run the tavern. The bar serves as a gloomy crossroads where three different generations of patrons intersect. As these lonely individuals drink and collide, they confront each other's unfulfilled dreams, romantic illusions, hidden desires, and sudden outbursts of aggression. Trapped between their past actions and what could have been, the characters struggle with profound miscommunication. The film blends dark melancholy with sharp injections of humor, tracking a complex web of human relationships where everyone is simultaneously the hunter and the prey.
Congo Express
1986
6.7Antwerp, Belgium. The lives of four small-time drug dealers spin out of control when they steal a shipment of cocaine, triggering a full out war between an Amsterdam drug lord and a ruthless Colombian cartel.
Gangsta
2018
5.9A 14th-century peasant becomes transfixed by a statue of the Virgin Mary, and petitions to be walled into a cell attached to the church as a religious hermit.
Anchoress
1993
6.0Upon the death of her husband, Claire (70) decides to reconnect with her estranged son, down and out R&B musician Sid. She asks him to help her restart the old girl group she used to sing in with two of her friends from the old days. The rebel son is hesitant at first but eventually agrees under one condition: the band has to play HIS music.
The Over the Hill Band
2009
6.5Following over two dozen different individuals in the almost wordless atmosphere of a dark night in a Brussels town, acceptance and rejection in the realm of romance is examined.
Toute une nuit
1982
7.0It's 1997. Frank Verstraeten, a computer genius with a nose for business, a fascination for nightlife and an unhealthy urge to prove himself, only wants one thing: his own disco that not only outperforms the competition but simply humiliates it. The futuristic mega discotheque Zillion is a fact and Frank turns from computer dealer to the pivotal figure of the Antwerp nightlife. He parades with the most beautiful women in Belgium and forges an alliance with Dennis Black Magic, the porn king who provides the spicy extras. Unfortunately, beautiful songs don't last long either.
Zillion
2022
NRThe Making of Ex Drummer (2007), the debut feature by Koen Mortier. Based on the novel by Herman Brusselmans, the film follows three misfits who form a band and convince renowned author Dries to join them as their drummer. But once in, Dries begins to manipulate the group from within.
The Making Of "Ex Drummer"
2025
6.4A biography of the Belgian nun Jeannine Deckers, who became a popular singer in the early 1960s and struggled with the contradiction between the church and her true self.
Sister Smile
2009
Cécile’s life is turned upside down after the Alzheimer diagnosis of her husband. In an attempt to keep him close, she loses herself.
After the Rain
2020
6.1The Belgian linguistics professor Matthias is going through a difficult period in relations with his girlfriend Anne. She is French, he is Belgian, and, oddly enough for an enlightened Europe and a doubly enlightened university environment, this small difference is a shadow on the couple’s personal life. One day, during a train ride, Anne disappears and Mathias goes looking for her in an unknown city.
One Night... a Train
1968
4.7A fantasy romance set in 19th century France. The film revolves around Sobran, a young peasant winemaker, and the three important figures in his life - his beautiful wife Celeste, baroness Aurora de Valday and an angel named Xas.
The Vintner's Luck
2009
4.5Thomas, in his forties, holds an important post in a slaughterhouse. He is engaged to Marie-Rose, the daughter of the director, whom he hopes to follow later. In a routine examination in the hospital, however, he finds out that he has cancer and his days are counted. The upheaval that he suffers as a result, however, does not take long, his decision is certain: he will use the short time to clean up some bad guys. What else can he do now?
Beef Cattle
1979
5.6A maverick military diver gets demoted to a dangerous search-and-rescue squadron and must gain the trust of his new team.
Stormforce
2006
6.0Anne leaves Estonia to come to Paris as a caretaker for Frida, an elderly Estonian lady who emigrated to France long ago. Anne soon realizes that she is not wanted. All Frida wants from life is the attention of Stéphane, her younger former lover. Stéphane, however, is desperate for Anne to stay and look after Frida, even against the old lady's will. In this conflict of strangers, Anne will find her own way…
A Lady in Paris
2012
6.0Three 'Bukowskian' torrid nights in the life of a man, Harry, in search of love. The first is as a youth, the second on the day of his high school graduation, and the third as a lonely, middle-aged man.
Crazy Love
1987

