Selected for Critics' Week, Grave, the first film from French director Julia Ducournau, came away with the FIPRESCI international critics’ prize. The film was shot and co-produced in Wallonia.

For its 55th edition, seven films were in competition during Critics’ Week. Of these, Grave came away with the FIPRESCI prize, awarded to promising first works by the International Federation of Film Critics.

Grave indeed impressed at the Cannes Film Festival: Julia Ducournau delivers a heavyweight debut, which mixes genres (comedy, drama, horror) and plunges the viewer into a disturbing and troubling reality by creating a bloody atmosphere juxtaposed with the banality of everyday life.

The film tells the story of Justine, 16, who has enrolled in a veterinary school. During a fresher’s week initiation ritual, the teenager is forced to eat raw meat, at odds with the vegetarian principles of her upbringing. Justine then reveals her true nature.

Shot entirely in Liège, the film was produced by Petit Film and co-produced in Belgium by the Liège-based company Frakas Productions (Jean-Yves Roubin and Cassandra Warnauts), and by Red International. It will be distributed shortly in Belgium by O'Brother Distribution and in France by Wild Bunch Distribution.

In Belgium, Grave benefited from the support of the Centre du Cinéma of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, of Wallimage/Bruxellimage, RTBF, VOO, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and Casa Kafka Pictures.

To keep up with all the latest film industry news from Wallonia-Brussels, visit the Wallonie-Bruxelles Images website.