To mark our exhibition ORIGINS OF CINEMA: Magic Lanterns, Cinematograph, and Pioneer Projectors, Palace is offering a special program!

One Thursday a month, the Palace invites you to discover Belgian experimental cinema. Featuring both new and archival titles.

BROKEN VIEW 

Hannes Verhoustraete, BE, 2023, 75', VO FR ST NL/EN

A cinematic and poetic essay on the colonial gaze and the magic lantern. One of the very first image projectors, the magic lantern was used in Belgian colonial propaganda to highlight the good works of the Church, the State, and industry. The images on glass plates that the lantern projected were effectively used to sell the colonial project to a somewhat reluctant Belgian public.

As fragile as these plates may be, several thousand have survived. Often lavishly hand-painted, their horrific images helped shape the way Europeans saw, thought about, spoke of, and treated the colonial Other. This tension between the aesthetic experience and the reverberations of colonial ideology lies at the heart of the film. Through collages and associative montages, the film attempts to capture the colonial gaze, as well as the way it persists over time and influences how we see, think, and speak of the past.

Special student rate: €5

This rate is available at the Palace box office only (not available online)