Film screening - La Chimera
As part of the temporary exhibition, “Presence of the Past – a European Album”, the House of European History is screening three European films which delve into our need for history and use of the past.
Films
- Date
- 10 September 2025, 18.15-22.00 (CEST)
- Location
- House of European History, Rue Belliard/straat 135, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Three recent European films engage with a (European) past in highly diverse ways. Like the photographic exhibition, this film series explores different types of involvement with a past and the various motivations and intentions behind them.
Before the screening of each film, join us at 18.15 for a 45 minute guided tour in English of Presence of the Past, uncovering how Europeans engage with the past in highly diverse ways, from commemorating historical events to participating in re-enactments, from taking tourist selfies to destroying monuments.
La Chimera (2023) - Director Alice Rohrwacher
Arthur, a young Englishman haunted by a lost love, is fascinated by ancient civilisations. He and his eccentric friends, ‘the tombaroli’ or ‘tomb raiders’, are looting ancient grave goods and selling archaelogical wonders to rich people. Each of them, has his or her own ‘chimera’, something they try to achieve, but never manage to find. “La Chimera” (2023) by Alice Rohrwacher, is a magnificent journey between past and present, reality and dream, living and dead, between forests and cities, between celebrations and solitudes. “La Chimera” is a cinematic treasure invoking the images and landscapes of the great Italian filmmakers of the 20th century : Pasolini, Olmi, Fellini and the fratelli Taviani. The film was officially selected for the Cannes Film Festival.
The films will be introduced in English by film curator Wouter Hessels and will be followed by a Q&A and discussion. Entrance to the screenings is free - registration in advance is mandatory.
→ Register for guided tour (18.15 - 19.00)
→ Register for film screening (19.00 - 22h00)
La Chimera’s not a shell. It’s a treasure chest or a buried city; a film of fabulous layers and playful echoes.