Heysel 85
- Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany
- 2026
- 91'
- Must See Must Be
We are at Heysel Stadium, Brussels, in May of 1985. Marie, 30, daughter and press attaché of the mayor of the City of Brussels, comes with her parents to see the European Cup Final between Liverpool and Juventus. Luca Rossi, 31, a journalist commenting the match for the Italian television, and his relatives from all over Italy, are also here. Before the referee whistles the beginning of the match, football hooligans wreak havoc at the stadium. Tens of people are killed, and there is total mayhem. While looking for his family amid the chaos, Luca decides not to stop reporting the incident. Marie must now take control on behalf of her father, who is completely wasted and overwhelmed, and no longer able to make decisions. Both the politicians and the police face a dilemma: should the match go on or be stopped? Out of fear that stopping the match can add fuel to the already burning fire, they come up with a very controversial decision.
- Directed by: Teodora Ana Mihai
- Screenplay: Lode Desmet, Isabelle Darras, Teodora Ana Mihai
- Photography: Marius Panduru
- Editing: Bert Jacobs
- Music: Anna Katharina Bauer Production: Hans Everaert
- Cast: Violet Braeckman, Matteo Simoni, Josse De Pauw, Fabrizio Rongione, Paolo Calabresi, Bobby Schofield, Ben Segers
A film director of Belgian and Romanian origin, born in Bucharest. She is recognised for her ability to combine social engagement with poetic audio-visual sensitivity. She caught the attention with her début documentary ‘Waiting for August’ (2014), which won over ten awards and a nomination for the European Film Awards. Her full-length début film ‘La Civil’ (2021) made with the support of the Cinéfondation foundation under the aegis of the Cannes Film Festival, and co-produced by the Dardenne brothers and Christian Mungiu, won the Prix de l’Audace (Audacity Award) in the Un Certain Regard section, in Cannes. Her sophomore feature film ‘Traffic’ (2024) won the Grand Prix Award at the Warsaw International Film Festival, and was nominated as the Romanian candidate for Academy Awards, in 2025. The film ‘Heysel 85’ is her third full-length film.
