Acting
Feb 1, 1938
Vilvoorde, Belgium
François Beukelaers
Acting
Biography
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.
Feature Films (47)
A 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
Three 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
Upon 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
A 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
A 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
The 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
Mathieu 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
The film is about a Flemish farmer, Kamiel Spiessens, who does everything he can to defend his land against a Dutch businessman. That man wants to build an amusement park on the land.
Oesje!
Sam wakes up, gets ready and goes to do his daily job. And then the unexpected happens. A bomb explodes in the center of the shopping mall where he works. He drags himself towards the entrance to save the victims. One by one he pulls them out, until something terrible takes place. In complete hysteria he runs off till he falls down from exhaustion. A woman's voice makes him raise his head. She's one of the victims he saved. She wants to know why the suicide bomber did it. This encounter projects him back in history and even in a surreal world. Thereafter he runs into everyone he saved and feels that their defeat shows many parallels with his own. Even his confrontation with the wrongdoer isn't that straightforward as he thought it would be and confronts him with the fact that guilt and innocence can be pretty much alike.
22nd of May
Jean is a family man and factory worker who dreams of becoming a songwriter. Pinning his hopes on his teenage daughter, Marva, he takes her to singing contests in which the awkward and overweight girl struggles to belt out a tune. When Jean is suddenly fired because of cut backs, he is ashamed and even more desperate to have his daughter succeed. In a chance meeting Jean kidnaps the most famous pop star in the country and holds her hostage demanding to be heard by the music industry. Catching the attention of the media and the eyes of the nation, Jean and Marva realize that the show must go on until everyone is famous.
Everybody's Famous!
An elderly lady called Ida is wasting away in a retirement home until one day she meets a new resident named Jef. They fall in love and decide to liven up place.
Her name was
A married schoolteacher in Flanders develops an obsessive love for one of his students. After moving away to escape his feelings, a disturbing encounter with death and an unexpected reunion begin to unravel his grip on reality.
The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short
Television & Series (14)
A former hairdresser graduates from law school and starts working as a cheap legal consultant. Her ambition, her spontaneous and unique way to investigate cases, her big heart and her first successes as a lawyer soon deliver her many clients.
Danni Lowinski
A psychological thriller about Mie, a young woman with amnesia who is locked up in a secure psychiatric hospital. Mie is visited by Detective Inspector Wolkers who claims she was the last person seen with the vanished Thomas Spectre. As a witness and prime suspect, she appears to be the sole key to this mysterious disappearance. In order to solve the puzzle and find Thomas, Mie has to reconstruct her lost memories and find her way back through the dark labyrinth of her recent past.
