Quand j’étais belge

Enriched by exceptional archive material on the history of Belgium, this film examines the problems of a people in quest of their identity. It takes a close look into the recent crises that have traumatised and, to all appearances, reunited the country. Travelling back into the collective unconscious way before 1830, the year that saw the birth of the Belgian state, the film reveals the constant rift opposing the black lion of Flanders and the red cock of Walloon. It recounts the growing conflict between languages and cultures, resulting in the creation of the extreme right-wing party, Vlaamse Blok, which demands Flemish independence. Luc de Heusch from Brussels, midway between Flanders and Walloon, reconstitutes and comments on this history in a resolutely personal tone, through the looking-glass of his childhood.