Supported projects

In Echo, named after the poem 'Echoes' by Audre Lorde, Neske Beks mercilessly puts her finger on the sore spot. Not only is the white view still dominant in our society, but Black women are doubly disadvantaged: they are not white and they are not men.

BUDAPEST - There she is, the granddaughter, in Budapest in front of her grandfather, who died suddenly five days ago. None of his three daughters, who all live in Flanders, travelled to Hungary for the funeral. From one moment to the next, the granddaughter, who loved her grandfather dearly, steps in to take charge.

MOSUL - Many residents of Mosul, Iraq's second city, view the power seized by Shiite militias in the city as a new occupation. Even if the terror group ISIS could be chased away militarily, they do not know how they will ever get rid of the militias that have corruptly infiltrated every aspect of life.

GHENT - WHY WE FIGHT? is a cinematographic film that tries to understand the violence around us, but also in ourselves, in order to better cope with today's world.

ERBIL - What is the involvement of Belgian jihadists in the genocide that IS carried out against the Jezidi community? Now that the Belgian parliament has acknowledged the genocide, Brenda Stoter Boscolo and Bruno Struys went to Iraqi Kurdistan with that question in mind. They talked to official sources, but above all had hours of interviews with the Yezidis themselves.

GHENT - In the autumn of 2020, in the midst of a severe lockdown, dozens of Ghent-based organisations joined forces to map out homelessness and precarious housing situations.

AMSTERDAM - From the age of twelve until the age of twenty-two, Erwin Roebroeks was in the grip of a compulsive disorder. He showered eight hours a day, drank soapsuds while wearing surgical gowns, and cut open his skin to be able to clean the inside. At first, the medical world wrote him off. Roebroeks will never get rid of his severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd).

KABUL - Even after the anniversary of 9/11, one question remains unanswered: how did Osama bin Laden manage to carry out that murderous raid against the most powerful country in the world? Exceptional testimonies from the heart of the al-Qaeda terrorist movement provide an answer.

BUJUMBURA - After sixty years, Ludo De Witte opens up about a murder that set Burundi on the road to internal division, ethnic tension and mass killings.

ANTALYA - Two shy young men start to work in an all-inclusive hotel. A new, absurd world opens up to them. Colourful swimsuits, an abundance of food and the management’s demands ensure they will never be the same again.

BRUSSELS - The thirty glorious years after the Second World War, that manic period of reconstruction and economic boom, have been decisive for the Belgium of today. The whole country was turned upside down. New jobs, habits and ideas replaced the old ones. At the end of those triumphant decades, Belgians were richer, freer and better educated than ever before.

RONSE - Is the voice of the children still heard? For some time now, there has been no real motivation to invest in youth. That results in a salvo of cries for help from youth councils and youth movements. Robbe Vandegehuchte investigates in Knack the local youth infrastructure through various cases in Ronse.

BEIRUT - The report 'Draining the well of young dreams' portrays these young adults alongside urban landscapes that reflect the current situation in Beirut.

BRUSSELS - In elderly care, sleeping pills, sedatives, antidepressants and antipsychotics are widely used. This is not a new phenomenon. Already in 2006, a study brought alarming figures to light. Since then, the pill shop in Flemish residential care centres has been running smoothly. Is the prescription of these psychopharmaceuticals to elderly people justified? Is it done for the right reasons, or just to keep them calm?

BRUSSELS - Last summer, a fire breather suddenly appeared in Brussels. Photographer Kristof Vadino became intrigued by the mysterious entertainer and started following the man.

BRUSSELS - In 2013, the Belgian television programme Panorama delved into the world of urban black gangs. The members spoke openly about life and survival on the streets of Brussels. Now, eight years later, they look back on their tough youth. Did they succeed in choosing the right path? Does the past still haunt them?

SAMOS - The harrowing conditions in the hotspots of the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos and Chios have created a mental health crisis. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self-harm are the most common mental health problems reported by NGOs in the field.

MEXICO CITY - La Civil tells the story of Cielo, a mother in search of her daughter, abducted by a criminal cartel in Northern Mexico. As the authorities fail to offer support in the search, Cielo takes matters into her own hands and turns from housewife into avenging activist. The story was inspired by true events.

BRUSSELS - In the almost built-up Flanders (northern region of Belgium), land is a precious commodity. Who are the large landowners who own hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of hectares of land in Flanders? Who are the real estate investors who own whole streets in cities or have their eye on certain neighbourhoods? Why do they do it? What is the return?

BRUSSELS - “When discussing drug production, we rarely look at the environmental damage and costs. Belgium, together with The Netherlands, is the main producer of synthetic drugs in Europe, and the chemical waste deriving as a by-product from the production here remains.

ANTWERPEN - Antwerp is being undermined. The port of Antwerp is the biggest cocaine import port in Europe. The drug crime creates invisible criminality that affects life in the city.

MATADI - Since colonial times, much and yet little has changed in the Congolese province of Kongo Central. Belgian companies in the Congolese agro-industry no longer play the role they did when they started operating in the then colony more than a century ago. The way in which these companies proceeded to plunder land and conclude dubious contracts with local chiefs in the past, however, has led to a deep dissatisfaction with Belgian investors to this day. 

BRUSSELS - What happened to Dieumerci Kanda? Six years ago, the Angolan man entered a Brussels police station to report his missing wallet. For no apparent reason, he is arrested and locked up in a cell. Three hours later he's dead. The official explanation is that he killed himself. But isn't there more to it?

LEDEBERG - Exploring and getting to know one’s neighbourhood on foot was a rare outlet for many during the Coronavirus crisis. Illustrator Jeroen Janssen and writer Arezoo Moradi set out in Ledeberg, their little patch of motorway-lined land in Ghent, and continue to do so. He draws, and she writes down, the stories of a neighbourhood bordered by motorways and railway lines.

LEUVEN - One consequence of Leuven being an expensive city to live in is that many people are forced to move elsewhere. The City Monitor showed in 2017 that 15 percent of residents had plans to do so. No less than 56 percent cited financial reasons for this.

ANTWERP / BRUSSELS / GHENT - As of 9 June 2021, the rules for sex work are normalising. After months of vacancy, activity in the zones of tolerance for window prostitution is getting back on track. In the past, sex workers and bar owners have been much investigated, but the property owners are a blind spot.

BRUSSELS - We replace our phones every two to three years on average, and that's bad news for both the environment and the climate. This article investigates where the key problems lie, what governments should do about it, and what we as consumers can do to help.

ANTWERP - The 40-year war in Afghanistan is pushing more and more Afghans to become refugees. Their numbers are also increasing in Belgium. In the port city of Antwerp, Afghans have become the fifth largest nationality group. Gie Goris went to Antwerp and listened to older and younger, male and female, Pashtu and Dari-speaking refugees and migrants from the war-torn country.

TRIPOLI - How much do illegal immigrants suffer from smuggling networks? How do the illegal immigrants get in contact with the smugglers? What is the role of the international community in curbing the spread of this business? Investigative journalist Mahmoud Elsobky searched for answers to these questions and travelled to Libya, Tunisia, France, Germany and Mauritania. There he met with victims of illegal immigration and smugglers.

BRUSSELS - 'Back to Bled' is a contemporary story about the connection between the city and the countryside, starting in multicultural Brussels. The core of the documentary is friction; friction between city and countryside, ecology and economy, healthy versus cheap, connected versus uprooted.