After a relatively indifferent Berlin '97, Belgium is striking out this year with a slew of product both in official selection and in the market.

Flanders is represented in Berlin competition by Jeroen Krabbe's Left Luggage. The film re-unites Favorite Films with Shooting Star from The Netherlands, companies which last collaborated on the Oscar-nominated Daens. In Panorama is the acclaimed The Sugar Bowl by Hilde van Mieghem. New in the market is Stijn Coninx's When the Light Comes, another Favorite Films co-production, and Peter (City of the Steps) Brosens' State of Dogs, a documentary examination of the Mongolian philosophical belief that dogs are reincarnated as humans. Starting today Flanders Image will, for the first time present a programme of Flemish shorts, ranging from Lars Damoiseaux's 17-min Striker Bob to Lieven Debrauwer's award-winning Leonie.

On the French-speaking side Wallonie Bruxelles Images will present the Belgian-German co-production The Commissioner in competition and three feature-length documentaries in the Forum section, Mes entretiens filmes by Boris Lehman, Divine Carcasse by Dominique Loreau and Yu Likwai's Deesse du neon..

With Cannes playing a greater role in its yearly strategy WBI announced a slate of 5 films which will be ready for the May event. These include Frederic Fonteyn's eagerly awaited Max et Bobo and Marion Hansel's The Quarry, which received financial support from both the Flemish and French-speaking ministries. NC