Vitrival

In the normally quiet Belgian village of Vitrival, the silence begins to crack. What starts as mysterious phallic graffiti soon escalates into a series of inexplicable suicides. For the two local police officers—who also happen to be cousins—it marks an abrupt end to their carefree routine of cruising around, listening to the radio, and correcting minor infractions. Suddenly, they are forced to delve into the inner lives of their fellow villagers—something no police academy ever prepared them for.

Vitrival, the dryly comedic and subtly melancholic feature film by Noëlle Bastin and Baptiste Bogaert, premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it was selected for the prestigious Tiger Competition. The film is not a classic whodunit or detective story, but rather a disarming and affectionate observation of life on the margins.