Magritte Awards

Overview

The Magritte Awards are Belgium's national film awards for French-language cinema, presented annually by the Academie Andre Delvaux. The 15th ceremony took place on March 7, 2026, at the Flagey in Ixelles, Brussels, hosted for the second time by comedian Charline Vanhoenacker. The ceremony marked a transition: following the end of the partnership with the Magritte Foundation in 2025, the awards were renamed the "Rene Awards" (or "Rene du Cinema"), retaining a reference to painter Rene Magritte while severing the connection with the foundation that holds the intellectual property rights to his work.

We Believe You (On vous croit), the first feature by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys, dominated the 15th ceremony with 8 awards from 11 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. A total of 107 works were eligible across 28 short films, 16 documentaries, and 7 television series, with television categories introduced for the first time.

The ceremony was broadcast in Belgium on Auvio, Pickx, and Proximus Showcase, with a pre-show aired on La Une. Overall coverage reached seven million viewers.

Eligibility and Submission

The Rene Awards honor films produced or co-produced in Belgium's French-speaking community (Federation Wallonia-Brussels). Eligible films must have had their first commercial theatrical release or festival premiere during the preceding calendar year. The Academie Andre Delvaux, which includes approximately 1,000 industry professionals, votes on nominations and winners.

For the 15th edition, 107 works were eligible: 28 short films, 16 documentaries, and 7 television series. Television series categories were added for the first time, recognizing French-language Belgian series broadcast between 2023 and 2025. The academy also introduced an Audience Award, voted by the public via the RTBF Auvio platform.

Nominations for the 15th ceremony were announced on February 6, 2026. We Believe You led with 11 nominations, followed by Kika with 8, Young Mothers with 7, Adam's Interest and Maldoror with 6 each. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne received two nominations for Best Film as producers of both Young Mothers and Adam's Interest.

Key Categories

The 15th Rene Awards presented competitive categories in the following areas:

• Best Film (won by We Believe You)
• Best First Film (won by Kika, Alexe Poukine)
• Best Director (won by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys for We Believe You)
• Best Actor (won by Yannick Renier for Reflection in a Dead Diamond)
• Best Actress (won by Myriem Akheddiou for We Believe You)
• Best Supporting Actor (won by Laurent Capelluto for We Believe You)
• Best Supporting Actress (won by Salome Dewaels for Nino)
• Best Female Newcomer (won by Maria Cavalier-Bazan for Heads or Fails)
• Best Male Newcomer (won by Maxi Delmelle for Heads or Fails)
• Best Original or Adapted Screenplay (won by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys for We Believe You)
• Best Cinematography (won by Manu Dacosse for Reflection in a Dead Diamond)
• Best Editing (won by Nicolas Bier for We Believe You)
• Best Set Design (won by Laurie Colson for Reflection in a Dead Diamond)
• Best Costumes (won by Jackye Fauconnier for Reflection in a Dead Diamond)
• Best Sound (won by Philippe Charbonnel, Bertrand Boudaud, and Gurwal Coic-Gallas for Flow)
• Best Documentary (won by Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, Johan Grimonprez)
• Best Flemish Film (won by Julian, Cato Kusters)
• Best Foreign Film in Co-production (won by Flow, Gints Zilbalodis)
• Best Short Fiction Film (won by La Moisson, Alice D'Hauwe)
• Best Animated Short (won by Autokar, Sylwia Szkiladz)
• Best Short Documentary (won by Reunion de famille, Jean Forest)
• Best Series (won by Baraki Season 2)
• Audience Award - RTBF Auvio Prize (won by We Believe You)
• Honorary Award (presented periodically for lifetime achievement)

History

The Magritte Awards were first presented in 2011 by the Academie Andre Delvaux, named after the influential Belgian filmmaker Andre Delvaux. The awards were created to give Belgian francophone cinema a national recognition platform equivalent to France's Cesar Awards. The statuette was modeled after the work of Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte, and the Magritte Foundation partnered with the academy to lend the artist's name and likeness to the awards.

The 14th ceremony in February 2025 was the last under the Magritte name. That ceremony, hosted by Charline Vanhoenacker, was marked by political statements regarding Belgium's responsibility in the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Host Vanhoenacker and actor Arieh Worthalter publicly addressed Reformist Movement party president Georges-Louis Bouchez after his remarks questioning public funding for culture.

In the aftermath, Charly Herscovici, who holds the intellectual property rights to Magritte's work, criticized what he described as the political instrumentalization of the ceremony and moved to withdraw the painter's name from the awards. In early 2026, the Academie Andre Delvaux announced that the award would be renamed "Rene" starting with the 15th edition. The new trophy was designed by Belgian visual artist Vincent Solheid.

The transition also coincided with a leadership change at the academy: president Patrick Quinet stepped down and was succeeded by Kassandra Decloux, alongside Jean-Yves Roubin and Francois Touwaide. The 15th ceremony was the first held without a president of the ceremony.

Significance for Filmmakers

For Belgian francophone filmmakers, a Rene Award (formerly Magritte) is the highest domestic honor for French-language work. The award influences future funding applications through the Centre du Cinema et de l'Audiovisuel, Belgium's public film funding body. Belgium's tax shelter system, which provides a tax exemption of up to 25% of qualifying production expenses for films shot in Belgium, attracts significant international co-production. Rene recognition positions filmmakers within this co-production ecosystem, which includes active treaties with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and other European countries.

The Best Flemish Film category bridges the linguistic divide within Belgian cinema, acknowledging Dutch-language filmmaking within a predominantly francophone ceremony. The new television series categories reflect the growing importance of Belgian series production, with shows like Baraki and Pandore gaining audiences across French-speaking Europe.

The 2025 winner Night Call by Michiel Blanchart set a record with 10 awards from 10 nominations, including Best Film, Best First Film, Best Director, and all five technical prizes. The film was both a commercial success in Belgian cinemas and a socially engaged thriller set against a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Brussels.

Recent Results (15th Rene Awards, March 2026)

• Best Film: We Believe You - Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys
• Most awards: We Believe You (8)
• Most nominations: We Believe You (11)
• Best Director: Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys (We Believe You)
• Best Actress: Myriem Akheddiou (We Believe You)
• Best Actor: Yannick Renier (Reflection in a Dead Diamond)
• Best First Film: Kika - Alexe Poukine
• Best Flemish Film: Julian - Cato Kusters
• Best Foreign Film in Co-production: Flow - Gints Zilbalodis
• Best Documentary: Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat - Johan Grimonprez
• Best Series: Baraki Season 2
• Audience Award: We Believe You

Past Winners and What They Won With

The Magritte Awards (Prix Magritte) are Belgium's national film awards, presented annually by the Academie Andre Delvaux to honor Belgian francophone cinema. Recent winners include Reflection in a Dead Diamond (Best Film, with Yannick Renier winning Best Actor), Kika by Alexe Poukine (Best First Film), Julian by Cato Kusters (Best Flemish Film), Flow by Gints Zilbalodis (Best Foreign Film in Co-production, also winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature), Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat by Johan Grimonprez (Best Documentary), Baraki Season 2 (Best Series), and We Believe You (Audience Award). The Magritte Awards ceremony is typically held in February in Brussels, organized by the Academie Andre Delvaux. The awards cover approximately 20 categories including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best First Film, Best Flemish Film, Best Foreign Film in Co-production, Best Documentary, and Best Series.

Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

The Magritte Awards specifically honor Belgian francophone cinema, meaning they are distinct from Flemish film awards and from the broader Belgian film industry. The Best Flemish Film category provides recognition for Dutch-language Belgian films within the francophone awards ceremony. The Best Foreign Film in Co-production category recognizes international co-productions that involve Belgian partners, reflecting Belgium's active co-production sector and the country's tax shelter system, which provides a tax rebate of up to 25% for qualifying productions. The Audience Award is voted by the public, while the main categories are voted by the Academie Andre Delvaux membership of approximately 1,000 Belgian film industry professionals. Belgium's multilingual film industry means that filmmakers must understand which awards their film qualifies for based on language and production region.

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See Also

For understanding how European co-production and funding structures work, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue across European territories, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For evaluating the impact of Belgium's tax shelter on your production budget, use the Ad Spend Break-Even Calculator.