More and more films shot in Brussels

Never before were so many films shot in Brussels as in 2015, with a total of 331 productions made in the region, an increase of 57% in the past five years. Brussels is an especially popular location for commercials and television programmes, but there were also 37 feature films shot there last year, including The Danish Girl, which opens next week, writes Brusselnieuws.

The historic city centre is especially favoured, according to Alexandre Dressen of the Brussels Film Office (BFO), with 60% of the region's films recorded there. But Ixelles, Schaerbeek and Saint-Gilles are also popular locations, as are the Hotel Métropole on Place de Brouckère, the Art Nouveau districts and the neighbourhoods around Brussels North station and the European district.

In Belgian films such as Black or Le Tout Nouveau Testament (pictured), the film is set in Brussels, whereas in foreign films, Brussels is most often used to depict another city, such as Paris or London.

Brussels is increasingly popular with film crews, due in large part to the Belgian tax shelter, whereby companies that invest in Belgium-based films pay less taxes.