This thesis explores the films produced in the francophone Belgian region of Wallonia as a case study for the configuration of what will be termed a ‘transnational regional’ cinema. The first section of this dynamic is considered in relation to film and cultural policy, which problematizes the possible formation of a clearly delineated regional or ‘national’ cinema. This presupposes a reconfiguring of the transnational along the lines of the regional and the linguistic communities of Belgium, which, in essence, pertains to how production, distribution and exhibition mechanisms function within the devolved region of Wallonia. This section therefore focuses on film policy as well as a macro- and micro- economic analysis of the industry in order to consider the perceived imbalance between Belgian and French cinema. In the second half, the thesis develops a textual analysis of a series of case study films to consider how cultural film policy and francophone Belgian identity is imagined and then imaged on screen. The interplay between the transnational and the regional is then nuanced by the approaches to the ‘transnational regional’ aesthetic. This aesthetic includes the visualization of the rural and urban Walloon landscape in Eldorado (Bouli Lanners, 2008) and Ultranova (Lanners, 2006) and the ‘marked’ regional landscape in Cages (Olivier Masset-Depasse, 2006). The shift in location across the conterminous border with France due to the logic of film funding engenders the approach to the ‘marked’ regional space in Masset-Depasse’s film. The final chapter tracks this aesthetic through to the works of the Dardenne brothers and in particular Le gamin au vélo (Dardenne brothers, 2011) in order to approach the construction of a peripheral spatial formation through corporeal movements. This therefore necessitates a consideration of how the Dardenne brothers’ film chimes with waves of European filmmaking, thereby revealing a regional space that is conceptualized as de-centred.

Ce mémoire de recherche-création est accompagné du court métrage «Tala». Pour visionner en ligne : vimeo.com/ondemand/talapierphilippechevigny / Ce mémoire de recherche-création cherche à repérer trois figures de mise en scène dans le cinéma des frères Dardenne (la caméra portée à l'épaule, le cadrage restreint, le plan- séquence) et d’identifier en quoi celles-ci sont génératrices d’une tension transnarrative qui garde le spectateur en haleine, lui procure des affects, l'engage dans la narration, le choque ou le bouleverse : bref, lui fait vivre une expérience intense. Par une analyse de la scène d’ouverture de «Rosetta», nous décrirons comment la caméra mobile portée à l’épaule exprime l’affolement du personnage éponyme tout en proposant un pôle d’identification spectatoriel inédit. «Le Fils» sera ensuite étudié afin de cerner comment les frères Dardenne emploient le cadre comme un cache afin de générer une tension narrative dans une logique de réticence informationnelle. L’usage du plan-séquence, que nous suggérons d’interpréter comme une sorte de réalité virtuelle permettant de faire l’expérience de la solidarité sociale, fera également l’objet d’une analyse à partir de son usage dans «Deux jours une nuit». En guise de conclusion, nous verrons comment nous nous sommes inspirés de ces trois figures de mise en scène dans Tala, le court-métrage de fiction qui accompagne ce mémoire. / This research & creation thesis aims to identify three components of the Dardenne brothers' directing style (over-the-shoulder camera, tight framing and long take) and try to describe how they generate a transnarrative tension that captivates the audience, immerses it in the story, shock it or move it : in other words, these components make the viewer go through an intense experience. We will analyze the opening scene of "Rosetta" to describe how the over- the-shoulder camera visually translates the character's emotions whilst suggesting a new type of spectatorial identification. "Le Fils" will then be analyzed, hoping to demonstrate how the Dardennes' use of tight framing creates mystery and suspense by discarding narrative information. Finally, "Deux jours une nuit" will allow us to examine the brothers' use of the long take, which we choose to read as a type of virtual reality that allows the viewer to experience social solidarity. As a conclusion, we will explain how these three directing components have been recuperated in "Tala", the short fiction film that makes up the creation part of this thesis.